Professional wrestling has always been a staple fighting style in fighting games. While some fighters rely on their hard-hitting punch and kick combos, uppercuts, and the odd fireball or ki attacks, wrestlers in fighting games often try and succeed in getting up close and personal to their foes and unleash devastating grapple moves: from slams, lariats, and piledrivers.
With that in mind, here is a ranking of the best wrestlers in fighting games. This list is limited to one wrestler per fighting game, and it also does not include wrestling games to put the spotlight on some lesser-known fighting titles.
8 Ladiva - Granblue Fantasy Versus
Ladiva is the premier grappler in Granblue Fantasy Versus. She is an imposing duelist, with her physique rivaling even the hardiest of duelists in the game. When the battle starts, the star of the Jewel Resort Casino Liner will use her grappling and strike mix-ups to deliver massive damage against her opponents.
Once she gets her opponents in the corner with her Elegant Lariat, Ladiva’s corner pressure is difficult to overcome, since her mix-ups will keep her enemies guessing. Ladiva can use her Headbutt of Love or Devoted Body Slam to finish her corner pressure and inflict tons of damage.
7 Muscle Power - World Heroes Series
Muscle Power is a professional wrestler who hails from the World Heroes titles. He represents pro wrestling in the tournament, and his mission is to prove to the world that his muscles and fighting prowess are the best, whether the fight is in the ring or not.
He utilizes a lot of pro wrestling moves like lariats, dropkicks, suplexes and powerbombs. His most devastating move is his jumping spinning backbreaker which deals immense damage on his opponent’s health bar. Muscle Power’s appearance is similar to Hulk Hogan, especially the handlebar mustache and receding hairline. But in the later titles, Muscle Power’s mustache is shaved off.
6 Mike Haggar - Marvel VS Capcom 3, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Marvel VS Capcom Infinite, Final Fight Revenge
The Mayor of Metro City himself, Mike Haggar is one of Capcom’s most tenured characters. He is known to be one of the playable characters in the Final Fight beat 'em up titles, as well as the Slam Masters games. But since this list is about wrestlers in fighting games, Haggar still gets into this list thanks to his appearances in the Marvel vs Capcom games.
Mike Haggar uses a predominantly pro wrestling fighting style that includes a spinning lariat, clotheslines, dropkicks and body presses. His signature move in the fighting games he is in is his jumping piledriver which can incapacitate his enemies he manages to grab onto. He also isn’t averse to using weapons: he can be seen bludgeoning opponents with his trusty lead pipe.
5 Raiden - Fatal Fury: King Of Fighters, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, The King Of Fighters 12, The King Of FIghters 13
Raiden is one of the older pro wrestlers included in this list. He is one of the go-to grapplers in the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series. He is a bulky, muscular wrestler who isn’t afraid to manhandle his opponents whenever he can get his hands on them. Much of Raiden’s look is reminiscent of Vader: a similarly-built behemoth of a pro wrestler who is known for stiff strikes and being surprisingly agile for his size.
His repertoire of pro wrestling moves include charging tackles, double ax handle smashes, body presses, and senton splashes. But his signature move is his deadly mist that he spits at his opponents to momentarily blind them for some back-breaking combos.
4 Wolf Hawkfield - Virtua Fighter Series
Born in Canada, standing at 5 feet 11 inches, and weighing in at 220 pounds, Wolf Hawkfield is Virtua Fighter’s resident pro wrestler who is always looking for a good fight. Wolf is known for dealing tremendous amounts of damage on his opponents, and does not have any fighting gimmick or quirks outside his throws.
He is proficient in dishing out quick combos that would send enemies flying or being knocked down, which leads Wolf to grabbing them with his Diamond Cutter grapple. Wolf can also engage enemies with his patented Pounding Elbow to mix up his combos and keep his opponents guessing.
3 Tina Armstrong - Dead Or Alive Series
One of Dead or Alive’s famous characters, Tina Armstrong is one of the franchise’s perennial fighters. She has been in all Dead or Alive games, along with his father and fellow pro wrestler, Bass.
The American southern belle has been joining tournaments in order to get noticed by Hollywood and branch out to become a star. However, Bass doesn’t want his daughter to give up pro wrestling for a chance of stardom.
Coming from a pro wrestling family, she is well-versed with pro wrestling moves and attacks. Her signature moves include her running hip attack, and giant swing: though her moves are slower than other fighters, these moves hit hard and will tear a chunk out of the opponent’s health bar.
2 King - Tekken Series
With his iconic jaguar mask and growls, King is one of the more recognizable pro wrestlers in fighting games. He has been a mainstay in the Tekken franchise, appearing in every title since Tekken 1. His moves make him especially dangerous when he is close to his opponent: he utilizes a lot of chain grabs that are hard to counter. His giant swing and Shining Wizard are especially deadly grabs that most King players use and King opponents dread.
King is designed after New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Tiger Mask, who dons a tiger mask during matches, as well as Fray Tormenta, a Mexican priest who moonlighted as a luchador to support an orphanage. With Tekken 8 recently announcing King's return, it would be interesting which other characters this pro wrestler can body slam and chain grab.
1 Zangief - Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter 5
As far as recognizable pro wrestlers in fighting games are concerned, Zangief has got to be the most popular. The Red Cyclone has been in the majority of the Street Fighter titles and has been grappling against the likes of Ryu, Ken, and other fighters in the Street Fighter roster.
As one of the first pro wrestlers in fighting games, Zangief’s game plan during matches is to get close to his opponent as often as possible in order to use his patented grab moves. This includes his signature jumping Spinning Piledriver, Double Atomic Buster, and Flying Powerbomb. He also uses the Double Lariat, a move he shares with Mike Haggar, to bypass projectiles thrown by his opponents.