SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
Pro wrestling is a multi-billion dollar industry. Site fees, Commercial revenue, ticket sales, shirts, replica masks and belts, autographs, trading cards, streaming subscriptions, physical media, the list really is never ending. At my store in Colorado Springs, Nerdstalgia, wrestling merch is our top selling department. Another department that does well for us, and is a big part of wrestling revenue are video games.
Pro wrestling video games just make sense. In fact, it’s an undervalued gateway into wrestling fandom. They’re fun fighting games with unique rules. One-on-one, two-on-two, free for all matches with multiple players are just a few match types. Then you have the point where graphic power could handle things like cages, ladders, weapons, and can go into the arena or backstage, just like could happen on Raw. Story modes can range from a created wrestler breaking into the big leagues, a showcase mode reliving prior matches, or online where you can even participate in a Stadium Stampede match against a slew of strangers. A favorite mode of mine is the ability to be a general manager, getting to book matches and be able to see if my ideas and wrestlers I push can please a viewing audience.
Some of the games were rough, and can be hard to return to. The Nintendo controller just wasn’t made with wrestling games in mind. As graphics improved and controllers added more buttons, the games were able to match the moveset of the wrestlers better. Some are different and fun, like the WWF WrestleMania Revenge game where you’re playing a Double Dragon style beat-em-up to save Stephanie McMahon. Cartoony ones included the WrestleMania Arcade Game & In Your House where it was closer to Mortal Kombat and Undertaker actually attacked you with souls. I usually prefer more of a wrestling simulation, but they can become too tedious for me, and made games like Fire Pro Wrestling have limited appeal to me.
My favorite five games that I’ve played:
WWF WrestleFest
This was an arcade game. The cartoon graphics were way ahead of any wrestling game you could play at home. I’d raid the couch cushions for quarters and save them up for when we’d go to the mall, and I’d empty those heavy pockets into the coin slot on the cabinet we had at the local Aladdin’s Castle Arcade.
There were two options. You could choose your tag team, and compete in a gauntlet of opponents leaving you to face the Legion of Doom, to see if you could win the tag titles from the Road Warriors at Saturday Night’s Main Event. My preference though, was the Royal Rumble. In the arcade game, you could be thrown over the top rope, but also be eliminated by pinfall or submission. I always liked using Earthquake, as his finisher always looked cool of the game. I was stoked to hear there would be a retro arcade replica being made, and had to add it to my shop, so people can have as much fun as I once did, but no longer a need for a quarter to play!
WWE WrestleMania XIX
An underrated GameCube exclusive had a few things making this one unique. It was the era where you had the closest you were going to see for a combined WWF and WCW roster. With Hulk Hogan and the nWo being brought back in the prior year as well as having stars like Booker T and Goldberg, you were able to have some dream matches. Another thing I loved about this title was getting to use the GameCube controller. The most underrated game controller ever, and worked well for this game. You would not have been able to defeat me when playing as the American Badass Undertaker.
My favorite aspect of the game though were the alternate arenas. Want to go backstage? You can do that. In fact, you can fight in the parking garage. Time things right, and you can toss your opponent into the truck ramp and have them hit by a moving vehicle. You could have a rooftop battle royale. You’re eliminated when you’re tossed off the roof and fall to your death.
My favorite stage was the shopping mall. Two floors with moving escalators, it was a blast diving onto your opponent from the top floor to the lower level, then tossing them into the center court water fountain.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWTorch ’90s Pastcast” with Patrick Moynahan and Alex McDonald, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
WCW/NWO Revenge
There were four wrestling games on the Nintendo 64 that used the AKI engine. Two were for WCW, both World Tour and its sequel Revenge, that I chose here. It could be argued that the WWF games that came next, WrestleMania 2000 and No Mercy, were better games, but I’m a WCW mark.
It was the first game to truly be a 3D wrestling game. You could run at angles, use the corners for top rope spots like hurancanranas and superplexes. You could springboard into and outside the ring. The controls made sense. A button to grab, attack, run, block were easily laid out. The finishing moves were fun too. You’d need to get enough momentum for your person and damage to your opponent, and could go into a special mode on temporary invincibility and the ability to use your finishing hold. It’s the foundation of all of the greatest wrestling games.
WWE 2K25
The current standard in wrestling games, and the one before the most recent game that inspired this article. Much like other sport franchises, there’s not a massive update from one year to another. Updated rosters, a new set of weapons or match types and an updated story accompany updated graphics, but essentially the same game.
The standout for 2K25 was the addition of the Island Mode, and online Fortnite like story mode. This rounds out the game types you can play. My Rise, where you can create a player to go through the ranks, making decisions along the way that affect where your story will take you. GM Mode, where you draft a roster and have to make shows on a budget and make the strongest brand through eyeballs watching and money made.
I can’t put this year’s game as better, simply because of how they’ve managed to add even more microtransactions to bleed out wallets dry until we can’t afford to be a wrestling fan anymore longer.
Def Jam Fight for New York
After the AKI engine had been used for the aforementioned N64 games, there was a split between them and THQ. All future WWE games would need to be made with different gameplay. With no WCW, and TNA not in a place to have a video game yet, there was an idea. What if we make a wrestling game, but instead of known wrestlers, it would be created characters and rap stars from the Def Jam record label. Def Jam Vendetta was a game with a wrestling ring that played much like those N64 games, but you could use Method Man, Redman, or DMX, just to name a few.
When the sequel was made, Fight for New York would remove the ring and have matches end with knockouts or submissions, and use wrestling holds, but would take place in clubs, bars, and parking lots. Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg were added to this one, and made a game that holds up great.
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)