The 2017 Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE, held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brand, SmackDown. It was the ninth annual Hell in a Cell event and took place on October 8, 2017, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The event centered on the Hell in a Cell match, a 20-foot-high roofed steel cage that surrounds the ring and ringside area with no countouts or disqualifications and the only way to win is by pinfall or submission in the ring.
Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. There were two Hell in a Cell matches, including the main event in which Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon with an added stipulation of falls count anywhere. In the other Hell in a Cell match, which was the opening bout, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) to become record three-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions, which was the first time that a WWE tag team championship was defended in the titular structure. Other prominent matches included Jinder Mahal retaining the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura, and in an impromptu triple threat match, Baron Corbin defeated defending champion AJ Styles and Tye Dillinger to win the United States Championship. The event was also notable for Bobby Roode's main roster PPV and livestreaming event debut where he defeated Dolph Ziggler.
This was the first WWE event held at Little Caesars Arena, which opened the previous month; WWE's prior events in Detroit were primarily held at Joe Louis Arena before its closure just three months before the event in July. This was also the final brand-exclusive Hell in a Cell event, as although the 2018 event was originally planned to again be held for SmackDown, brand-exclusive PPV and livestreaming events for the main roster were discontinued following WrestleMania 34 in April that year.
Production Background
Hell in a Cell was an annual professional wrestling event produced every October by WWE since 2009. It was originally broadcast exclusively via pay-per-view (PPV) before it began simultaneously livestreaming on the WWE Network in 2014. The concept of the event came from WWE's established Hell in a Cell match, in which competitors fought inside a 20-foot-high roofed cell structure surrounding the ring and ringside area. The main event match of the card was contested under the Hell in a Cell stipulation. Announced on July 29, 2017, the ninth Hell in a Cell event was scheduled to be held on October 8, 2017, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, which was WWE's first event at the venue that opened the prior month; WWE's prior events in Detroit were primarily held at Joe Louis Arena before its closure in July that year. While the 2016 event exclusively featured wrestlers from the Raw brand, the 2017 event was SmackDown-exclusive. Tickets went on sale on August 4 through Ticketmaster.
Storylines The event comprised eight matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the SmackDown brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show, SmackDown Live.
At SummerSlam, Commissioner Shane McMahon was the special guest referee for the United States Championship match between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. During the match, Owens attempted a pin, but Shane saw that Styles' foot was on the bottom rope and ordered the match to continue. A frustrated Owens shoved Shane, who shoved back, allowing Styles to defeat Owens to retain the title. On the following SmackDown, Shane gave Owens one final shot at the title as long as Styles was the champion and also allowed him to pick the referee for the match; Owens chose Baron Corbin. During the match, Shane took over referee duties after Corbin walked out on the match. Styles took advantage and defeated Owens to retain the championship again. Two weeks later, Shane attacked Owens after warning him not to talk about his children. Subsequently, Shane was suspended indefinitely on orders of his father, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The following week, Vince called out Owens, reinstated Shane, and scheduled a Hell in a Cell match between the two at Hell in a Cell. Owens agreed on the condition that Vince would allow him to beat a McMahon senseless if provoked. After agreeing and shaking hands, Owens attacked Vince with a headbutt, a superkick, and a frog splash. Vince refused to be carried out on a stretcher and walked out of the ring, helped by his daughter Stephanie McMahon (her first cable television appearance since WrestleMania 33). The following week, Shane threatened that he would give Owens a beating at Hell in a Cell and warned him of his actions. The same night, Owens, via satellite, apologized for attacking Vince, but blamed Shane for his actions. On the September 26 episode, Owens called out Shane, but was confronted by Sami Zayn, who said that Owens went too far. As the two were about to fight, they were stopped by General Manager Daniel Bryan, who scheduled a match between the two. Owens defeated Zayn by referee stoppage after performing a powerbomb onto the ring apron. After the match, Owens attacked Zayn, but Shane appeared. As he attempted to go after Owens, Owens threw Zayn into Shane and fled through the crowd. The following week, Shane changed their match to a falls count anywhere Hell in a Cell match. He called out Owens to no avail, but midway through his promo, Owens appeared in the crowd. Owens began to leave and Shane chased after him through the crowd, where they fought in the concession area and Owens attacked Shane with a powerbomb through a table. Owens returned to the ring to cut a promo, but Shane returned and fought with Owens, which ended with Owens attacking Shane with a super kick and a pop up powerbomb.
At SummerSlam, Jinder Mahal defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE Championship due to a distraction from The Singh Brothers (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh). On the following episode of SmackDown, as retribution for The Singh Brothers costing Nakamura his WWE Championship match, General Manager Daniel Bryan scheduled Nakamura to face The Singh Brothers in a handicap match that Nakamura won. Afterwards, Mahal attacked Nakamura, but Nakamura countered with the Kinshasa. On the August 29 episode, Nakamura and Randy Orton defeated Mahal and Rusev. After the match, Orton attacked Nakamura with an RKO. A number one contendership match between Nakamura and Orton was scheduled for the following week, in which Nakamura defeated Orton to face Mahal for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. The next two weeks, Mahal and The Singh Brothers made fun of Nakamura and mocked his facial expressions and signature poses. Nakamura responded that there would be no jokes when he wins the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. The following week, Mahal apologized to Nakamura, but continued to make fun of him, prompting Nakamura to confront Mahal. Nakamura attacked the Singh Brothers, but Mahal then attacked Nakamura. Nakamura attacked the three and performed the Kinshasa on Mahal. On the final SmackDown before Hell in a Cell, Nakamura's in-ring interview with Renee Young was interrupted by The Singh Brothers. During the distraction, Mahal attacked Nakamura from behind. Nakamura attempted to fight off the three, but was overwhelmed.
On the August 29 episode of SmackDown, after finishing his feud with Kevin Owens, United States Champion AJ Styles officially reinstated the U.S. Championship Open Challenge, that was answered by Tye Dillinger. Baron Corbin also came out as he also wanted to answer the challenge, but was too late. Styles defeated Dillinger to retain the title and Corbin attacked Dillinger, who was saved by Styles. The following week, Dillinger faced Corbin with Styles on commentary. Corbin won the match with heel tactics. Afterwards backstage, Styles offered Dillinger a title match the following week and Dillinger accepted. During the match, Corbin attempted to interfere, but Styles attacked him with the Phenomenal Forearm, and then defeated Dillinger. After the match, Styles shook Dillinger's hand as a show of respect, but Corbin attacked them both and said that he would be the next challenger for the title. That match, however, did not occur as Corbin attacked Styles before the match and Dillinger attacked Corbin. The following week, Corbin had a rematch with Dillinger with Styles again on commentary. Corbin won the match by countout and declared that he would take the United States Championship. A title match between Styles and Corbin was scheduled for Hell in a Cell. On the final SmackDown before Hell in a Cell, Corbin again faced Dillinger where Dillinger defeated Corbin with a rollup pin. After the match, Styles appeared on the TitanTron. He said that Corbin does not focus enough and gets mad too easily and that was why John Cena defeated him at SummerSlam and why he lost his Money in the Bank cash-in.
At SummerSlam, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods with Kofi Kingston) to regain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later on SmackDown, The Usos earned the right to choose the stipulation for The New Day's championship rematch by defeating New Day in a non-title match. The Usos chose a Street Fight, which occurred on the Sin City SmackDown on September 12, where The New Day defeated The Usos to regain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The following week, The Usos invoked their championship rematch for Hell in a Cell. On the September 26 episode, after The Usos defeated The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder), The New Day, who were seated in the front row, said that they wanted to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a Hell in a Cell match, to which The Usos accepted.
At SummerSlam, Natalya defeated Naomi to win the SmackDown Women's Championship and retained the title in a rematch on the Sin City SmackDown on September 12. The following week, Natalya interrupted Charlotte Flair, who was commenting on her father Ric Flair's recovery from real-life medical issues. Charlotte subsequently challenged Natalya to a title match, but was interrupted by Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Tamina. General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a fatal four-way match between the four to determine Natalya's challenger at Hell in a Cell, which was won by Charlotte.
For several weeks, Dolph Ziggler would come out impersonating other wrestlers' entrances, claiming that was all that the fans cared about, and that they did not care about the actual in-ring performance. He also claimed that he was the best in-ring performer in WWE. After impersonating The Undertaker's entrance on the September 26 episode, Ziggler was confronted by Bobby Roode, who had been promoted to the main roster from NXT on the August 22 episode. He complimented Ziggler's in-ring work, but asked Ziggler to prove that he was the best in a match at Hell in a Cell, to which Ziggler accepted.
At SummerSlam, Randy Orton defeated Rusev in 10 seconds. The two had a rematch on the September 19 episode where Rusev defeated Orton, also in about 10 seconds, but after Orton had already had a match with Aiden English. The following week, in celebration for Rusev defeating Orton, he was presented with the key to his hometown in Bulgaria by the town's mayor. English was on hand to sing a song for the celebration and the mayor proclaimed September 26 as "Rusev Day". Orton then appeared and gave an RKO to English, followed by one to Rusev. Another match between the two was scheduled for Hell in a Cell.