The 11 Best WWE Games of All Time, Ranked (2024)

THQ / ONE37pm

Published Feb 28, 2024

Hey Yo! It's The Wrestling Classic here with another list for ONE37pm. This month (February 2024), as we are on the heels of the release of WWE 2K24, I thought it would be great to list the 11 best WWE games of all time from my perspective.

Growing up, I never missed getting a game from the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the PS5 era. Although I did own two of the previous Xbox consoles and a GameCube, I was mainly a Sony PlayStation person once the first one came out. However, I am old enough to say I did grow up with the original NES, Super Nintendo, and N64. These are the 11 WWE games that stood out to me the most.

I have to mention the fact that while WWE 2K22 and 2K23 are great games, I never really played those last two series installments as much as the other titles on my list. I did play 2K22 a little and primarily used its community creations to create me as a playable character (I messed around a bit having fun with that game at a friend's house). Here's another fun WWE games story - I went to the 2K23 launch party in Los Angeles and briefly played the game with Soulja Boy, not realizing it was him before I got kicked off so they could film something. I was given the game for the PS5 but haven’t made that console investment yet.

Anyway, let's take a look at my ranked listing of the best WWE game of all time!

RELATED: The 21 Best Wrestling Games of All Time

THQ

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

I owned a Nintendo Gamecube but mainly used it to play specific games that weren’t wrestling-related. However, I did have WWE Day of Reckoning 2 and that game was a total blast. Although you could play regular exhibition matches, the story mode continued right where the original WWE Day of Reckoning left off. I'll never forget how the story included a love interest in the form of Stacy Keibler (SHE'S GOT LEGS!). This game focused on the very best of the 2005 WWE roster and I was heavily invested in the product that year. The men and women who competed in WWE during that memorable period are featured here, plus it has a bunch of notable legends and upcoming breakout stars at the time such as Batista and John Cena. It may be the only GameCube game on this list of the best WWE games, but it earned its spot.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

This was the last WWE game developed by developer Yuke's after its eighteen-year partnership with publisher 2K ended. 2K19 makes my list for many reasons - one of the main reasons was its longevity as the main WWE game to play due to the follow-up being a complete disappointment. 2K19 was released in 2018, and the following 2K20 game, released in 2019, was a complete flop. Due to that disappointing release, there wouldn’t be a new WWE video game in the series until 2022. The "Showcase" mode in this game focuses on the legendary career of Daniel Bryan.

The "MyCAREER" mode was revamped and the "Universe" mode allows you to take full control of the company and build custom storylines. This would be the last game where I played Universe mode and loved it since it had so much attention to detail. I would create my own stories and angles while keeping track of my custom PPV results to know where I left off. The roster for this game is stacked and I had a hell of a time spending countless hours playing with them all.

• Developers: Sculptured Software, Realtime Associates
• Rating: K-A for Kids to Adults

I was fortunate enough to have a brother who was ten years older than me. This meant I technically had every WWF/E video game from WWF WrestleMania on the original NES up until the games released in this day and age There were a handful of decent to good WWF games released for the Super Nintendo back in the day. A lot of people would probably put WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game on this list as it was the last WWF game released for the Super Nintendo.

However, I felt like I spent the most time playing WWF Raw till my thumbs were sore and imprinted with the controller's button indent. The "New Generation" Era is the first WWF era I remember seeing live on television. It holds a special place in my heart and every time I think about it, my mind gets filled up with nostalgic warm memories. There were times when I would sit in front of my TV just listening to the chiptune theme songs that played on the wrestler selection screen.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

I know most folks reading this right now might be shocked to see this game make my list of the best WWE games. If you’re a '90s baby like me who is nostalgic about the "Attitude Era" and also got invested in the WWE product again during the "Summer of Punk" in 2011, then you know why I love this game so much. CM Punk was so hot at the time that he was chosen as the cover star for this game. To make things even better, WWE '13 is primarily themed around the Attitude Era's most iconic matches and feuds. WWE even promoted the game with this badass face-to-face interview between Punk and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin that looked like it would lead to a match somewhere down the line (it never happened, sadly).

WWE '13 Attitude Era-themed mode provides a nice batch of content as it features 35 Superstars from that historic moment in time and over 60 cutscenes to boot. This also made the Universe Mode more fun to play through because you could either build an entire customer roster patterned after the Attitude Era or produce a collective of two generations of WWF/E Superstars. I have to give tons of credit to Paul Heyman, who was heavily involved in helping this game's Universe Mode be as good as turned out to be.

WWE '13 also gets a lot of love from me for having the first Universe Mode where custom arenas and shows could be implemented into it. That led to everyone being able to develop their preferred promotions or recreate the Monday Night Wars by adding WCW shows to all the WWF mayhem (which is something I did, obviously).

• Developers: THQ San Diego, Subdued Software
• Rating: T for Teen

When I think about WWE All Stars, it makes me think about how close we might have been to finally witnessing "Macho Man" Randy Savage make his return to WWE. For the first time since 1994, Savage became involved in promoting a WWE product via this game. Although he might not have been directly working with the company, it was close enough to make me feel that he was back in WWE's good graces. It's worth noting that WWE games have a track record of working with someone through its promotional period, which tends to open the door for them to return to the WWE in some form soon after.

All in all, WWE All Stars is a total blast. It presents an arcade-style alternative to the more simulation-like WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw series. Here, the action unfolded with the aid of wrestlers with highly exaggerated body builds and over-the-top animations for the signature moves & finishers. The three modes that kept me busy in this game included Exhibition, "Path of Champions," and "Fantasy Warfare." This game is such an enjoyable throwback to the arcade gameplay of wrestling games that thrived during my childhood.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

I grew up playing all the great wrestling video games that dropped during the 90s. When the first WWF SmackDown! came out on the PS1, it offered a huge visual jump from what we were used to seeing from the N64's WWF & WCW games. Although the first WWF SmackDown! was good in its own right, it's the second one that defined my childhood. It came out the same year as the highly acclaimed WWF No Mercy (more on that later!), which it is often compared to. However, I found myself playing this game a whole lot more often due to its amazing "Season Mode" and the ability to include multiple players in all the storyline proceedings.

This also happens to the main WWF game where all those hilarious loading screen memes are taken from. I know everyone who played this game has memories of hoping their parents didn’t walk into the room when the Trish Stratus or Lita loading screen popped up on their screens. WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role kept me hooked on WWF games for years. I still remember the days when my cousin and I would sneak downstairs after pretending to go to sleep to play it into the wee hours of the morning.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

2010 sticks out in my memory as the year when I wasn’t as invested in the WWE product as much as I was beforehand. I always watched through the weekly shows during WrestleMania season, but the rest of the year's content just wasn't my cup of tea. However, the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw game that came out that year gave me my WWE fill because it was fantastic. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 hit on all cylinders after a solid 2010 addition. It arrived with dynamic physics where the weapons in the game became more versatile, such as being able to stack ladders and tables on top of each other.

This game happens to mark the last time a WWE game was titled SmackDown vs. Raw, thus bringing an end to the series. This release pushed WWE games forward as a whole as it marked the beginning of Universe Mode's inclusion, which quickly became a favorite of mine at the time. I also loved this game's "Road to WrestleMania" mode that featured different story arcs involving the likes of Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Christian, and Chris Jericho among others. Being able to roam backstage once again in this game ended up being another one of its dopest features as well.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

WWE 2K14 will always stick out as one of my favorite games of all time. It's another one of those games I played extensively. I have pages and pages of PPV results from my Universe Mode from this particular game. It’s between 2K14 and 2K19 over which game I played Universe Mode for the longest period. Players can customize existing WWE Shows, bring back retired weekly shows, or create original ones. It also still had to "Create A Story" with the ability to produce custom superstars, arenas, and title belts. This game also has the goated "30 Years of Wrestlemania" mode, which allows fans to celebrate and play through three decades of iconic WrestleMania matches. There is also the "Defeat the Streak" challenge mode, which is and always will be incredibly difficult to beat but always fun to try.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 is the second entry in the incredible WWE Smackdown vs. Raw video game series. The original WWE Smackdown vs. Raw set the tone and 2006 took it to a whole nother level. It was the first version to make it to the PSP and also the last one that was sold as a PlayStation console exclusive. For me, picking my favorite from the series leads to a neck-and-neck race between this and the 2007 release. I have to side with 2006 however since it provides the foundation that makes 2007 so great.

I love the new match types that are featured here, such as the highly requested Buried Alive and the Fulfill Your Fantasy matches. The Season Mode in this game provided tons of replayability as it's always fun trying to dominate both brands and win their respective world title in an in-game two-year arc. Then there is the "GM Mode," which is a fan-favorite feature first introduced in this game. It provides an addictive experience by allowing you to draft your roster, book matches, and see how your show is doing based on fan reactions. I loved every minute of it while I played it back in the day.

• Developers: Asmik Ace Entertainment, AKI Corporation
• Rating: T for Teen

This is a list of the best WWE games list, but I have to mention the fact that WCW has its fair share of N64 pro wrestling games that had young fans in a chokehold. WCW gave us the infinitely enjoyable WCW vs. nWo: World Tour and WCW/nWo Revenge games. Not to be outdone, WWF gave us the equally amazing WWF Attitude, WWF Wrestlemania 2000, and WWF No Mercy video games. To this day, wrestling fans far and wide sing the praises of WWF No Mercy and many argue that it is the greatest wrestling game ever made. It's the final N64 WWF game developed by AKI and published by THQ. WWF No Mercy has it all and then some. It's still played to this day thanks to a perfect grappling system, a wealth of different match types, a stacked roster of over 60 wrestlers, and a detailed create-a-wrestler mode.

To be honest though, although it has an easy-to-play, hard-to-master grappling system, I felt like my friends and I were button-mashing for the most part. To be fair, I was ten years old when this game came out. However, it did make a reappearance in my life during high school when I popped up at one of my friends' houses. Over the years the, games continued to follow the WWF No Mercy template since it was damn near perfect. I don’t know if it's nostalgia or just the simplicity of it all, but this game will always stick out as something special.

• Developer: Yuke's
• Rating: T for Teen

There is probably no game I played more with my cousins and friends than this one. WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain came out in 2002 exclusively for the PS2. It came with a host of quality updates to its series predecessors' grappling and submission systems. It would also be the first game that introduced specialty matches such as the Bra and Panties and Elimination Chamber stipulations. Similar to the Ladder and Royal Rumble match, the Elimination Chamber is tons of fun to play with others. The backstage brawl is also another fun feature that lets you fight all around the arena and even take the fight outside to Times Square.

The backstage area led to me having the most fun as I could interact with motorcycles, forklifts, and even a helicopter. The featured roster is jam-packed with over 50 playable characters. There are some legends featured here and there, but also the 2002-2003 roster featured a lot of superstars from the defunct WCW such as Goldberg, Kevin Nash, and Rey Mysterio for the first time due to them being a part of WWE after the end of the "Monday Night Wars." The Season Mode in this game is a bit more free form since you can have a locker room, a GM’s office where you can go to make requests from your boss, and the option to talk to various wrestlers in the backstage area.

One of the features I used the most when I used to play in this game is its Create-A-Wrestler mode. Although this feature would be featured in games before this and every game after, I don’t think I ever used it more than I did in this all-timer of a WWE game. I created legends that were missing from its official roster, such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. I also created myself and all my real-life friends. This made the whole experience that much more lively as me and my buddies played against each other and told stories with our characters. It’s crazy that WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw only came out a year later because it feels like we played WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain for so much longer. This game will always have a special place in my heart.

I hope you all enjoyed this list of the best WWE games of all time. Tell me if you disagree and let me know what you think over social media. Ya dig? Oooh Yeah!

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