10 Greatest Announce Table Spots In WWE History

Why would anyone want to be a WWE announcer?

Not only did Vince McMahon constantly yell in your ear but there was a very real risk that your workspace could be destroyed by a bunch of rampaging wrestlers. One of those things is no longer an issue but tables collapsing all around you remains an ever-present danger, particularly when pay-per-views roll around.

In the long history of muscular dudes and dudettes getting chucked through a desk made out of exploding cardboard, a few instances stand out above the rest.

These are the 10 greatest announce table spots in WWE history.

10. Bret Hart's Mould Breaker - Survivor Series 1995

Bret Hart was an innovator in many ways during his career, helping to bring technical wrestling to WWE’s main event, pioneering realistic selling in the company, and being the first person in recorded history to look good whilst wearing wraparound shades.

You can also add him being the first person to go through a WWE announce table to his list of accolades, as that’s precisely what happened when he took on Diesel at the 1995 Survivor Series.

As The Hitman struggled to get back inside the ring from the apron, Big Daddy Cool pounced and shoved his opponent backwards, sending him crashing through the announce table, which, in those days, was just a regular table with some cloth on it. Not only was this moment historic, but it still looks great.

The way Hart slams clumsily through the wood adds an air of realism and spontaneity to the moment, making it seem as if something has gone wrong.

This is the table bump against which all others are measured, and it still stands out after all these years.

9. Roman Reigns' Show-Stopper - Extreme Rules 2015

After being upstaged by Seth Rollins’ cash-in at WrestleMania 31, Roman Reigns needed a new opponent following the Showcase of the Immortals, which somehow led to a feud with The Big Show for The Big Dog.

Big Show, who bafflingly was the first person to pin Reigns in a singles match on the main roster, was put into a Last Man Standing Match with Reigns at Extreme Rules 2015, with all the conversation surrounding how he was going to keep such a gigantic opponent down for the 10 count.

This was despite the fact that the World’s Largest Athlete had lost several Last Man Standing matches in the past, including one to Shane McMahon, of all people.

One highlight of what turned out to be a pretty decent battle came when Reigns ran up a set of stairs to charge into Show, who was standing atop the announcer’s desk. This sent both participants crashing through the other table, leaving them both in a crumpled heap.

This kind of spot had been done before, but seeing two men of such substantial girth go flying through the air like this was a sight to behold.

8. AJ Styles' Phenomenal Flight - Payback 2016

Almost exactly a year after his clash with Big Show, Reigns was now the defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion and his challenger was the complete opposite of Paul Wight.

AJ Styles had stepped up to challenge the former Shield member, with their first title match set for Payback.

Despite such an underwhelming stage, both men pulled out all the stops, lending some much-needed credibility to Reigns as the top guy. The most spectacular moment of the match came when Roman was stood outside the ring and Styles inside of it, with some fiendish thoughts going through that soccer mom head of his.

With reckless abandon, Styles launched himself at his target with a Phenomenal Forearm, landing right on the money and sending Reigns splatting through the table in a thoroughly satisfying visual.

Kudos to both men for being willing to take such a risky spot on. Styles would bust it out again during his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura in 2018, one of the few good things to come from that whole programme.

7. The Rock's Double Finisher - Backlash 2000

Whilst Backlash 2000 might be best remembered for that insane pop Steve Austin got when he came out during the main event, it turns out there was an entire Rock versus Triple H match that happened before that!

Before he got some assistance from the Texas Rattlesnake, Rocky was in dire straits, as the evil McMahon-Helmsley gang had stacked the deck against him.

Shane McMahon was the match’s referee, and was doing everything in his power to keep the WWE Title around his brother-in-law’s waist. Unfortunately for the boy wonder, things didn’t quite go to plan.

The Great One had The Game in position for a Rock Bottom on top of the announce table when Shane attempted to intervene. This led to the boss’ son getting put in the same position, before both he and Trips were driven through the table with a jumbo-sized finisher.

As entirely unrealistic as this moment was, it was awe-inspiring to watch three men crash through one table, sending pieces of it flying around ringside.

6. Shane McMahon's Texas-Sized Plummet

Shane McMahon has taken some pretty intense leaps of faith over the years, but perhaps the most famous - or infamous - was that time he tried to murder The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32.

Even though the build to this match was all over the place - who remembers that lockbox? - and the majority of the action was about what you’d expect from two middle-aged men who weren’t full-time wrestlers, one moment in this Hell in a Cell encounter will ensure that it lives on forever.

With ‘Taker sprawled out across the announce table, Shane scaled the satanic structure before flinging himself towards his prone victim. Sadly, The Deadman wasn’t as dead as he appeared, and so got out of the way just before McMahon’s body splattered into the desk like he was in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Nobody expected Shane to do something like this in his first match in seven years, as the sight of him falling to his doom reminded everyone what made him such a special performer in the first place.

5. The Undertaker's Flying Chokeslam - King of the Ring 2000

Our trilogy of Shane-O-Mac getting his ass kicked concludes with this truly beautiful spot from the insane main event of King of the Ring 2000.

WWE Champion Triple H was teaming with Shane and Vince to take on The Rock and the Brothers of Destruction, in a match where he could lose the title without being pinned.

What began as a fairly structured six-man soon broke down, with Shane about to hit Rock with a top rope move before Taker caught him. The move that followed couldn’t have gone any better.

The American Badass leapt off the apron, flinging Shane over his head and planting him through the desk with one of the gnarliest-looking chokeslams you’ll ever see. He even managed to land on his feet!

Everything about this spot had to be perfect, otherwise it could have gone so badly wrong. Instead, everyone was on their A-game, resulting in one of the sweetest table breaks of all time.

4. Jeff Hardy's Super Swanton - SummerSlam 2009

No wrestler in history has made a career out of crazy high spots quite like Jeffrey Nero Hardy.

The face-painted warrior has thrown caution to the wind so many times that we’re amazed he’s got any of it left, hitting a who’s who of opponents with dangerous moves from the top rope, off various bits of the arena, and, of course, from the top of a ladder.

One of Hardy’s most terrifying ladder dives - which is really saying something - came during his excellent SummerSlam main event with CM Punk in 2009.

With the Straight Edge Superstar supine across the announce table, the Charismatic Enigma slowly climbed up a gigantic ladder, as people in the crowd quickly realised what they were about to witness.

With all the grace of a gazelle with a death wish, Hardy casually fell from the top, shifting his body at the very last second to deliver the Swanton Bomb to end all Swanton Bombs.

Everything about this spot is stunning; the height of the ladder, the nonchalant nature of the dive, both men selling it like they’d been hit by a train. Pure wrestling insanity at its very finest.

3. Batista & Randy Orton Slay The American Dragon - WrestleMania 30

Imagine if either Randy Orton or Batista had won the main event of WrestleMania 30 instead of Daniel Bryan?

Thankfully for the state of Louisiana, this didn’t happen, but Bryan was very nearly taken out of action ahead of his legendary title win.

The former Evolution buddies decided to work together to take the former ROH World Champion out of the equation, setting him up for a brutal finisher combo on the announce tables.

With Batista on one table, he hurled Bryan with a Batista Bomb, straight into the waiting arms of The Viper, who hit a picture-perfect RKO on his opponent through the second broadcast desk.

That both men would go to such extremes to knock Bryan out showed how much of a threat they thought he was and only served to make his comeback later on in the match even more triumphant.

Spare a thought for Randy’s lower back during this spot, as you can clearly see him landing right on top of a monitor and then writhing around in pain afterwards.

2. Triple H's Deadman Destroyer - WrestleMania 27

You know what sucks? Most of WrestleMania 27. You know what doesn’t suck? That night’s No Holds Barred match between Triple H and The Undertaker.

Set up by an awesome silent segment on Raw and fuelled by ‘Taker’s retirement of Shawn Michaels the year before, both of these icons went hell for leather, possibly because of the heated nature of the match, but almost certainly because they knew they needed to save this wretch of a pay-per-view.

Amongst the litany of great moments, one stands out for its impact, choreography, and originality.

Trips was on jelly legs on the ring steps, just in front of the announcers’ area, so The Phenom decided to charge at his opponent with full force. The Cerebral Assassin was ready ,though, catching Taker in a gorgeous Spinebuster that drove both men through the desk behind them as the crowd went nuts.

This happened eight minutes into the match, which is bonkers when you consider that they wrestled for almost half-an-hour. A sudden strike that was executed to perfection and caught everyone off guard, this Spinebuster was easily the move of the night.

1. Mick Foley's Famous Fall - King Of The Ring 1998

While it’s more of a Hell in a Cell spot than a table spot, the announce table is the only thing that stopped Mick Foley from becoming a horrible pile of mush on the ground.

Undertaker and Mankind climbed the cell, Taker threw Mankind off the Cell. One “Good God Almighty! They’ve killed him” from Jim Ross later and one of the greatest wrestling moments of all time was born.

The fact that Mick took this fall through the announcer’s table is lost on most viewers, who are mostly concerned with the spectacle of the moment, but Foley’s choice of landing spot went a long way to reducing some of the damage from his terrifying tumble.

Furthermore, watching the table disintegrate on impact gave a sense of just how dangerous this stunt was, and seeing Mick crushed beneath the wreckage only adds to the drama.

The Cell might get all the glory when it comes to this spot, but without the trusty announce table, it wouldn’t be what it is today.