Hell in a Cell 2012 Hell in a Cell 2012 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , which took place on October 28 , 2012 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta , Georgia . It was the fourth annual Hell in a Cell event . The event was sponsored by WWE ' 13 . 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 lead up to the event will feature a tag team tournament to decide the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship . The main feud from Raw involves CM Punk defending his WWE Championship against Ryback , contested inside Hell in a Cell . At Night of Champions the previous month , CM Punk and John Cena fought each other to a draw when Cena left his shoulders down while pinning Punk , making it a double pin . Following this , he continuously challenged Punk to a rematch , even while recovering from an arm surgery earlier in the month ; Punk refused to accept . All the while , Ryback , who is still on an undefeated streak since arriving in WWE , has shown interest in fighting Punk through repeatedly attempting to attack Punk , who usually escapes . This culminated on an episode of Raw where WWE Chairman Vince McMahon arrived and forced Punk to choose whether he wanted to face John Cena or Ryback . However , when Punk started teasing everyone about who he wanted to face , McMahon came out and said his time was up and he would make the decision , later revealing during a contract signing that Punk would face Ryback . The Divas feud heading into Hell In A Cell was between Eve Torres , Layla , and Kaitlyn over the WWE Divas Championship . At Night of Champions , Kaitlyn was originally scheduled to compete against Layla for the Divas Championship , but she was attacked backstage and replaced by Eve , who went on to win the title . After Eve successfully defended her title against Kaitlyn and Layla in back to back weeks on " Raw " , it was revealed on the October 22 edition of the program that Aksana attacked Kaitlyn under Eve ' s orders . On the October 26 edition of " SmackDown " , Aksana confessed to attacking Kaitlyn , and SmackDown General Manager Booker T announced that Eve would defend her Divas Championship against Layla and Kaitlyn in a Triple Threat Match at Hell In A Cell . Event . The first match of the night was between Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio . Orton won the match after he reversed an enzuigiri kick into an RKO . The second match saw Rhodes Scholars ( Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes ) take on Team Hell No ( Kane and Daniel Bryan ) for the WWE Tag Team Championship . Rhodes and Sandow earned their title opportunity after winning a number one contenders ' tag - team tournament . After a long period of being isolated , Daniel Bryan was able to tag in Kane , who built momentum and looked to be setting up for a chokeslam on Rhodes . However , Bryan tagged himself into the match and delivered a diving headbutt from the top rope , covering Rhodes . Kane , upset about being tagged out of the match , broke up the cover and proceeded to argue with Bryan . The action spilled outside the ring , where Bryan accidentally hit Kane with a running knee after Sandow and Rhodes had taken him out with baseball slides . This distraction allowed Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes on Bryan once he re - entered the ring . An infuriated Kane entered the ring and broke up the pin , and continued to attack both Rhodes and Sandow despite not being the legal man , which forced a disqualification . Bryan and Kane retained the championships as a result , and continued to argue with each other after the match . The next match was between Kofi Kingston and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship . Miz targeted the leg of Kingston during the match , removing Kingston ' s knee padding and applying a boston crab . However , Kofi was able to escape the hold and hit Trouble In Paradise for the victory . After the match , Kingston thanked Miz for bringing out an extra determination in his character . The fourth match saw Justin Gabriel take on Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship . Cesaro won the match after he connected with an uppercut on Gabriel , who was attempting a Suicide Dive out of the ring , and then hit the Neutralizer . The fifth match was between the team of Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara and the Prime Time Players . Mysterio and Cara picked up the victory when Mysterio hit a 619 and body splash on Darren Young after Sin Cara had taken out Titus O ' Neil outside the ring with a splash from the top rope . The sixth match was the World Heavyweight Championship match between Sheamus and the Big Show . This match was billed as the first meeting between the two , and the build - up had centered around which was the stronger maneuver , Sheamus ' Brogue Kick or Big Show ' s WMD ( Knockout Punch ) . The majority of the match was dominated by Big Show , who used his superior size and strength to manhandle Sheamus . However , Sheamus was resilient and continued to kick out of numerous moves including a chokeslam . Sheamus was able to hit White Noise on Big Show , however Show responded by delivering a WMD , and Sheamus became the first person to kick out of the knockout punch . Sheamus then recovered and hit Big Show with a Brogue Kick , and Show in turn became the first person to kick out of that maneuver . Sheamus set up for a second Brogue Kick , but Big Show was able to avoid the kick and hit a second WMD to secure the pinfall victory , winning the WWE ' s World Heavyweight Championship for the second time . The next match was a Divas Championship triple - threat match between Eve Torres , Layla and Kaitlyn . The match came about after Eve had arranged for Kaitlyn to be attacked backstage and subsequently won the Divas Championship at Night of Champions . Eve won the match and retained the championship after Kaitlyn hit a running powerslam on Layla , only for Eve to land a senton bomb on both Divas and pin Layla for the victory . The main event was the Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship between Ryback and CM Punk . The match started with Ryback getting the better of the early exchanges , only for Paul Heyman to provide a distraction outside the cell , allowing Punk to spray Ryback with a fire extinguisher and attack him with a steel chair . Ryback countered however with a big boot , and then threw Punk into the cell wall . Punk was able to gain the upper hand when he threw Ryback into the ring steps and then attacked him with a Kendo stick , however Ryback was unfazed by the attack and hit Punk with a Meathook Clothesline . Ryback set Punk up for his signature maneuver , Shellshocked , however the match referee Brad Maddox inexplicably stopped Ryback from executing the maneuver and hit him with a low - blow . This allowed Punk to perform a roll - up , and Maddox lent weight and performed a fast three - count to allow Punk to retain the title and hand Ryback his first defeat in WWE . After the match , Maddox attempted to escape from the locked cell but was unable to do so before being brutally attacked by Ryback . Ryback then turned his attention to Punk , who was exiting the now - opened cell . After chasing off Heyman , Ryback went after Punk who tried to escape by climbing to the top of the cell . Ryback followed him and executed Shellshocked on top of the cell as retribution for his defeat . Aftermath . Maddox explained on Raw that he had intentionally cost Ryback the match as a way of making a name for himself and ' becoming famous ' after he had been told that he would never achieve his initial dream of becoming a WWE Superstar . Maddox then demanded a WWE contract and a match with Ryback ; Mr . McMahon sarcastically replied that Maddox would be given a ' million dollar contract ' if he was able to beat Ryback . The match took place the following week , with Maddox being defeated in a squash match and leaving the arena in an ambulance . Ryback then continued his feud with CM Punk , and went on to challenge for the title once again at Survivor Series . It was later revealed on an episode of Raw that Paul Heyman had paid Brad Maddox to make an interference in the match and help CM Punk retain the title . The rivalry between Eve Torres and Kaitlyn continued on ; with Kaitlyn earning another shot at the Divas Championship after defeating Layla in a # 1 Contender ' s Match . At Survivor Series , the evil Aksana again attacked Kaitlyn before she went out to face Eve , but Kaitlyn fought her off . However , Eve defeated Kaitlyn to retain the title .