WWE Hell in a Cell 2016: Best Moments from Buildup to PPV Event

WWE Hell in a Cell will be live from TD Garden in Boston on Sunday, and the show comes on the heels of several outstanding, entertaining and enthralling moments that have helped bring together the stars of Raw for the annual spectacular.

From championship victories to vicious beatdowns and history-making announcements to old-school booking, the moments that have laid the groundwork for Sunday's event have come during some of the best episodes of the flagship show WWE has produced all year.

As you prepare to watch Hell in a Cell greet Roman Reigns, Rusev, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens with pain and suffering as they chase championship glory, relive the events that brought those six Superstars together for the most vile, vicious, violent and potentially haunting show of the year.

Cesaro and Sheamus...Tag Team Partners? (September 26)

Cesaro and Sheamus waged war in a series of seven matches, beating and brutalizing each other in some seriously intense, physical bouts that served as a constant reminder of the toughness of both men. Yet despite the effort put in by both competitors, no definitive winner was ever determined thanks to a screwy finish at Clash of Champions, leaving their differences unresolved.

Just 24 hours after their final battle, Raw GM Mick Foley made them an offer: Both men could earn a championship opportunity by becoming partners and challenging The New Day for the Raw Tag Team Championships.

With that, the "tag team partners who hate each other" formula returned to WWE television, and though a tired cliche, the promise of above-average work with Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E made the announcement tolerable.

Roman Reigns Makes a Hellish Challenge (October 3)

The rivalry between Roman Reigns and Rusev has been one of the more underrated and underappreciated in all of wrestling in 2016. The two Superstars have produced some intense battles, each escalating the rivalry that much more.

On the October 3 episode of Raw, Reigns left Rusev lying at the top of the entrance ramp following a wild and chaotic brawl, then proceeded to challenge The Bulgarian Brute to one last war...inside Hell in a Cell.

While it may be the third-most anticipated match on Sunday's card, the bout is the only one of the three Hell in a Cell matches that feels like one that deserves the gimmick. It will be interesting to see whether the two can finally deliver that one performance that defines their program.

Seth Rollins Confronts Stephanie McMahon (October 3)

Seth Rollins has been one of the most interesting characters on Raw for the month preceding Hell in a Cell, primarily for the wrong reasons. A lead babyface who feels wholly undefined and almost too much like a heel, he has yet to give fans a reason to genuinely care about him.

That changed, for a fleeting moment, on the October 3 episode of Raw when he confronted commissioner Stephanie McMahon backstage and vowed to make life a living hell for The Authority when he wins the WWE Universal Championship.

After discussing the betrayal he endured at the hands of Triple H, The Architect went on the offensive for the first time, asserting himself as a potentially rebellious babyface champion. It was a moment that needed to happen, one that suggested the best story to come out of his turn would be a feud with wrestling's most powerful couple.

Unfortunately, WWE Creative failed to follow up on it, and the result is a Superstar in desperate need of a show-stealing performance to generate a little momentum for himself.

The New Day Interrupts Jeri-KO (October 3)

While Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens may have no issues with The New Day leading into Hell in a Cell, that does not mean their verbal exchange from the October 3 episode of Raw was not one of the best, most entertaining and hilarious moments on the road to the pay-per-view extravaganza.

The teams took turns verbally sparring, poking fun at each other with some serious burns before a match was booked for later in the show.

Lighthearted, the segment provided fans with a look at the comedic side of Owens, put the spotlight on the enthralling Jericho persona and allowed New Day to rediscover its creativity after weeks of going through the motions.

Bayley Takes Out Dana Brooke (October 3)

The October 3 episode of Raw may have been headlined by Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Raw Women's Championship, but the events that unfolded before the historic bout laid the foundation for another female-centered rivalry.

Vowing to have Banks' back, Bayley confronted Dana Brooke before the main event.

The result?

She left the mouthy heel lying, unable to interfere on behalf of Charlotte later in the night and ensuring that The Boss would have a fair, one-on-one opportunity to challenge for the gold.

Little did Bayley know, though, her actions would lead to a frustrating rivalry that saw her arm injured, her win-loss record tarnished and a date with Brooke booked for Hell in a Cell.

Sasha Banks Wins the Raw Women's Championship for a 2nd Time (October 3)

When Sasha Banks dropped the Raw Women's Championship to Charlotte at SummerSlam, just two weeks after winning it, many were disappointed by WWE's decision. The Boss, after all, was the most over woman in the industry and deserving of a much longer and higher-quality reign than she had been allowed.

Looking to make up for their mistake, WWE not only booked Banks' second championship victory but did so in the main event of flagship show Raw.

For the first time since Trish Stratus and Lita captivated audiences with their historic rivalry in the headline position, two women had the opportunity to prove their worth in front of millions of wrestling fans ready and willing to accept them in that position.

Banks won the gold in a superb wrestling match that not only produced the happy ending that fans sought but laid the groundwork for one last showdown inside Hell in a Cell.

Raw Is Strong Women (October 10)

The October 10 episode of Raw saw new women's champion Sasha Banks kick off the proceedings, only to be interrupted by Rusev and Lana, both of whom denounced the so-called Women's Revolution that had overtaken pro wrestling.

Charlotte would have none of it, interestingly enough joining Banks in a verbal spar with The Ravishing Russian and Bulgarian Brute.

Both the champion and the No. 1 contender took turns ripping the microphone out of the hand of Rusev, proving that women were independent, strong and not intimidated by their male counterparts.

It set the tone for the month of television that WWE Raw would produce. No longer were women a sideshow for the men, a bathroom break for fans. They were an integral part of the program and deserved every opportunity to shine in a high-profile segment.

If it meant booking Banks and Charlotte to physically grab the microphone from a dominant man such as Rusev to prove it, so be it.

Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks vs. Rusev and Charlotte (October 10)

The direct result of the segment in which Sasha Banks and Charlotte proved that women could be badass, unafraid of brute force, was a mixed tag team match that pitted The Boss and United States champion Roman Reigns against Charlotte and Rusev, who exhibited no fondness or affection for each other.

Reigns blasted Rusev, allowing Banks to trap her rival in The Bank Statement and score the win, earning a big pop for the babyfaces.

The match, while nothing special from a quality standpoint, put the women on even footing with a star of the stature of Reigns. It also proved WWE's dedication to presenting both Banks and Charlotte in a light that suggested they were as integral to the success of Raw as Reigns, Rusev, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are.

Above all else, it provided fans with a rare match type that helped freshen up a three-hour show that often flirts with staleness.

Bayley and Dana Brooke...Arm Wrestling? (October 24)

There was something delightfully simply about the old-school arm wrestling match that went down on the October 24 episode of Raw between Bayley and Dana Brooke.

Brooke was at her best as the braggadocios and arrogant villain while Bayley was the sympathetic heel, her shoulder damaged by previous assaults. Still, she met her rival in the center of the ring, determined to gain a measure of revenge for sneak attacks and tough losses that left her shaken.

While she was unable to match strength with Brooke, she did get the last laugh, overcoming further pain and punishment to her injured limb to put the cocky villain down with a Bayley-to-Belly and stand tall heading into Hell in a Cell, where she will do battle with her antagonist.

Kevin Owens Snaps (October 24)

For weeks, Kevin Owens was an afterthought on the show he championed. Overshadowed by Chris Jericho, outshone by the women who represented Raw, he was arguably the fourth- or fifth-most important element of any given Monday night.

After a loss to Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match also involving Jericho, Owens snapped, attacking The Architect and letting it be known to the entire wrestling world that he is still the kingpin of the red brand.

Owens desperately needed to rediscover his fury, his anger and his edge ahead of Hell in a Cell or risk becoming a champion whose run at the top of the industry was defined by illogical booking choices rather than anything he accomplished between the ropes or on the mic.

Now he is poised to enter the most dangerous steel structure in the sport and unleash his brand of violence on Rollins.