Retro Wednesday: Hell In A Cell Raw Dark Match

While this edition of Retro Wednesday is only as retro as three years ago, it is worth being the template for a discussion. On the September 26, 2011 episode of Raw, WWE Champion John Cena was faced with defending his title against four of the company's top guys at the time; Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio.

While this was as close to the memorable Armageddon 2000 Hell in a Cell match as we have experienced, it would seem as if this match would be on a PPV, or at least on a televised event, right? Wrong. To please the Kansas City, MO crowd, the bout was simply a dark match, which made the chances of the title changing even slimmer than it already was (John Cena losing the WWE title on an episode of Raw).

While many in the crowd left that Raw feeling privileged, it was just a throw-away match to promote the upcoming Hell in a Cell PPV. At least those who were in attendance got to experience live Alberto Del Rio coming out to Teddy Long's music. However, the hype soon died down, as the match lasted only five minutes!

Will we ever see another dark Hell in a Cell match? Possibly not. If so, the only ones who would see it would be the ones in chosen city, unless an amateur video is posted. So, with that being said, enjoy the match.

What are your thoughts on the dark Hell in a Cell match? Is this a prime example of how much WWE has diluted this match? Sound off below.