Hell in a Cell 2011 Hell in a Cell 2011 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , which took place on October 2 , 2011 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans , Louisiana . It was the third annual Hell in a Cell event . Like the 2009 and 2010 events , this event was also feature the Hell in a Cell match . Background . Hell in a Cell featured professional wrestling matches which involve different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines that are played out on WWE ' s television programs . Wrestlers will portray villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches . The main rivalry from Raw involves the WWE Championship . On September 18 , 2011 , John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio at Night of Champions to become the ten - time WWE Champion . On the following night ' s episode of " Raw " , WWE COO Triple H announced the first - ever Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match , in which Cena will defend his title against Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk . The main rivalry from SmackDown involves the World Heavyweight Championship . On September 18 , 2011 , Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton at Night of Champions to win his first ever World Title . On the following night ' s episode of " Raw " , SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced that Orton would invoke his rematch clause at Hell in a Cell , and that the rematch would take place inside the said structure . Reception . The Sun Reviewed the events as follows : The Mexican claimed his second belt in a three - way match inside the cell structure against John Cena and CM Punk . Del Rio prevailed in the main event after interference from his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez ended up with Cena trapped outside the cell . Alberto used a steel pipe on Punk , knocking him out and drawing the three count . However , the real action came after the match ended . At the start of the night The Miz & R - Truth , fired by Triple H according to storyline , appeared in the crowd , but were ejected by John Laurinaitis . Later , a commotion backstage revealed that Miz & Truth had attacked Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston . At the conclusion of the match the Cell lifted into the air , and John Cena rushed into the ring to attack Del Rio . The Cell dropped again , though , and Miz & Truth emerged from beneath the ring to attack all participants and referees inside the cell . Triple H & Laurinaitis ran to the ring to attempt to remove Miz & Truth from the scene , but could not penetrate the cell . Almost the entire locker room as well as policemen joined the siege , and eventually the door was breached . Miz & Truth immediately surrendered to police , although Triple H got a few shots in on them before being dragged away himself . The match itself had been a decent yet unspectacular affair , but the post - match was definitely eye - catching and unique . The only other match inside the Cell saw Mark Henry retain the World Championship against Randy Orton . Henry won cleanly , kicking out of Orton ' s much vaunted RKO finishing move , but there was again a post script . Henry attempted to inflict some extracurricular punishment but Randy fought back , indicating we may not have seen the last of this feud . The show began with a very serviceable Sheamus v Christian bout which contained no surnames but plenty of action . The Irishman prevailed , and is another possible challenger to Henry should WWE choose that direction . A Sin Cara v Sin Cara battle drew very little from the live crowd , who were somewhat subdued all evening , but it was a decent match , offering a refreshingly different style of wrestling . The ' original ' Sin Cara prevailed over the dark imposter . Bourne & Kingston — Air Boom — got their hands raised in a tag title defence against Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler in an unannounced bout . In another surprise title match , Cody Rhodes fended off the challenge of John Morrison . Rhodes brought back the classic design of the Intercontinental title belt in a move sure to pop longstanding fans . There was one other title change , though , as Beth Phoenix finally got the better of Kelly Kelly to get her hands on the Divas Title . It was an odd show in the sense that there were no bad matches on the show , yet nothing really raised its head above the parapet as being exceptional , or worthy of having paid PPV money for . As many correspondents noted on Twitter at the conclusion of the show , rather than a PPV this felt like a three - hour episode of Raw — albeit a very good episode of Raw . For giving us close to three hours of decent entertainment — but leaving us with no sense of value for money satisfaction — we award WWE Hell in a Cell a rating of 6 out of 10 .