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WWE matches are held inside the four-sided ring that they have used since they first began promoting shows. The structure of the ring is built and reinforced to stop the ring from breaking or suffering any damage.
On the oddly rare occasion, however, the ring has in fact succumbed to the weight of the superstars competing, and collapsed. In some instances, it has been purposely damaged to make a statement.
The ring breaking is not an occurrence that happens often, but when it does, it really becomes a talking point and a stand-out moment.
That being said, let's take a look at five times WWE wrestlers have broken the ring.
#5 Big Show and Braun Strowman broke the WWE ring during their match
In a colossal 2017 Monday Night RAW main event, powerhouse Braun Strowman faced WWE legend The Big Show. During this time, Braun was being pushed as a monster with unbelievable strength. Against The Big Show, what nobody expected was to follow as the match ended in a no contest.
Strowman hit the superplex on The Big Show from the top rope, ultimately breaking the ring immediately upon landing. It shocked the WWE Universe in attendance and those watching at home. Even though this particular sequence has been done before, when it does happen, it makes for a memorable moment.
The moment was so memorable, it was covered on multiple major news outlets around the world, including the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom. It generated a buzz, something which WWE would have had in mind prior to adding this particular to the match.
Of course, these particular moments are pre-planned, with the ring rigged ready for the break to happen.
During a 2015 interview on the Talk is Jericho podcast, The Big Show explained how the process worked, during a previous time he'd done this particular spot:
"WWE’s then Stunt Coordinator had airbags under the ring. So they had lifted the ring a couple inches. When I’m standing on that top corner, that ring is like standing on marbles. Because it’s moving. Of course now I’ve got my fat ass up in the air, 500 pounds on a not very stable surface. So then the ring broke. You don’t know how the stunt is going to look," The Big Show said (h/t Talk is Jericho podcast)
#4 The Nexus invade RAW and damage the WWE ring
June 7th 2010 will be a night the WWE Universe will remember as the night that The Nexus first appeared in WWE. The team, led by Wade Barrett, consisted of Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and David Otunga.
The team interfered in the main event of Monday Night RAW and completely ransacked the ring and whole ringside area. It was a scenerio we had never witnessed in WWE before. A whole new faction, consisting of young talent we didn't have before, making a huge statement to end the show.
It goes down as one of the most shocking moments in WWE history. Daniel Bryan will also be remembered for this night, as he was fired for going 'too far' for choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie.
Heath Slater was interviewed by Wrestling Inc. about the night Nexus debuted:
"We were just blinded until we went to Vince McMahon’s office and he pretty much told us that we were going to be a stable, every one of us, and we are a young talent that is just going to go in there and destroy everything. We were all looking around at each other like what the hell is he talking about right now? He said that he wants us to destroy everybody in the ring, destroy the ring and everything," said Heath Slater. (h/t Wrestling Inc.)
#3 Mark Henry and The Big Show break the WWE ring
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was on the line at the Vengeance pay-per-view in 2011. Mark Henry defended the gold against The Big Show in SmackDown's main event portion of the show.
Similar to what happened with The Big Show against Braun Strowman, he was superplexed by Mark Henry, which caused the ring structure to collapse. The match ended as a no contest due to the incident.
What was unusual about this particular incident is that WWE still had another match to go on after. A Last Man Standing match went ahead for the WWE Championship between Alberto Del Rio and John Cena, with the ring still collapsed.
John Canton of The John Report, reported saying in his Vengeance 2011 review:
"It was a slow, plodding match but I give them credit for working hard especially building up the nearfall attempts at the end. The finish is obviously very creative even if we’ve seen it before. It’s not like it is used often. Crowd went nuts for it," John Canton said (h/t The John Report).
#2 Triple H puts Cactus Jack through the WWE ring
The WWE No Way Out pay-per-view event in 2000 saw one of the most incredible Hell in a Cell matches we have ever witnessed. Triple H and Cactus Jack were in the midst of a feud which saw the two superstars collide in Satan's prison.
In one of the most iconic moments of the match, Triple H and Cactus Jack were on the top of the cell, with a flaming barbed wire bat blazing. Cactus set Triple H up for the piledriver, only for Triple H to flip Cactus over his head. This sent Cactus Jack crashing through the top of the cell structure and crashing through the ring canvas.
It was a shade of The Undertaker vs. Mick Foley's Hell in a Cell match from a few years previous, with brutality and dangerous spots involved. A documentary on the WWE Network that talks through the Triple H/Cactus Jack rivalry in the early 2000's is available to watch.
#1 Brock Lesnar and The Big Show break the WWE ring
It's by far one of the most iconic WWE moments that has been played over and over. Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show from WWE SmackDown in 2003. The two goliaths battle each other only for a superplex from the top rope to bring the match to a halt. You'd think The Big Show would know better these days, right?
Former WWE referee Mike Chioda, who refereed the match, described the spot more:
"Oh, that [Big Show vs Brock Lesnar] was cool. Michael Hayes, everybody, Pat Patterson, the thing on that match they wanted me to do was to sell the collapse of the ring. And the way I did it, which I don’t know what I did, I just did what I had to do because it was actually pretty freakin’ cool. I’ve never been in the ring which is collapsing before. It’s just like, when they take the bump out of the corner, the ring collapses," said Mike Chioda (h/t Chris Van Vliet).
"They’re selling. They’re out like a light. I’m the one sitting up like, ‘Holy s**t. Just what the hell happened’, you know? And I remember them just screaming like, ‘Yes, yes, that’s we want, yes’. I mean it was just, and then the crowd’s like ‘holy s**t’. And it was just like, it was just one of them moments. The pop wasn’t as big as Rock and Hogan, but it was there," said Mike Chioda (h/t Chris Van Vliet).
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