The ring is your weapon

Steel steps head slam
While you're dragging your opponent around the ring, there's no reason to let the steel steps leading up to the ring go to waste. March him over to the corner of the ring, pull up on the right stick and bring it down to smash his head into the cold, unyielding metal. Now do it a few more times. Switch up your rhythm for variety. Pull him way back and slam him hard, or dribble his head like a basketball. Whatever you do, it will be awesome.

And hey, this way when he tells his friends he "fell down some stairs," he'll only be half-lying.

Above: Steel objects are good for only one thing, and that's the infliction of pain

Announce table strangulation
This one has become a personal favorite around the GamesRadar offices, which is why we've saved it for the last page. For the first time in a WWE game, you'll be able to tear apart the monitor-equipped tables where the announcers sit, which is cool all by itself.

But if you're out of the ring and should happen to drag your opponent over to said table, you can slam his head into it a couple times. Then, while he's stunned, rip the table apart, pull out the microphone cables and wrap them lovingly around his neck. Now that you've really got him where you want him, tug up on the right stick a few times to choke him real good and watch him flail around helplessly. The commentators might not like it, but Jerry Lawler could really stand to shut the hell up once in a while anyway.

Steel cage face grate/head slam
We'll end this feature with that most sacred of wrestling institutions, the steel cage match. You can't leave the ring here, but why would you want to when the cage itself affords so many opportunities to inflict pain?

To put it bluntly, try dragging your opponent to the cage wall and placing his head against it. You'll be given two options: push the right stick up and down to bash his face against the chain link, or flick it left and right to grind his face against the fence like cheese against a grater. Or alternate between the two actions rapidly. Keep the bastard guessing!

If all that stuff sounds cool, just think: in this article, we've only covered about half of the opportunities for mayhem scattered around each of the game's arenas. When the game hits in November, you'll be able to find new ones yourself, and even do a little experimentation with electrified speakers and 20-foot scaffolding. In the meantime, though,click hereand get an eyeful of all the awesomely brutal techniques we've been babbling about. You'll be glad you did.

CATEGORIES
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.