5 memorable announce-table 'bumps' in WWE

Batista and Randy Orton prepare to put Daniel Bryan through the table at WrestleMania 30The announce table at ringside in WWE serves a very important purpose. It’s the command central for the broadcast team, the home of the commentators for the course of the event. Michael Cole directs the traffic between himself and the men on either side of him, and the location is used several times during the course of the program to break from the action. Cole and company are there to segueway from one segment to another while updating fans as the night goes on.Of course the table is also there to smash grown men through and as long as that is the case, it will never be free from harm. Many superstars have taken this bump over the years, and it’s never a safe one to take as injury is always a possibility. But that does not stop the bump from happening; it serves as a turning point in a match or as a very dramatic finish. It’s a guaranteed way to pop the crowd, and that reaction is enough to keep this spot as a constant go-to device for the company. The commentators’ job may be to call the action but it’s also to get out of the way when necessary, and that will likely not change any time soon. 

#5 Booker T attacks Stone Cold Steve Austin, King of the Ring 2001

When WWE bought out rival competitor WCW in 2001, the wrestling world was turned upside down. The highly entertaining and sometimes vicious Monday Night Wars had finally come to an end as Vince McMahon moved ahead of Ted Turner and overtook WCW to corner the market on pro wrestling entertainment. It seemed as though the promotion from down south had indeed expired and that WWE was the only game left in town.

But King of the Ring that same year saw the shocking debut of Booker T. Booker was the man holding the WCW championship when the company folded, and he brought a world of frustration and a fiercely competitive nature with him when he attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin. The WCW champ would not be denied his new place in wrestling’s top company and he definitely made a statement against WWE’s top guy.

The table spot itself may not look that destructive, but Austin did suffer a legitimate back injury as a result. This particular moment is even more memorable thanks to the fact that it signaled the first shot in what would come to be known as the WCW/ECW Invasion angle. It stands as the first real confrontation between the two sides as controlled by WWE.