5. WWF Smackdown! 2 Know Your Function (2001)
The N64 may be often known as the go-to console for Perspective Period-wrestling followers, however the PS1 was no slouch both. Know Your Function options lightning quick gameplay with a cinematic aptitude and a powerful variety of gimmick matches, like coffin matches, ladder matches, and falls depend anyplace. And like a whole lot of the perfect wrestling video games, it has an nearly good Perspective Period roster although there are sadly a number of notable omissions, like Ken Shamrock and Large Present (although they do often present up in Royal Rumble matches).
Actually, the one damaging about Know Your Function is that whereas the Season Mode was drastically expanded from the primary recreation, it nonetheless will get repetitive quick. Nonetheless, that primary gameplay is a lot enjoyable, and there are such a lot of totally different matches to e book, it’s straightforward to see how this laid the inspiration for the following decade of WWE video games.
4. WWE 2K25 (2024)
Possibly there’s some recency bias in placing WWE 2K25 so excessive on the listing, however there may be a lot to do within the recreation, and so many inventions, that it appears destined to go down in historical past as a fan favourite. Fairly merely that is the perfect taking part in wrestling recreation ever. Every transfer hits arduous, the animation is gorgeous, and every wrestler actually appears and feels distinctive. And there are a whole lot of wrestlers right here, with greater than 300 superstars (together with variations for a lot of) included.
The Showcase mode, specializing in the Bloodline and offered by the legendary Paul Heyman, is an impressive mixture of historic matches and fantasy reserving. And whereas the brand new Island can really feel like a money seize, it’s a very fascinating (and addicting) option to play a wrestling recreation and frequently improve your character.
3. WWE 2K14 (2013)
After years of ups and downs, 2K14 was the title the place every thing got here collectively for Yuke’s to create one of many biggest wrestling video games ever. First, let’s speak in regards to the roster. A number of huge names just like the Final Warrior, Goldberg, and Yokozuna returned to the sequence for the primary time in years right here. You had all of the staples of early 2010s WWE, plus it was the online game debut of the Defend. Oh, and there was additionally a terrific New World Order DLC pack that includes NWO variations of Randy Savage, Curt Hennig, and The Large. That is arguably the best roster in any wrestling recreation ever, even when it’s not the most important.
And there’s an excellent cause for the big roster, as a result of a whole lot of these superstars are featured within the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode, a 45-match journey down reminiscence lane that includes a number of the most memorable matches from the primary 29 WrestleManias. It’s truly a significantly better model of what was accomplished in WWE 2K24. Then there’s “The Streak” mode the place you’ll be able to re-live the Undertaker’s then-unbroken ‘Mania streak, or try to interrupt it in opposition to a suped-up model of the Phenom. Mix all that with a quicker recreation engine that higher portrays the movement of matches, and it’s straightforward to see why that is nonetheless such a beloved entry within the sequence.
