A fight that's extremely one-sided, where one side just absolutely trashes the other with little-to-no effort. Commonly used as a way of establishing a character as being very strong, especially if the person on the receiving end of the beating is known for being very rough and tough.
The name comes from the act of forcing someone to lie down in the street and bite the curb, then stomping on the back of their head. This could be very humiliating, especially if they were to die. Even if the victim were to survive, they may be missing some teeth and have a severely broken jaw.
Sometimes, this is played for humor; other times, it tends to be a Moment of Awesome.
Sometimes, it actually makes sense by the logic of the story, but writers use Third Act Stupidity to avert it.
Compare Pendulum War, which is where sides take turns to perform this trope upon each other. In Professional Wrestling, this frequently overlaps with Squash Match. In video games, see Flawless Victory. Breather Bosses, Zero-Effort Bosses, and Anticlimax Bosses are the types most likely to be on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle. If this is done to the heroes, on the other hand, it becomes a Hopeless Boss Fight, often from a Hero Killer (or is at least a sign that you're going to have to do a lot more Level Grinding to get past that Beef Gate). Compare No-Sell, where one side thoroughly wins because they can shrug off whatever the other can do. Contrast Story-Breaker Team-Up. If the curbstompee manages to get a few good hits in to show that he or she is not totally helpless, it's a Curb-Stomp Cushion. A No-Holds-Barred Beatdown is similar, but much more realistic, brutal, and violent. And more importantly, the one dishing it out doesn't necessarily win in the end. In fact, foes that manage to withstand such a beatdown often get a chance to return the favor. That said, many curb-stomp battles happen to be no-holds-barred beatdowns (but it's just as possible for a curb-stomp battle to be over in just a few blows, if not just one, whereas a no-holds-barred beatdown is always a prolonged smorgasbord of violence). Also compare Single-Stroke Battle, which are also one-sided, but are decided by the attacker using a single move to win rather than drawing it out. See also One-Man Army.
One-Hit Kill is a subtrope that's Exactly What It Says on the Tin. A subtrope for elections is Landslide Election. There Is No Kill like Overkill is often the result of a Curb-Stomp Battle. Often paired with The Worf Effect, which it amplifies.
