The Undertaker def. Shane McMahon (Hell in a Cell Match)

DALLAS — Shane McMahon returned to WWE with a mission: Reclaim his place as heir to the throne and take control of Monday Night Raw, away from the grip of The Authority. However, the shrewd trump card played by his father – WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon – proved to be successful as The Undertaker defeated Shane-O-Mac in a grueling Hell in a Cell Match on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE JAW-DROPPING BATTLE

For the 33rd time in WWE history, the ominous Hell in a Cell was lowered to encompass the ring – this time, inside AT&T Stadium. The stakes, however, were higher than ever.  Shane was poised to bury The Undertaker once and for all, while simultaneously ensuring his vision for the legacy of WWE – personified in the form of his three sons who escorted him to the ring. At Mr. McMahon’s decree, The Undertaker was fighting for his legacy as well – a loss would mean The Phenom would never compete at WrestleMania ever again.

As the opening bell sounded, Shane McMahon tried to go toe-to-toe with The Phenom, using his fleet-footed style to dance circles around his opponent. The Deadman soon had enough and overpowered Shane with powerful strikes. He continued to dominate the contest early on, meeting all of Shane-O-Mac’s offensive flurries with the pure power and experience only the legendary Phenom could deliver.

However, even seven years since his last match, Shane proved he was as resilient as ever. The Undertaker tossed him repeatedly into the cell like a ragdoll, and tried to end the bout with The Last Ride following a brutal leg drop on the apron. Shane-O-Mac continued to resist, however, kicking out of a pinfall. And when The Undertaker brought steel steps into the ring, Shane responded once more, managing to lock in a triangle submission hold. 

It looked as though Shane-O-Mac might make The Undertaker submit, but The Deadman countered with a chokeslam into the steel steps that made the 101,763 fans inside AT&T Stadium cringe. Shane again kicked out of a pinfall attempt and barely rolled away as The Deadman missed an elbow drop into the steel steps. Delivering an incredibly well-executed DDT onto the steel steps, Shane seemed to finally have an advantage – that is, until The Undertaker locked in Hell’s Gate. 

The WWE Universe waited with baited breath for Shane-O-Mac to tap out, but an unbelievable reversal into the Sharpshooter left all of Dallas in shock. Though both competitors were left reeling, Shane managed to unleash a flurry of strikes in the corner before retrieving a trashcan from under the ring. Realizing what was coming as Shane placed the trashcan on the Undertaker’s chest, the capacity crowd in AT&T Stadium rose to its feet as Shane-O-Mac leaped across the ring for a jaw-dropping Coast-to-Coast. 

Still not enough to bury The Undertaker, Shane next found a pair of cable-cutters and removed the bolts on one of the cell’s panels. Whatever he had planned was stopped short when The Phenomdrove Shane through the loose panel of steel mesh onto the German announce table. The Undertaker then dismantled the announce tables and devastated his opponent with monitors before taking the battle into the crowd. 

Setting up for a Tombstone through an announce table, The Undertaker was caught off-guard with a sleeper hold. Just as he started to fade, The Phenom found the wherewithal to leap through an announce table with Shane still on his back, thereby breaking the hold. 

Shane still managed to recover first, delivering two crushing blows with a toolbox and adding the exclamation point in the form of a monitor. With his opponent out on top of an announce table, Shane-O-Mac ascended the monstrously high cell. The WWE Universe then watched in stunned disbelief as Shane jumped off the cell to deliver an elbow drop.

Unbelievably, The Undertaker rolled out of the way, causing Shane to crash through the table and onto the stadium floor. Even more unbelievable, though, was that the mangled McMahon continued to ask The Phenom to bring the fight to him. With a look of pure shock at his opponent’s fearlessness, The Deadman carried Shane back into the cell. It was there that The Undertaker – perhaps mercifully – delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to secure the win.\

Although defeated and carried away on a stretcher, Shane McMahon proved he was willing to risk his body, mind and spirit to fight for the legacy of WWE, and for what he envisioned as a better tomorrow. Hopefully, after this chilling confrontation, he’ll be in good enough form to see it.