Hell in a Cellphone is a wrestling podcast hosted by three comedian friends, where longtime marks Aaron Benoit and Bobby Hankinson introduce recent convert Eric Silver to the shock and awe of the Attitude Era in WWF/WWE. From “Austin 3:16” through “Ruthless Aggression,” in each episode they’ll watch a pay-per-view and dissect the rise of some of the biggest, most charismatic wrestlers of all time, and reckon with all the baggage that came along with them. There will be romance, there will be tragedy, and you know somebody is going through the Spanish announce table!
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The WWF closes out 1998 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Undertaker and Austin try to overcome some of the shortcomings of the last buried alive match and instead manage to find some more. The Rock and Mankind fire the first salvoes in a rivalry for the ages. All that and Debra leaning into her inner stripper, everyone in the Brood vs. the J.O.B. Squad and Godfather & Val Venis vs. Mark Henry & D’Lo Brown shows their competence, Blackman and Owen Hart fail to read the crowd, and the Head ...
Happy Easter! This is the story of a man who was crucified and returned stronger than ever. And that man’s name was…Stone Cold Steve Austin. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from the following episodes of RAW from 1998: November 16, November 23, November 30, and December 7. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne
Pip pip, slags n’ tossers. It’s another bloated, glorified house show, this time from London, England. Does the status quo change at all? No. But at Vinnie Jones is there, and he’s emotional. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne
We go back and track the less than auspicious beginnings of the Hardcore Championship. Late in 1998, men started to put their bodies and careers on the line for a belt made of actual garbage. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from the following episodes of RAW from 1998: November 2, November 9, November 23, November 30, and December 21. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne...
It’s a Deadly Game from St. Louis, Missouri, and there’s a theme song to prove it. A tournament for the vacant WWF title is the story of the night. There are twists. There are turns. And it ends basically the same way as the last Survivor Series. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne
The Austin/McMahon rivalry continues with more must watch segments. Humans are hunted, sons (seemingly) turn against fathers, and revenge is enacted. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from the following episodes of RAW from 1998: October 19, October 26, November 2, and November 9. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne...
Aaron is still waiting to see if he has to be a teacher tomorrow, Eric has had his honeymoon cancelled, and Bobby is not sure what time it is anymore. Other than responsible social distancing, we didn’t have anything else to do, so we talked about WrestleMania possibilities, Smackdown from an empty arena, and an awful lot about Teen/Young Adult movies from the mid to late 90’s. Stay safe out there everyone! Deep Dive still out tomorrow! Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietn...
Greetings from Rosemont, Illinois and our least favorite pay per view to date. Enjoy Kane, the Undertaker and Steve Austin in the ring together knowing it’s all gonna end in shenanigans. At least two of the mid-card matches are fun as X-Pac fights D’Lo and Taka Michinoku takes on Christian in the latter’s debut. Other than that, Mark Mero is still around as he clashes with Al Snow, LOD 2000 vs. the Disciples of Apocalypse happens, Goldust takes on Val Venis in a battle of questionable alignments...
The Austin/McMahon rivalry has reached a fever pitch and three classic segments happen on three consecutive Monday nights. Zambonis are driven, hospitals are invaded, cars are destroyed, and everyone is entertained. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from the following episodes of RAW from 1998: September 28, October 5 and October 12. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne Recorded at More Banana...
After SummerSlam in New York City, the WWF heads to Hamilton, the third largest metropolitan area in Ontario, Canada. Stone Cold Steve Austin is forced to fight through both the Undertaker and Kane. The Rock, Mankind, and Shamrock show that “one of these things is not like the other” in a steel cage triple threat match. Jeff Jarrett finally finds a look as he and Southern Justice take on D-Generation X. It’s yet another cucking story as sad boy Dustin Runnels takes on Val Venis. D’Lo Brown takes...
In the summer of 1998, WWF put on a shoot style tough guy contest called the Brawl for All. Nobody asked for it. Nobody benefited from it. Nobody enjoyed it. But we watched it. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from every episode of RAW from June 29, 1998 through August 24, 1998. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne...
The Highway to Hell (music rights lapsed) heads to New York City for SummerSlam 1998. Who needs the ability to make new memories as Steve Austin is concussed minutes into his match with the Undertaker. And the drama is even higher as the audience wonders what Kane will do! (nothing) It doesn’t matter if Triple H wins the ladder match for the Intercontinental Title, as the audience realizes that maybe this Rocky guy doesn’t suck. All this, plus a European championship match between up and comers ...
In our first weekly episode, we dive deep into the rivalry between Val Venis and Kaientai. It’s mother of all cucked husband story lines, with more action, porn puns, racial insensitivity, katanas, deceit, blurred butts, misogyny, and liquids than you can handle. Want to get caught up? This episode deals with content from the following episodes of RAW from 1998: July 27, August 3, August 10, and August 17. CW: Discussion of marital rape Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietn...
After seeing the road to WrestleMania develop last night on the Royal Rumble, join us for a look back a this stop on the road (Highway to Hell) to SummerSlam 1998 from Fresno California. Will teaming with the Undertaker work better for Stone Cold Steve Austin than pairing with Shawn Michaels and Dude Love? No, it’ll probably be about the same. We dissent over the execution of a two out of three falls match between the Rock and Triple H. And we talk the battle of the rumpus room as we head to Can...
A star is nearly murdered repeatedly as the WWF descends on Pittsburgh, PA. In the most famous match of the night, Undertaker and Mankind battle on top of a cell and a whole lot of thumbtacks. Steve Austin and Kane fight for the WWF Championship in a first blood match, but not, like, a FIRST first blood match. The Rock and Ken Shamrock duke it out for King of the Ring honors, though their semi-final opponents leave much to be desired. Al Snow’s gimmick match is Head and Shoulders above all other...
Broken down cars set the scene for this WWF pay per view from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sunny manages to seem the coolest person out of SEVEN people as LOD 2000 takes on the Disciples of Apocalypse. It’s goodbye forever for Sable if she loses her match with noted man Marc Mero. Kaientai show some amazing tandem offense as they take on Bradshaw and Taka Michinoku. We discuss why the heel should never be selling a legitimate injury as the Rock takes on Faarooq for the Intercontinental Title. We are al...
With WrestleMania behind them, the WWF went to Greensboro, NC and brought their CliffsNotes for Dante’s Inferno. It starts out with an injured Shamrock in a six man tag, Chyna dangling from a shark cage, more NWA tag nonsense, and the LOD 2000, and THEN you have to watch a Sawyer Brown “concert.” But at least it ends with Undertaker and Kane in a ring surrounded by fire, and the first great match of an underrated rivalry in “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Dude Love. Theme song “There Are Traitors ...
The Attitude Era starts for the last time in Boston, Massachusetts. A 15 tag team battle royal ends with the a repackaged Legion of Doom from the far future of the year 2000. Taka puts in WORK against Aguila for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Sergeant Slaughter fumbles all of his jobs as he’s handcuffed to Chyna during Triple H vs. Owen Hart for the European Championship. Possibly actually mentally unstable Ken Shamrock takes on the Rock for the Intercontinental Championship. Chainsaw Charl...
The Attitude Era is here, and it has no room for award shows. We went back and handed out the awards that WWF didn’t for the year since WrestleMania 13. Come back next week for our WrestleMania XIV episode! Art by Alexis Yavne
The WWF heads to…well…Texas, in this mouthful of a name pay per view. Marc Mero shows a deeper allegiance to Marilyndust and Luna than his wife. Pantera looks like he made his costume himself 20 minutes before his light heavyweight championship match against Take Michinoku. Do not watch the Quebeccers vs. the Godwinns. Luckily, it’s followed by…oh god, Justin Bradsahw vs. Jeff Jarrett. Ahmed Johnson and the Rock are on opposite ends of the spectrum in a hodgepodge of wrestlers vs. the Nation of ...
With Mike Tyson in attendance, the road to WrestleMania XIV starts in San Jose, California. Vader takes Luna for a ride in his fight against TAFKA Goldust. The Minis put on their least interesting match to date. Criminology major the Rock puts his “planting the evidence” lessons to work against Ken Shamrock. Road Dogg’s hair extensions and Animal’s…Animal-ness play a game of who’s more crazy. The 3 faces of Foley and the breakdown of the Nation, are the big story lines in Austin’s back to back R...
Strap in for the last pay-per-view of 1997 from Springfield, Massachusettes. Taka Michinoku and “Too Sexy” Brian Christopher start off the night competently. Then the Boriquas decide to rap a new entrance theme. Marc Mero and Butterbean answer the question, “What’s more boring than boxing?” with the answer, “Fake boxing.” It’s story time from TAFKA Goldust and the estate of Theodor Seuss Geisel has not been called. Road Warrior Hawk has quite a booger on his hands. Sergeant Slaughter has lost hi...
From Montreal, it’s a pivotal moment in wrestling history preceded by a whole bunch of filler. Is there any more to say about this pay per view? Probably not. But we try for over two hours. The Godwinns and (soon to be) New Age Outlaws face the New Blackjacks and the Head Bangers and the match is over before you can figure out the allegiances. The Disciples of Apocalypse take on the Truth Commission, who has traded in the Commandant for the Jackyl. An embattled Team USA take on a Team Canada tha...
This podcast’s namesake match is the star attraction, as the WWF takes to St. Louis, Missouri, a city ripe with wrestling history. The creative team fumbles with tragedy after the same-day death of Brian Pillman and several matches are thrown together as a result. The Nation of Domination battle the Legion of Doom in a handicap match, while the Head Bangers and the Godwinns battle for who is more disgusting. The gang discusses why tournaments are good and Austin is great as the Intercontinental ...
Before Saudi Arabia, the WWF headed to Birmingham, England for a glorified house show, and it takes us a pack of spiked seltzer and several shots of vodka to get through it. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Dude Love present a by the numbers match. Tiger Ali Singh cuts a face promo that calls into question if he has any idea what a face is. Los Boriquas and the Head Bangers put together a surprisingly fun, logical match. Flash Funk and the Patriot fart. Hawk lets loose more beautiful nonsense. Vader a...
The WWF is in Louisville Kentucky for the first non numbered In Your House, and it only takes us 27 minutes to start talking about it. Proud southern traditions are on display as Brian Pillman challenges Goldust for the right to take the Bizarre One’s wife Marlena as an “assistant” for a month. Scott Putski suffers a gruesome injury and the wrath of our Polish jokes. Rocky Maivia shows signs of who he will become, while a triple threat match shows signs of flaming hot garbage. The Legion of Doom...
Governor Christine Todd Whitman welcomes you to a New Jersey parking lot beach party for SummerSlam 1997. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Mankind show new dimensions in our first steel cage match. Brian Pillman battles Goldust for his right to not wear a dress. The Godwinns face the Legion of Doom, a team of faces that unrepentantly broke an opponent’s neck. A casket full of a million dollars leads to an infamously bad segment. The British Bulldog wants to make sure it’s Ken Shamrock that eats dog fo...
A masked man has perpetrated a heinous attack on host Aaron Benoit! Can co-hosts Eric Silver and Bobby Hankinson form a tag-team to help their fallen brother? Uncover the twisted history of Hell In A Cellphone with this SPECIAL BONUS journey back in time to save Aaron's mind. Whether you're a first-time listener or a long-time mark, soak up the kayfabe and relive some our favorite moments. Theme song “There Are Traitors in Our Midst” by Disco Vietnam Art by Alexis Yavne...
The hosts dissect the Canadian Stampede pay-per-view, praising its concise 2-hour format and engaging matches like Mankind vs. Triple H and the cruiserweight showcase. They delve into Paul Bearer's shocking revelation about The Undertaker's past, analyze the dynamics of the Hart Foundation as heroes in Canada, and critique modern WWE's shift away from sustained, compelling narratives. The episode highlights the era's unique storytelling and character development.
After viewing a whole year of WWF pay per views, the boys empty their memory boxes and watch King of the Ring from Providence, Rhode Island. Goldust, who assures you he is 100% straight, takes on Crush. After a series of spellbinding interviews with Jimmy Ross, Mankind begins a stellar program with Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the finals of King of the Ring. For the first time, tag team champions face each other and it’s a hell of a lot of fun watching Stone Cold and HBK battle. And as Faarooq take...
