In the main event, Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match to win the WWE Championship for a tenth time, thus tying with Triple H for the second-most world title reigns overall at 14.

For the other Hell in a Cell matches, Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso to retain the Universal Championship in the opening bout, which was also the first time an "I Quit" match was contested inside the structure, while Sasha Banks defeated Bayley to win the SmackDown Women's Championship, thus ending Bayley's record-setting title reign at 380 days.

The event was praised by critics for its three different Hell in a Cell championship matches, the Universal and SmackDown Women's bouts receiving the most acclaim.

Hell in a Cell was an annual professional wrestling event produced by WWE since 2009, generally held in October.

[1][2][3] Announced on September 1, 2020, the 2020 event was the 12th Hell in a Cell and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.

[4] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that began affecting the industry in mid-March, WWE had to present the majority of its programming from a behind closed doors set.

Initially, Raw and SmackDown's television shows and PPVs were done at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

[5] A limited number of Performance Center trainees and friends and family members of the wrestlers were later utilized to serve as the live audience.

The select live audience was no longer utilized as the bubble allowed fans to attend the events virtually for free and be seen on the nearly 1,000 LED boards within the arena.

Additionally, the ThunderDome utilized various special effects to further enhance wrestlers' entrances, and arena audio was mixed with that of the chants from the virtual fans.

[8][9] According to WrestleVotes, the 2020 Hell in a Cell event was planned to be held at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 18.

This date change was reportedly done as WWE's initial residency contract with the Amway Center expired on October 31.

[22] Orton earned himself a rematch for the title at Clash of Champions, where McIntyre retained once more and this time in an ambulance match.

In a backstage segment, Banks challenged Bayley to another championship match at Hell in a Cell inside the eponymous structure,[20] which was confirmed the next day.

During a segment on the May 29 episode of SmackDown, Sheamus framed Hardy, who was arrested after allegedly crashing his car into Elias while under the influence.

Otis, backed up by his fellow Heavy Machinery tag team partner Tucker, stated he would not forfeit the contract.

[20][32] Despite being drafted to separate brands, the trial over the Money in the Bank contract commenced on the October 23 episode of SmackDown with WWE legend John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) serving as judge.

[37] The actual pay-per-view opened with Roman Reigns (accompanied by Paul Heyman) defending the Universal Championship against his cousin, Jey Uso, in an "I Quit" match inside the Hell in a Cell structure.

Tucker then appeared and was interviewed about his actions where he stated that despite being the workhorse of Heavy Machinery, he was always overlooked as Otis stole the spotlight.

MVP also declared that there would be no cornermen in the match, barring himself, Cedric Alexander, and Shelton Benjamin from Lashley's corner and the other members of Retribution from Slapjack's.

[38] In the main event, Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.

[39] Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report gave the Universal Championship match a grade of A+, the highest of the event, stating that all that mattered was "the story being told between the two individuals in the ring".

It may not have been the best Hell in a Cell match, "but it may have been the best story told inside it", and Beaston concluded by stating that "the physicality was just as important as the tale".

Although it was the weakest of the three Hell in a Cell matches, it was "good on its own terms", and that "Orton winning means this feud might continue for another month, but McIntyre was better when he was chasing the title, so it might not be so bad if they have one more showdown".

[40] Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch gave the Universal Championship match 4.25 stars, calling it "really dramatic and well performed".

[42] On the following night's episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre opened the show, stating that he would regain the WWE Championship again.

[44] Also on the following Raw, The Hurt Business (MVP, United States Champion Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander) faced Retribution (Mustafa Ali, Slapjack, T-Bar, and Mace) in an eight-man tag team elimination match.

[45] Universal Champion Roman Reigns (accompanied by Paul Heyman) opened the following episode of SmackDown, alongside Jey Uso.

Later that night, Jey faced Daniel Bryan in a Survivor Series qualifier match for Team SmackDown.

[46] Over two and a half years following this, The Usos reignited their feud with Reigns; they pinned him in a Bloodline Civil War tag team match at Money in the Bank in July 2023.