Following years of domination by WWE games, AEW: Fight Forever is attempting to shake up the professional wrestling video game scene. With a stellar lineup of superstars, a growing brand, and tons of exciting new matches for wrestling fans to dive into, AEW: Fight Forever looks set to compete against the biggest brand in sports entertainment. One match type, the Stadium Stampede, will not only allow players to relive the epic moments from AEW but will also give them a chance to experience the adrenaline-packed match that takes place within an NFL stadium.
While WWE has famously had backstage brawls, it was never able to feature a match that allowed its superstars to utilize every inch of an NFL stadium, from the field to the locker rooms and the stands. AEW: Fight Forever knows that it needs to bring in something different and unique, and the Stadium Stampede match looks like it could become the most popular match type in all professional wrestling video games. With the intense tag-team set up in an arena filled with potential weapons and hazards, AEW: Fight Forever’s Stadium Stampede could provide excitement, danger, and plenty of broken bones to keep players on their toes and allow them to sink countless hours into the upcoming game.
AEW’s Stadium Stampede
A Stadium Stampede match is a 5v5 tag-team match that involves two established factions within the AEW lineup of superstars. The match starts in a ring located in the middle of a football field, however, the entire arena from locker rooms, offices, stands, and even loading areas are accessible for wrestlers, not to mention all the weapons, which AEW: Fight Forever players will most likely use, within these areas. There have only been two Stadium Stampede matches in AEW’s history, with one eventually making its way to the audience-packed arena where the pay-per-view was taking place.
This gives AEW two ways of adding to the excitement of the Stadium Stampede match type, forcing superstars to either stay on their toes and work together to avoid defeat, or move the match to the arena with the audience to make a final pinfall. Both these types should be accessible in AEW: Fight Forever since it could add considerably more excitement and will force players to manage their team well. With the match able to be finished anywhere in the stadium, however, players could find it difficult to keep track of their teammates as the action will undoubtedly spill into various parts of the stadium.
Established Factions Only
Since the Stadium Stampede match type requires two established factions, AEW is the perfect company for it, boasting over 15 factions, but not all of them possess the five-member minimum that is required to compete in the match. Thankfully, one of the Stadium Stampedes that took place during AEW’s Double or Nothing Pay-Per-View did see Matt Hardy temporarily team up with a faction, so players may be able to fill in gaps within a faction using other superstars like Sting and the controversial CM Punk. This will also give players an incentive to create five superstars and form a brand-new faction that could challenge the likes of The Elite and The Inner Circle.
As with any tag-team match, players will need to ensure that their team possesses the right mixture of individual ability and teamwork to succeed in AEW: Fight Forever’s Stadium Stampede match. This could lead to a deeper faction system being added into the game that would dictate how teammates will react to certain instances, such as the player being hit with a finisher, or the player exiting a particular area of the stadium. While this feature has not been confirmed, the Stadium Stampede match could inspire AEW: Fight Forever to include deeper faction mechanics that would make each faction feel and act differently.
AEW: Fight Forever has a major challenge at its hands, especially after the widespread success of WWE 2K22, however, with a great roster of superstars, over ten game modes, and the always-exciting Stadium Stampede, it could dethrone the wrestling giant. Further, since it is being developed by Yuke’s, the developer being some of the best WWE games in the past, the game has a lot of potential and a team that knows what it is doing. With the Stadium Stampede set to become one of the most exciting match types in wrestling games, and the team behind some of the greatest wrestling games of all time behind it, AEW: Fight Forever has all the potential to succeed and dethrone the giant sitting atop the professional wrestling video game world.
AEW: Fight Forever is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
