CM Punk, Drew McIntyre can bring Hell in a Cell back to glory

CM Punk and Drew McIntyre’s feud has been one of the most electric parts of WWE television throughout 2024. The rivalry began at the start of the year, but appeared to be halted when Punk tore his tricep during the Royal Rumble after taking a DDT from McIntyre.

While many expected Punk's injury to be a setback, it became a turning point for both wrestlers. During Punk’s seven-month recovery, he relentlessly targeted McIntyre from the sidelines, ensuring the Scotsman repeatedly failed in his pursuit of the World Heavyweight Championship.

After two matches at SummerSlam and Bash in Berlin, their feud will reach its conclusion at the Oct. 5 Bad Blood event in Atlanta. The stakes were raised on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw when general manager Adam Pearce announced that their feud would culminate in a Hell in a Cell match, the first since Edge vs. Finn Balor at last year's WrestleMania 39.

The announcement of the Hell in a Cell match ignited excitement among fans due to Punk’s storied history in violent stipulations. His feud with Raven in early Ring of Honor featured several brutal cage matches, most notably the Clockwork Orange House of Fun Steel Cage match. That series of bouts established Punk as one of the top independent wrestlers ever.

Punk’s penchant for pushing the envelope in high-stakes matches has continued throughout his career. His recent All Elite Wrestling battles against MJF and Samoa Joe were marked by his willingness to bleed profusely. This tendency was also on display in his Strap Match against McIntyre at Bash in Berlin, further fueling fan anticipation for their upcoming Hell in a Cell clash.

Punk recently teased the possibility of more bloodshed, posting a photo to his Instagram story showing his bloodied face from his Dog Collar match against MJF. The post has only heightened fan expectations that the Hell in a Cell match will be a brutal encounter.

Punk’s embrace of old-school wrestling traditions, including the tactic of blading, marks a shift in WWE's approach under the creative leadership of Triple H and the influence of Endeavor. With Raw set to move to Netflix in 2025, WWE appears to be gradually moving away from its PG-13 content restrictions. Blood, once a rarity in the modern WWE era, has slowly made its way back into the spotlight, with this trend starting at Payback 2023 when Kevin Owens bled during his tag-team match alongside Sami Zayn against The Judgment Day.

Since then, other wrestlers including Punk, Cody Rhodes, and AJ Styles have utilized the blade, a technique that was a hallmark of WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era. This return to more violent, gritty storytelling has sparked nostalgia among longtime fans and interest in newer fans.

Despite the renewed interest in blood and violence, some fans argue that the Hell in a Cell stipulation no longer holds the same weight it once did. Matches involving legends like The Undertaker, Kane and Triple H set a high bar with the structure once reserved for the most heated rivalries. Over time, it became more of a novelty, with the stakes often feeling diminished.

However, the rivalry between Punk and McIntyre has rekindled that sense of genuine animosity with both men engaging in brutal beatdowns and psychological warfare since January. Their upcoming clash at Bad Blood has the potential to restore the Hell in a Cell match to its former glory, bringing back the chaotic, violent intensity fans remember from its earlier days.

As the October event approaches, the wrestling world waits in anticipation for what could be one of 2024's defining matches.