[2][3][4] Announced on August 22, 2016, the 2016 event was the eighth Hell in a Cell and was held on October 30 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

[8] At Clash of Champions, Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley to retain the Raw Women's Championship.

This was later confirmed by Raw General Manager Mick Foley, making this the first women's Hell in a Cell match.

[10] At Clash of Champions, Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Universal Championship, largely due to interference from Chris Jericho.

[12] Dana Brooke defeated Bayley on the October 17 episode of Raw[14] and attacked her the following week during an arm wrestling contest.

[12] At Clash of Champions, the final match of the Best of Seven Series for a title opportunity between Cesaro and Sheamus ended in a no contest.

[13] Cesaro and Sheamus continued to argue with each other over the following weeks, but on the October 10 episode, they were given a title match against New Day at Hell in a Cell.

[12] On the October 10 episode of Raw, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacked Enzo Amore and Big Cass.

[17] On October 26, a cruiserweight division match pitting Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara against Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Ariya Daivari was scheduled for the Hell in a Cell Kickoff pre-show.

[18] During the Hell in a Cell Kickoff pre-show, cruiserweights Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara faced Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Ariya Daivari.

[19] The actual pay-per-view opened with Roman Reigns defending the United States Championship against Rusev (accompanied by Lana) in a Hell in a Cell match.

[20] After that, The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods, accompanied by Kofi Kingston) defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus.

Banks then paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero by executing the Three Amigos and a Frog Splash on Charlotte for a nearfall.

Banks then positioned the table on the opposite side of the ring and attempted a Powerbomb on Charlotte through it, but her back gave out.

Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report praised the Raw Women's Championship match, giving it a grade of A++, the highest rated match of the event, stating that Sasha Banks and Charlotte's showdown "was everything it needed to be and more", they "proved that they and their peers belong in that sadistic contest", and "made it clear that WWE made the right move in making them the pay-per-view's main event".

He also said that the match was "savage, dramatic and breathtaking", Banks and Charlotte "exceeded" the "impossibly high" expectations for the match, the bout was bolstered by "world-class heel work from Charlotte" and "the amount of pathos Banks generated by fighting from underneath, refusing to quit, even when her back threatened to", and concluded by saying that "Banks and Charlotte made it clear that women are more than welcome inside Hell in a Cell and that the women's revolution isn't just a tagline.

He also mentioned that "Rollins and Owens helped erase memories of an uneven, underwhelming feud here", and concluded by stating that "WWE Creative has to keep up the momentum, figuring out better ways to tell each man's story going forward".

[21] Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch gave the United States Championship match 3.25 stars, stating that it was "methodical, but brutal, and well paced for its place on the card", and that Roman Reigns' "over reliance on punches and clotheslines continues to be a drawback in any of his matches".

Keller gave the main event match 3.75 stars, stating that "the crowd reacted to the finish like they weren't expecting that to be it", but he congratulated Sasha Banks and Charlotte "for putting on a very good Hell in a Cell match without going as overboard as I expected with bit spots from high places on the Cell".

He said that "the teaser at the beginning was well done and probably had some skeptics believing that Sasha was too hurt to continue", and concluded by stating that "Charlotte winning with her finisher helps get her finisher over which was worth it compared to doing some sort of big spot, even though I think the fans expected some sort of bigger spot".

[23] Earlier in October before Hell in a Cell, SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and general manager Daniel Bryan challenged Raw to three traditional Survivor Series elimination matches – involving each brand's best five male wrestlers, best five female wrestlers, and best five tag teams, respectively,[24][25] to which Stephanie McMahon accepted.

SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler made an open challenge to any wrestler on Raw to face him for the title at Survivor Series.

[29] After Survivor Series, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins would continue their rivalry over the WWE Universal Championship.

On the November 21 episode of Raw, they battled for the title in a No Disqualification match, with Roman Reigns and Chris Jericho banned from ringside.

[30] On the December 5 episode, Cesaro and Sheamus took on Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to determine the number one contenders, but the match ended in a no-contest after interference from The New Day.