I can't believe I'm sitting here reviewing a fighting game. It's not normally where you'll find me enjoying my gaming time, but this isn't just a fighting game. It's a wrestling simulation, and I'm enjoying my foray back into the dramatic world of WWE as it has experienced a surge in popularity. Indeed, this year's Wrestlemania was up 41% in viewership across both nights compared to 2023. It's not just me that's riding the high. WWE Superstars like Rhea Ripley and Rey Mysterio have even been added to Call of Duty: MW3 and Warzone for Season 5 as operators. WWE is more mainstream than ever.
When I was a kid, my friends and I were obsessed with the WWE; in fact, I'm so old it was still called the WWF back then. We took turns choosing who would pay for the Pay Per View (if we couldn't get hold of it by illegal means), created each other in the Playstation 2 game, and re-enacted scenes in my friend's back garden (not me personally; I just watched in horror). More recently, my interest in wrestling has only been in passing when I have friends over and need some background entertainment. Still, this year, specifically around the time of the Royal Rumble, I decided I was all in again on the world of wrestling. Religiously watching Smackdown and Raw each week, devouring the drama and coincidentally being bombarded with ads for WWE 2K24. Every time a star is introduced, they are done so alongside their star rating in the game; it's inescapable. I had to try it.
I'm delivering this meandering monologue because I want to make clear from the jump of this review that I'm no wrestling game aficionado. I'm not directly comparing this game to the WWE 2K games that have come before it, but rather judging it by my own experience as an old-time wrestling game fan who is revisiting the games for the first time in twenty years. If you already have WWE 2K23, this may not be the most exciting release for you, but it's been a colossal injection of nostalgia for me.
Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review code provided by 2K Games. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.
