Hell in a Cell 2013 Hell in a Cell 2013 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by WWE that took place on October 27 , 2013 . It was held at the American Airlines Arena in Miami , Florida . It was the fifth annual Hell in a Cell event . Background . Hell in a Cell featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing feuds , plots , and storylines that played out on WWE ' s primary television programs . Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches . The main feud heading into Hell in a Cell is between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton over the vacant WWE Championship . After defeating John Cena to win the WWE title at SummerSlam in August , Bryan was betrayed by the special referee of that match , Triple H , which allowed Orton to cash - in his Money in the Bank contract and win the championship . In their rematch at Night of Champions in September , Bryan defeated Orton to win back the title , albeit with the referee Scott Armstrong deciding the pinfall with a very fast count . This controversial ending to the match resulted in Armstrong ' s ( kayfabe ) firing and Bryan being stripped from the WWE Championship by Triple H the next night on Raw . Bryan and Orton ' s next scheduled encounter for the now - vacant title on pay - per - view at Battleground on October 6 ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and attacked both wrestlers and the referees , including a returning Scott Armstrong . With still no WWE Champion yet , on the October 7 edition of Raw , general manager Brad Maddox announced that Bryan and Orton will again compete against each other for the vacant WWE title at the Hell in a Cell event , this time in a Hell in a Cell match and with a special referee for the audience to choose from amongst WWE Hall of Fame rs Booker T , Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels ; Michaels won the vote . After defeating Rob Van Dam in a Hardcore Rules match at Battleground to retain the World Heavyweight Championship , Alberto Del Rio tried to coerce SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero on the October 7 edition of Raw to formally announce him as the " face of the WWE " , making his case saying he was the only World Champion in the company at the moment ( the WWE Championship being vacant ) and without any new challenger in sight . Later in the evening , during his match with his formal personal ring announcer , Ricardo Rodriguez , Vickie announced that Del Rio will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against a returning John Cena , who has been out of action since SummerSlam due to an elbow injury , at Hell in a Cell . Another major feud playing out in the WWE pits CM Punk against Paul Heyman and his wrestler clients , whom he dubs " Paul Heyman guys " . At the Money in the Bank pay - per - view in July , while still posing as his supporter , Heyman betrayed Punk and cost him the Money in the Bank ladder match for a future WWE Championship match . This started a rivalry that soon brought Heyman ' s client , Brock Lesnar , into the fray , leading to a No Disqualification match between Lesnar and Punk at SummerSlam , which the former won with Heyman ' s help . At Night of Champions the next month , in a 2 - on - 1 handicap elimination No Disqualification match , Punk eliminated Curtis Axel ( another Heyman client ) , before beating down Heyman himself . However , Ryback interfered in the match and put Punk through a table , allowing Heyman to pin him and win the match . As the newest " Paul Heyman guy " , Ryback faced Punk at Battleground , but lost the match , when Punk pinned him after hitting a low blow behind the referee ' s back . This loss irked both Heyman and Ryback , and it was officially announced on WWE . com on October 9 , that Punk will face off against Ryback in a rematch at Hell in a Cell . On the October 14th episode of Raw , Heyman attempted to convince Maddox to turn the encounter into a 2 - on - 1 handicap match , with Axel teaming with Ryback . Instead , Maddox set up a " beat the clock " contest in two matches featuring Punk and Ryback individually , with the wrestler to win his match in shorter time than the other to pick the stipulation for their match at Hell in a Cell . Though Ryback defeated R - Truth in a time of 5 : 44 , Punk defeated Axel with 11 seconds to spare , thus " beating the clock " . As result of this victory , Punk himself added Heyman to the match as Ryback ' s partner , additionally making it a Hell in a Cell match , at the Hell in a Cell pay - per - view . At Night of Champions , AJ Lee defeated Brie Bella , Natalya and Naomi to retain her WWE Divas Championship when she made Natalya submit . At WWE Battleground , Brie Bella received a rematch against AJ Lee , but lost when Tamina Snuka attacked Brie ' s sister Nikki , causing a distraction for AJ to win the match . On the October 18 episode of " SmackDown " , Brie defeated AJ in a non - title match . The following week , on the October 21 episode of " Raw " , Brie pinned Lee during a tag team match and earned another opportunity for the Divas Championship . On the October 14th edition of Raw , Cody Rhodes and Goldust defeated Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield to win the WWE Tag Team Championship . The next week , Rollins and Reigns fought The Usos ( the previous number one contenders ) for sole contendership , which ended in a no contest due to Rhodes and Goldust ( who was on commentary during this match ) attacking a taunting Dean Ambrose . All three teams were inserted , making it a triple threat match , by Triple H . Another match confirmed for the event features Los Matadores ( Diego and Fernando ) taking on The Real Americans ( Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro ) . On the October 21 edition of " Raw " , Big E . Langston pinned Curtis Axel in a tag team match . Langston was then granted a shot at Axel ' s WWE Intercontinental Championship on the " Hell in a Cell Kickoff " . On October 27 , the match was cancelled due to Axel suffering a hip injury . A replacement " Kickoff " match was announced the same day : Kofi Kingston against Mr . Money in the Bank , Damien Sandow .