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WWE has become synonymous with several stipulations. From TLC to Hell In A Cell, these match types have been used to the point that the promotion has modeled their pay-per-views around them. However, there are also other stipulations that are remembered in company history for the rarity of their usage.
The 3 Stages of Hell Match is one of those match types that has been used quite sparingly, but has etched its mark on fans' memories. First introduced in 2001, it was viewed as a feud-ender in WWE that would finally settle the score and put a fitting bow on deeply enriched feuds that have been built up for quite some time.
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With the stipulation making its return on NXT TakeOver 36 with Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole in "The Undisputed Finale," it seems like an ideal time to remember the history of this match type. In this article, let's rank all the 3 Stages of Hell matches in WWE history.
#5 John Cena vs. Ryback (WWE Payback 2013)
Following WrestleMania 29, John Cena had solidified his spot as one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time when he avenged his loss against The Rock by beating him for the WWE Championship.
On the Raw After Mania, Ryback turned heel and laid out Cena to set himself up as the Number One Contender for the gold.
Cena and Ryback battled at Extreme Rules 2013 in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship. Despite a lengthy bout, the matchup went to a no contest when both men couldn't answer the 10 count. This led to a rematch being made into the 3 Stages of Hell Match at Payback.
The first fall was a Lumberjack Match, in which Ryback pulled out the win with his Shell Shock finisher. John Cena evened things up, hitting an Attitude Adjustment through the table in the second fall, which was a Tables Match.
The third and final fall was an Ambulance Match. After a grueling fight on top of the ambulance, Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment through the roof to win and retain the WWE Title.
This ranks the lowest primarily because the feud between John Cena and Ryback didn't warrant the 3 Stages of Hell Match. It also came down to lackluster choices for the stipulations of each fall. The Lumberjack and Ambulance Match are among the least desirable match types in WWE, so seeing it in the 3 Stages of Hell didn't set the world on fire. There was just a lot working against this one.
#4 Randy Orton vs. Triple H (WWE The Bash 2009)
Randy Orton won the WWE Championship at Backlash 2009 in a six-man tag team match that pitted The Legacy vs. Triple H, Shane McMahon and Batista. In that bout, Orton punted Hunter in the head to get the victory and have his former mentor stretchered out.
Triple H was out of action for a few months, but he made his return looking for revenge on the champ.
This set up Randy Orton vs. Triple H in a 3 Stages of Hell Match at WWE The Bash 2009. The history between these two men was the stuff of legend. Orton was a protege of Triple H in Evolution until he won the World Heavyweight Championship and The Game betrayed him.
In 2009, Orton took out the McMahon family before facing Triple H at WrestleMania 25 where he lost in the main event.
This was a rivalry deserving of the match type and the stipulations were also fitting. The first fall was a straight-up wrestling match where Orton was victorious due to Triple H using a steel chair on him for the disqualification.
The next fall was a Falls Count Anywhere Match, in which Triple H evened things up by using the steel chair again and gave him a Pedigree on the floor for the win.
The final fall was a Stretcher Match that would see Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase interfere, preventing Triple H from winning and allowing Orton to retain the WWE Championship.
It was a good battle, but it just didn't hit the heights of the other 3 Stages of Hell Match. Randy Orton and Triple H just always had something missing due to how many times they have faced each other.
#3 Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto)
Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano had arguably the best feud of all in WWE in 2019. The two men put on an all-time classic at NXT TakeOver: New York during WWE WrestleMania 35 weekend, where Gargano defeated Cole in a two-out-of-three falls match to finally win the NXT Championship.
Cole and Gargano followed that with another amazing bout at TakeOver: XXV where Cole defeated Gargano to win the NXT Championship. This set the stage for one final encounter for the gold at TakeOver: Toronto over the WWE Summerslam 2019 weekend.
To finally end their feud, the two men were set to battle in the 3 Stages of Hell Match for the first time in WWE since 2013.
In the first fall, Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano in a straight-up wrestling match to continue the theme of Cole being the better wrestler. The second fall was a Street Fight, in which Johnny Wrestling made Cole tap out to the Gargano Escape to even the contest at one fall a piece. The third and final fall was a Barbwire Steel Cage Match.
This was insane because of the amount of big moves both men survived. Cole hit Gargano with two Panama Sunrises, one of which was off a ladder for two nearfalls. Johnny hit an Avalanche Front Flip Piledriver on Cole for a nearfall.
Both men fought on top of the cage and fell through a table below where Cole landed on Gargano and got the pin to retain the NXT Championship.
This met the standard of past 3 Stages of Hell in WWE's past. The two competitors went to extreme lengths to live up to the expectations set by the first two tremendous encounters. While the battle wasn't quite at the level of their two previous meetings, this was a very good main event for TakeOver: Toronto.
#2 Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (WWE Armageddon 2002)
Shawn Michaels and Triple H were responsible for the formation of one of greatest factions in WWE history, D-Generation X. The two men were closer than most friends to the point of being compared to brothers.
Upon HBK's return to the WWE in 2002, The Game turned his back on his best friend and created a rivalry that would be at the center of the company for years to come.
Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H on his return at Summerslam 2002, but Hunter nailed Michaels from behind with a sledgehammer. Shawn gained vengeance by beating Triple H in the Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series 2002 to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
To try to settle things between the two bitter rivals, WWE announced a 3 Stages of Hell Match at Armageddon.
The first fall was intense as the former Kliq members met in a Street Fight. They fought in the ring and all over ringside with Triple H getting busted open. However, The Cerebral Assassin won the first fall, hitting the Pedigree.
The second fall was a steel cage match. Hunter busted Shawn open by launching him into the cage, but Michaels defeated Triple H with a splash off the cage through a table.
The third and final fall was HBK's speciality, the ladder match. Both men used the ladders as a weapon to try to destroy their enemy. Triple H got the win by pushing Michaels off the ladder, resulting in Shawn going through four stacked tables at ringside.
It was a spectacle that truly fit the animosity that had built up between the two former best friends. It was physically intense and the brutality escalated with every stage.
Shawn Michaels returned to WWE with a reignovated fire that was on full display here. However, his opponent Triple H had been in a 3 Stages of Hell that was just a bit better a year before.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H (WWE No Way Out 2001)
There has never been another feud in WWE that spanned years or had the drama of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H. In the Survivor Series 1999, Austin was scheduled for a triple threat match against WWE Champion Triple H and The Rock.
On that faithful night, Stone Cold was run down by an automobile and would be out of action for the next 10 months.
Upon his return to WWE at Unforgiven 2000, Stone Cold Steve Austin was hell bent on finding out who ran him down and took almost a year out of his career. After a lengthy investigation by Austin and Commissioner Mick Foley, it was revealed that Rikishi was behind the wheel at Survivor Series 1999. However, he wasn't the man who came up with the devious plan.
A month following the revelation, Triple H admitted to being the mastermind behind Austin being run over. This led to a showdown at Survivor Series 2000 that went to a no contest when the two men battled outside the building. Austin got a forklift and elevated Triple H in the car to flip it over.
Triple H returned and once again targeted Austin, costing him a WWE Championship Match against Kurt Angle, but Austin would get revenge by doing the same for The Game at Royal Rumble 2001.
This set the stage for the finale of this tension at No Way Out, where they faced in the first ever 3 Stages of Hell Match.
Triple H was long viewed as the best wrestler in WWE during this time, but Austin proved to be better on that night in the first fall, a straight-up wrestling bout. The next fall was a Street Fight.
The Game used his trusty sledgehammer and a Pedigree to even the matchup at one fall a piece. Everything came down to the third and final fall, which was a Steel Cage Match.
The cage match was obviously brutal and hard-hitting, with both men laying everything on the line to walk away with the win. The closing stretch saw Austin grab a 2x4 wrapped in barbwire and Triple H grab his sledgehammer. Both men swung and connected, but Triple H landed on Austin and got the pin for the win.
This was an outstanding encounter that was among the very best that the Attitude Era had to offer. It was a violent war that told a perfect story that fit their classic feud with a stellar finish.
It set the bar extremely high for 3 Stages of Hell matches that have never quite been reached again. That's why Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H is the greatest 3 Stages of Hell Match in WWE history.
