Tag: Wwe 2k23

Daily Update: Batista, AEW Fight Forever, WWE 2K23

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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Join us in Las Vegas for our annual F4W Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

In this issue:

  • Match of the week and performer of the week
  • A look at AEW’s changes coming up that will be announced over the next week with the debut of Collision, as well as a business analysis of rights fees as compared to WWE, different scenarios and different things that could be part of the new deal.
  • Full coverage of Backlash, including the booking, the show, Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, Roman Reigns, business notes on the show, interest levels for the different events in a giant weekend of sports, PPV numbers, crossover between WWE and Alvarez fight, and the paradox of government money bringing WWE to cities and how that affects future hows in San Juan.
  • A full look at the AEW event at Wembley Stadium. We look at ticket sales, records, scalpers, the biggest shows ever in Europe, the biggest non-WWE shows in history, how viable is it regarding the all-time paid attendance records, and the three shows it has to beat, U.K. attendance records, differences in AEW & WWE ticket sale patterns, possible attractions for the show as well as opponents for he biggest matches and other London shows that weekend.
  • Full coverage of UFC 288, main event decision, what’s next for the top stars, business notes and match-by-match coverage.
  • A look at Dragon Gate’s Dead or Alive show
  • A look at the longest lasting U.K. headliners and Hall of Fame comments
  • The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, with weekly placings, competition, and comparisons to one year ago, a well as how segments did
  • Wrestler goes for world title in two very different groups over a few week period
  • Konnan talks AAA U.S. TV negotiations
  • The politics behind the upcoming champion vs. champion match
  • Champion Carnival finals
  • How many tickets has Mercedes Mone moved for her next show
  • Early notes on All Together Now
  • Best of Super Juniors shows for this week
  • The most famous feud in Canadian football history, Angelo Mosca vs. Joe Kapp, and a detailed rundown
  • Former TNA & WWE star retires
  • Double or Nothing update
  • AEW booking team detailed
  • Crazy AEW PPV stat
  • Upcoming ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
  • International TV numbers and streaming numbers
  • Aftermath of Omega vs. Moxley
  • Retired wrestler mentions being open to work Wembley Stadium as a farewell
  • Notes on the upcoming ROH shows
  • UFC business updates
  • Lots of new UFC fights
  • MMA legend talks retirement
  • PFL hit with rash of suspensions
  • Pat McAfee negotiations
  • Top merchandise sellers

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Tuesday Update

WWE

AEW

Other Wrestling

  • TMZ has picked up the story on Superstar Billy Graham being placed on life support.
  • Deadline reported that Batista will star and executive produce a new Lionsgate action comedy called “The Killer’s Game”. “Based on Jay Bonansinga’s same-name novel, The Killer’s Game follows veteran assassin Joe Flood (Bautista), who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and authorizes a kill on himself to avoid the pain that is destined to follow. After ordering the kill, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed and must then fend off the army of former colleagues trying to kill him,” the report said.
  • Atsushi Onita has been released from the hospital after suffering an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
  • Sareee, who has recently left WWE, had her first match since August 2022 on Tuesday, losing to Chihiro Hashimoto.
  • The WrestleQuest video game has been delayed to this summer after originally announcing a May release window.
  • Impact has uploaded their entire Turning Point event from 2009.
  • Masha Slamovich will defend the GCW World Championship in a six-way match against Lufisto, Shazza McKenzie, Allie Katch, Maki Itoh, and Allysin Kay on GCW’s The Way I Am event on May 20 in Detroit.

WWE 2K23 review: On the right track

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Every time a new WWE 2K game is released, I keep finding myself asking the question: is it fun? It’s important for a video game to be fun, after all, and the 2K series has had its share of ups and…very well known downs in recent years. The good news is that yes, I had fun with WWE 2K23. The new additions this year are positive, and cosmetically it’s one of the best looking WWE games to date. There are issues here and there, but 2K23 is proof that the series is heading in a much more positive direction.

One of the major additions to this year’s game is the WarGames match, where eight wrestlers do battle in WWE’s version of the NWA/WCW staple. It’s a ton of fun, and actually manages to create the energy of those old WCW WarGames matches better than WWE has since reviving the concept several years ago. Current-day WarGames make up for the lack of blood by featuring a ton of weapons, diminishing the intensity. While there were also weapons in the video game, the AI didn’t spend half the match setting up weapons spots, meaning a lot of the match was straight up brawling. Great! That’s what made the WCW matches fun, just seeing a pile of people beating each other up inside two rings. That makes WarGames of the best new matches added to the series in years.

MyRise, the game’s story mode, has two different storylines to choose from: The Lock, which focuses on an renown international male star trying to make it within the confines of WWE, and The Legacy, where a female star attempts to make her own name while in the shadow of her WWE Hall of Famer aunt. It works much like recent MyRise stories where you’re given branching storyline objectives to pass while interacting with a mix of actual WWE stars and created characters from 2K’s own world. Both stories are fine, though neither blew me away. The most interesting thing about both of these stories is that both deal with the trials and tribulations of dealing with WWE backstage management, which want to be in control of every aspect of your career. That seems terribly on the nose for a licensed WWE game.

I really got into the MyGM mode this year. The goal is to garner the most fans against other GMs you play against, which include the likes of Adam Pearce, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, and Eric Bischoff, among others. A lot of this mode focuses on getting power cards that do everything from helping prevent your roster from getting injured, to recovering wrestler’s stamina, to even allowing you to sabotage your rivals’ shows. Shake-ups, which take place after premium live events, are also a fun mechanic where you choose scenarios that can have a major effect on the season itself. This one of the stronger modes the game has, and is very fun to replay over and over.

I can’t say the same thing about Showcase mode this year, however. The focus is on John Cena’s biggest losses, at least the ones allowed by current WWE politics. Two big problems become evident early on. One, in order to fully clear this mode and unlock everything from it, you have to follow all the objectives given in each match. It’s tedious to be playing matches where you have to do this or do that. Cena, who narrates in between matches, also doesn’t have much to say about these supposedly big moments in his career, which is odd for someone that’s such a strong promo.

Secondly, it becomes obvious rather quickly that WWE did NOT want to pay royalties to those who are no longer under WWE contract. Matches in Showcase blend gameplay with real life footage of the match, which sounds cool on paper. In execution, you can plainly see that referees, former ringside announcers, brand logos, and much more are all blurred out. Even fan reactions and commentary from those matches are muted, pretty much destroying the point of showing the footage. A big miss this year overall.

The other two major modes include MyFaction, the mobile/online mode that’s kind of hard to explain. It’s card-based, where the goal is to collect high-tier cards and upgrade your collection to battle others, whether it be in the tower-based modes the game provides or online. Checking in each day gives you rewards and in-game currency, and a 2K account is required to log in and play. This is fine for those that want more of a service-like experience, but it didn’t really appeal to me. Universe mode also returns this year, but there’s not much to talk about. You can fully edit your own roster and either sim your own cards or choose a wrestler to sim a career with. This mode is fine if you want to fully create your own universe and focus more on gameplay than story or objectives.

WWE 2K23 is the most fun I’ve had with the series in years. The presentation is better than ever, with fantastic graphics and a largely bug-free experience. The new additions to existing modes are fun, and WarGames is a blast. Showcase mode wasn’t particularly fun, and there are still core things about the gameplay I’ll never like, such as the reversal system. But 2K23 does a good job of making sure that the series has learned lessons from it’s recently troubled past.

WWE 2K23 is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.

Full roster revealed for WWE 2K23 video game

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The full roster for WWE’s next video game has now been revealed.

Ahead of WWE 2K23 being released next month, WWE and 2K Games have announced the full roster of wrestlers who will be playable characters at launch. The roster includes main roster stars, wrestlers from NXT, and WWE legends.

  • AJ Styles
  • Akira Tozawa
  • Alba Fyre
  • Alexa Bliss
  • Aliyah
  • Andre the Giant
  • Angel Garza
  • Angelo Dawkins
  • Apollo Crews
  • Asuka
  • Austin Theory
  • Axiom
  • Batista
  • Bayley
  • Becky Lynch
  • Beth Phoenix
  • Bianca Belair
  • Big Boss Man
  • Big E
  • Bobby Lashley
  • Boogeyman
  • Booker T
  • Braun Strowman
  • Bret Hart
  • Brie Bella
  • British Bulldog
  • Brock Lesnar
  • Bron Breakker
  • Bruno Sammartino
  • Brutus Creed
  • Butch
  • Cactus Jack
  • Cameron Grimes
  • Carmella
  • Carmelo Hayes
  • Cedric Alexander
  • Chad Gable
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Chyna
  • Cody Rhodes
  • Commander Azeez
  • Cora Jade
  • Cruz Del Toro
  • Dakota Kai
  • Damian Priest
  • Dana Brooke
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Diesel
  • Doink
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Dominik Mysterio
  • Doudrop
  • Drew Gulak
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Eddie Guerrero
  • Edge
  • Elias
  • Eric Bischoff
  • Erik
  • Ezekiel
  • Faarooq
  • Giovanni Vinci
  • Finn Balor
  • Gigi Dolin
  • Goldberg
  • Grayson Waller
  • Happy Corbin
  • Hollywood Hogan
  • Hulk Hogan
  • Humberto Carrillo
  • The Hurricane
  • Ilja Dragunov
  • Indi Hartwell
  • IYO SKY
  • Ivar
  • Jacy Jayne
  • Jake “The Snake” Roberts
  • JD McDonagh
  • Jerry “The King” Lawler
  • Jey Uso
  • Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart
  • Jimmy Uso
  • Jinder Mahal
  • Joaquin Wilde
  • JBL
  • John Cena
  • Johnny Gargano
  • Julius Creed
  • Kane
  • Karrion Kross
  • Katana Chance
  • Kayden Carter
  • Kevin Nash
  • Kevin Owens
  • Kofi Kingston
  • Kurt Angle
  • LA Knight
  • Lacey Evans
  • Liv Morgan
  • Lita
  • Logan Paul
  • Ludwig Kaiser
  • MACE
  • “Macho Man” Randy Savage
  • Madcap Moss
  • Mansoor
  • Matt Riddle
  • Maryse
  • Molly Holly
  • Montez Ford
  • Mr. McMahon
  • Mustafa Ali
  • MVP
  • Natalya
  • Nikki A.S.H.
  • Nikki Bella
  • Nikkita Lyons
  • Noam Dar
  • Omos
  • Otis
  • Queen Zelina
  • Randy Orton
  • Raquel Rodriguez
  • Razor Ramon
  • Reggie
  • Rey Mysterio
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Rick Boogs
  • Ricochet
  • Ridge Holland
  • Rikishi
  • Rob Van Dam
  • Robert Roode
  • Roman Reigns
  • Ronda Rousey
  • Rowdy Roddy Piper
  • Roxanne Perez
  • R-Truth
  • Sami Zayn
  • Santos Escobar
  • Scarlett
  • Scott Hall
  • Seth Rollins
  • Shane McMahon
  • Shanky
  • Shawn Michaels
  • Shayna Bazler
  • Sheamus
  • Shelton Benjamin
  • Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Shotzi
  • Solo Sikoa
  • Sonya Deville
  • Stacy Keibler
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
  • Stephanie McMahon
  • Syxx
  • Tamina
  • T-Bar
  • Ted DiBiase
  • The Miz
  • The Rock
  • Titus O’Neil
  • Tommaso Ciampa
  • Triple H
  • Trish Stratus
  • Tyler Bate
  • Ultimate Warrior
  • Umaga
  • Undertaker
  • Vader
  • Veer Mahaan
  • Gunther
  • Wes Lee
  • Xavier Woods
  • Xia Li
  • X-Pac
  • Yokozuna
  • Zoey Stark

Johnny Gargano originally wasn’t included on the roster list that was put out by 2K Games, but they’ve since clarified that he’ll be playable at launch.

The official release date for WWE 2K23 is Friday, March 17. Those who buy the deluxe or icon versions of the game will be able to play it starting on Tuesday, March 14.

Last month, John Cena was announced as the cover star for WWE 2K23. The icon edition of the game also includes a Ruthless Aggression Pack with the following versions of Cena, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Batista.

  • Brock Lesnar ’01
  • The Prototype
  • Randy Orton ’02
  • Leviathan

Bad Bunny will also be playable in WWE 2K23 as the game’s special pre-order bonus character.

WarGames will make its debut as a match type in WWE 2K23. Other features include Universe mode, MyFaction, MyRise, MyGM, and a Cena showcase mode.

John Cena revealed as WWE 2K23 cover star

Posted on by Joseph Currier

John Cena will be featured on the cover of WWE’s next video game.

WWE and 2K Sports revealed today that Cena is the cover star for WWE 2K23. The official release date for the game is Friday, March 17, 2023.

The WWE 2K23 announcement trailer stars Cena, Bad Bunny, Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Cena tweeted: “Honored to be on the cover of @WWE @WWEgames #WWE2K23 for the second time! The new game certainly brings a new meaning to ‘career mode.’ Excited for every player to take this journey!”

The standard, deluxe, and icon editions of the game all feature different images of Cena on the cover. Those who buy the deluxe or icon versions will receive three days of early access to the game starting on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

WWE 2K23 is now available to pre-order. Bad Bunny is the pre-order bonus character for those who purchase any version of the game.

WarGames will make its debut as a match type in WWE 2K23, with 2K Sports touting that it delivers “heart-pounding 3v3 and 4v4 multiplayer mayhem inside two side-by-side rings, surrounded by a double-steel cage.”

Universe mode, MyFaction, MyRise, MyGM, and a Cena showcase mode are among the other features in WWE 2K23. The description for the Cena showcase is listed below:

The champ is here! Play through an interactive sports documentary, narrated by John Cena himself, covering the key moments and toughest opponents of John Cena’s storied 20-year WWE career. And in a franchise-first, take on the role of each marquee opponent – some of WWE’s greatest of all time – as you aim to take down Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect.

WWE 2K23 will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC.

Cena made his return to the ring last month, wrestling in his only match of 2022. He teamed with Kevin Owens to defeat Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn on the final SmackDown of the year.