Best Wrestling Video Games of the 2000s
To me the 2000s had a great range of vast wrestling games all across the board all were different in ways great to not so much. Here were the best games in that decade.
There is no wrestling game I feel can match the sheer perfection that was Here Comes the Pain. No commentary was needed, and you could now edit the season as it carried over. The elimination chamber was new and played pretty cool. The fastest reversal timing in any game was made. The controls were quick to react from one touch to the next.
If I'm looking at a wrestling game that deserves a polished remaster in the future, this is the one. The graphics still hold up 17 years later.
This was the pinnacle of the AKI games. No Mercy was simply unbelievable in terms of the variety it had, with mods being made today based on this one and the great replay value it has over time.
Sure, it may seem outdated by graphics standards, but it retains a fun gameplay experience.
Def Jam games were very addicting. EA Sports was red hot at the time, coming off great game series such as NBA Street and SSX, now tackling the wrestling genre.
Man, 2003 had hit after hit of wrestling games, and this was a major boom-tier game. It was a game that gave you a challenge but had a very good story along the way.
The early years of the Smackdown Vs. Raw games were pretty wicked in those mid-2000s. '07 was simply great, although not everybody liked its control scheme. It makes up for the variety the game included, retained from the previous entry.
Storylines were randomly outrageous. There was plenty to do, and the game had a lot to offer, including one of the best soundtracks in a wrestling game. Some of the most unstoppable wrestlers found in '07 will remain a favorite in the series on the top tier side.
The Fire Pro Wrestling games were mostly exclusive to Japan. One day, though, I looked over and saw this game. I was completely impressed by how much you could do here. The modding and customization are great, and the gameplay is excellent.
Many have said it's the best in the series and one of the best wrestling games out there, internationally speaking.
We begin with a game where, yes, you must literally take down personnel, escape, destroy cars, and climb chains to get a shot at facing Vince at Wrestlemania 19. Not everybody is a fan of this game mode, but I like it a lot for its creativity.
I'd say this was an improvement over X-8 by far, which was average at best. This one also has a good King of the Ring simulation, or you can play it to win championships. This is a really fun game with very responsive and fast controls that rival Here Comes the Pain.
After going back and forth over the years about which SVR game is the most definitive, this distinction goes to '06. Many expected disappointment with the first entry, but the next one looked far better with a much different look the very next year.
Storylines were awesome, and it was the first game to introduce us to the awesome GM Mode. It also has a stamina mode, which was a total mixed bag but could be easily turned off right away. Another nitpick was a downgraded soundtrack. Some songs were good, while others were meh compared to the very impressive soundtracks of the games before and after it.
Still, it's a great classic with countless CAWs you can play with if you had bought a ton of memory cards.
This game improves a lot on what the first game didn't include, like a decent CAW attempt and a full-on season mode that was very memorable. Smackdown 2 may have had odd entrances for the wrestlers, but it was a fun and great game for its time.
Wow, Shut Your Mouth was a masterpiece of a Smackdown game. After the sheer disappointment of Just Bring It, Yukes didn't mess around and did what had to be done.
Dare I say, it has the best and most accurate season mode to date. You go through two rewarding years with both Flair and McMahon, playing out the story as it goes. If you end up with the title at the end, you get a fitting conclusion to an epic game.
Customization was good, King of the Ring was okay, and Royal Rumble was great. There were a lot of modes you could still play around with that you may have played in the season mode itself. The commentary was also a major improvement, and I never got bored with J.R. and Jerry Lawler here, unlike with Michael Cole and Tazz.
Day of Reckoning is a great game on the GameCube and is the last one on the system. What a bang to end it on. Afterwards, every game would follow for all platforms.
The story in 2 was better than the first game. Controls are slightly better as well, getting rid of the flashing counters shown in the previous entry. This game has its own original soundtrack, which is not the same as other titles. I give huge props for that.
Although this is the game that got rid of GM Mode, the Road to Wrestlemania mode was actually pretty good for that launching period at least. It was far better than the 24/7 mode the year prior.
This has to be the one. This is the game, the music, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and the GAME (on the cover).
A bit of a guilty pleasure, I'll admit. Running on a Here Comes the Pain engine, Rumble Roses is a fairly decent game that's actually fun to play, focusing on the females of wrestling.
A lot of fans don't like the game that much due to how different the controls were and that the story went from 1-15 instead of covering all of them. Despite the flaws, I actually enjoyed this game for its good promo build-up put into these classic matches I had not recalled seeing.
Oh, and the gem of fighting all 38 legends in one long run. Yeah, I did that twice in one sitting.
Raw 2 expanded greatly in almost every department. One of the best Royal Rumbles in any game. Customization is one of the best ever. Season mode is repetitive, but a pretty comical attempt for the most part. There's a lot more you can do in Raw 2 than in its lackluster predecessor. This is the original Xbox wrestling game to play.
After the failures of the WCW games on the PlayStation, THQ got a massive rebound when they switched course to make a pretty fun, fast-paced licensed WWE game. It was the beginning of the impressive Smackdown series.
A Japan-only exclusive that looks pretty impressive for the PS2. While I did select the 360 cover, I say try out the PlayStation 2 port of the game if you can get it online.
I mean, if you like Fire Pro games, I say give this one a shot.
A bit of a surprise, but this is actually what I consider the best of the Acclaim games by far. Granted, the gameplay isn't far from the others, but what does it for me is the epic soundtrack. Followed by a good enough background objective story, fighting in all the regional territories to get to the top.
The game also presents a bit of a unique way to unlock wrestlers and other elements not seen in any other wrestling game.
A very good game overall, but the second game was just a bit better on its own over time.