10 Greatest ringside beatdowns in WWE's recent history

Seth Rollins Curb Stomps Dean Ambrose

No one likes getting beaten up. Not even the WWE Superstars. Still, it is what they get paid for. Thus, Beatdowns are no rarity in the WWE. It is one of the easiest ways to build heat for a heel and if pulled off right, it could do wonders. The most general beatdowns happen inside the ring. But the ones that happen outside the ring is always better.

Superstars will be without the protecting mats of the ring when they are outside. This adds more reality to the whole angle and makes the selling process easier. Throughout WWE’s history, there have been a lot of beat downs outside the ring. This list takes a look at some of the best ones from the archives.

Ryback and Shield’s love story

Ryback and Shield have a love story better than Twilight. The Trio used to power bomb the oxygen out of Ryback every time they crossed path. And the funny part is, Shield made their debut doing the same.

Their first main roster appearance happened back in 2012 Survivor Series. Ryback, John Cena, and CM Punk were having a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship and suddenly Shield poked up.

The unknown guys from NXT came in and triple power bombed Ryback. The announce table added effect to the whole thing. It was a loud way to make your entry into the main roster and Shield never looked back. Although it happened a lot of times, the first time is always the charm.

Batista has something for Edge

Before Batista turned into Bootista after his second run, no one can ignore that he was one of the biggest names that came out of the RA era. He was involved in some of the most memorable bouts and had his moments.

One of those was the ringside beat down of Edge. In 2008, Edge, with the help of his La Familia robbed the title from Batista. Next night, Batista showed up on Raw and made an example out of Edge. The dominance of the Animal was there to be seen in full force.

Even though Edge tried everything he could run away, Batista never allowed. The announce table and the barricades were put to good use by the Animal. He concluded things inside the ring but what happened outside was memorable.

Big Show breaks Rey Mysterio in Half

Big Show is nothing more than a joke these days but back in 2003, it was a different story. The 2003 Backlash pay-per-view saw Big Show face off against Rey Mysterio. What happened in the match had nothing special. The post-match angle, however, was memorable. After the brutal beating of Show, Rey was strapped to a stretcher.

The referees were slowly taking him out of the ring, but Show came back. The frustrated Show took the stretcher and swung it at the ring post. And he did it while Rey was still strapped to that stretcher. It looked realistic and brutal at the same time, earning more heat for Show.

Big Show receives from Lesnar

If you thought Big Show is only capable of producing an attack, think again. The Show has been the victim on various occasions. The best destruction of Big Show happened at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Lesnar and Show had a hot feud back in Lesnar’s first run. At an episode of SmackDown, Show made a mistake of coming down to the ring after a Lesnar match.

Lesnar showed no mercy. First, he laid out the Big show with the help of Steels steps. Later, he took out a chair and busted Show open. The sound of the chair shots surrounded the entire arena. The blood, meanwhile, added the much-needed drama.

Lesnar assaults CM Punk

Lesnar has so many ringside attacks, that we could make a new list of it. This entry comes from his feud with CM Punk. It was an epic feud while it lasted and to show Lesnar’s dominance, WWE sacrificed CM Punk. It all started with a cheap shot from Paul Heyman which knocked outs

Lesnar then took over from his manager and destroyed Punk in the ringside. Punk struggled to put in an offense against the beast. At the end of the day, like most of the cases, Lesnar stood tall beside Paul Heyman. CM Punk, on the other hand, raised his baby face stock.

Stone Cold teaches Lesnar a lesson

The WWE fans are excited about seeing a possible match between Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. The match has a lot of potential due to the history that these two have. It was Vince McMahon’s idea of Austin losing to Lesnar that drove Austin away in 2002.

But the reason for their inclusion in the list is something different. The incident happened back when WWE’s brand split was still high. Austin was in Raw and Lesnar was in SmackDown. So a lot of people were surprised to see Austin come down in SmackDown and teach Lesnar a lesson.

Keeping the backstory apart, Austin came down, busted Lesnar open and made Lesnar run away, simple as that.

Never speak when Triple H is speaking

Respect is one of the most important factors in the wrestling business. WWE put this fact into good use back in 2011. Triple H was delivering a promo against Undertaker ahead of their WrestleMania clash. Once Triple H was at the end, Ted DiBiase Jr. came down. He had no business there, but he still came down to the ring and barked at Hunter.

Triple H wanted to send a message to Taker and did just that. He destroyed DiBiase outside the ring. And to cap things off, Hunter delivered a pedigree on top of the Announce table. So there is a lesson for all the aspiring wrestlers out there.

Nexus Debut

Just like Shield, Nexus also had a grand entry to the main event scene. The seven rookies came down during a match between CM Punk and John Cena. At first, everyone expected them to be laid out by the main eventers. But what actually happened went down in history as a great angle.

Nexus not only destroyed Cena, they destroyed everything in their path. This included the ring mats, the paddings outside rings, announcers, and even Justin Roberts. Cena got all the beating inside the ring, but what happened outside it also stood out.

Daniel Bryan was fired for his antics against Justin Roberts. The mess that Nexus made will always be in the books as a top ringside beat down.

Authority piles up the heat

The battle between Authority and Daniel Bryan was the best feud heading into WrestleMania 30. There were a lot of brilliant angles that helped in building up the match. The beatdown of Daniel Bryan was probably one of the best. Hunter and Stephanie first handcuffed the Flying goat. What followed was a brutal attack against Bryan.

Hunter used everything he had to inflict pain. Stephanie added her share as well with slaps. In the end, Bryan became more over with the fans while The Authority got more heat. It was one of the best angles of 2014. And The WWE creative deserve some credit for the same.

Dean Ambrose kisses Cinder Blocks

The brilliance of Seth Rollins as a heel might not be a talking point now. But back when he did not have the WWE championship around his waist, Rollins was gold. One beat down in particular that stands out is the cinder block angle with Dean Ambrose.

In a 2014 Episode of Raw, Rollins and his Authority companions managed to lay out Ambrose near the announcing table. Rollins soon revealed the cinder blocks placed there.

Then he did something that belonged to Attitude Era. He curb stomped Ambrose into the blocks and took out the Lunatic Fringe out of action. Rollins received immense heat for the move. WWE, however, wasted the heel momentum as when he finally became champion.