There are plenty of wrestling games out there, but few really great ones. The WWE games stagnated after their peak in Here Comes the Pain until it hit its nadir in WWE 2K20. Indie efforts like RetroMania Wrestling, while fun, haven’t exactly blown people’s socks off either.
It's enough to make a wrestling fan want to branch out into other gaming genres. But where should they start? Which non-wrestling video games manage to find space for sports entertainment? Here are a few broad suggestions.
8 Gears 5
Gears 5, part of the Gears of War series, let people play as former WWE superstar and current Guardian of the Galaxy Dave Bautista. Unfortunately, he was only there for a limited time.
Bautista became a downloadable skin for Marcus Fenix as part of a promo event for Clash of the Champions2019. He was largely the same as Fenix, except he had Big Dave’s voice, face, red specs, and the Batista Bomb. The promo has since ended, but the man himself is willing to return to the series, be it the games or the Netflix projects.
7 Super Smash Bros Ultimate
If that's not enough, there are games with more than one wrestling move out there, even if they're high-impact ones like the Batista Bomb. While Smash Bros seems a world away from pro-graps, the latest game managed to fit in some fun moves with its latest Pokemon rep Incineroar.
For a fire-type Pokemon, the only fire he seems interested in is Fire Pro Wrestling. In combat, he can pull off lariats, body splashes, Irish Whips, and more to send his foes flying. If push comes to shove, he can finish them off with his deadliest move: the Max Malicious Moonsault! So long as players can get that Smash Ball first.
6 Pokemon
Can Incineroar do all that in the Pokemon games? For the most part, yes. Though they’re not as flashy as in Smash. He was part of the Gen 7 roster in Ultra Moon/Ultra Sun. However, he was beat to the wrestling punch when Gen 6, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, brought in Hawlucha.
It’s a literal high-flying Pokemon that combined flight and fight together, diving towards rival monsters with hard punches, body splashes, and the X-Scissor. They must’ve taught Pikachu some things, too, as she turned up in Pokken Tournament, Pokemon GO, and more as Pikachu Libre, a masked version of the series' mascot with similar throws and strikes.
5 Saints Row the Third
The court jester to Grand Theft Auto’s mob boss has never shied away from a wrestling reference or two. They just peaked with the third entry. Players can pick some familiar-looking taunts and respect gestures for The Boss, be it ‘The Marine’ (John Cena), Woo! (Sting's cry), or ‘Nature Boy’ (Ric Flair’s strut).
They can also perform bulldogs, RKOs, and more on passers-by, including a gang of evil luchadors. Though fighting their leader Killbane and his jobbers require harder-hitting moves. Like a literal chainsaw! Sharp-eared fans can also catch Rob Van Dam as the color commentator for Genkibowl and Hulk Hogan himself as the mad luchador Angel de la Muerte.
4 Streets of Rage 4
Saints Row 4 also had a beat ‘em up level where the Boss could show off his moves. But then beat 'em ups have featured beefy grapplers ever since Mike Haggar drove grunts into the ground in Final Fight. As iconic as the Mayor of Metro City is, he's had a lot of contenders. Like Streets of Rage2’s Max Thunder.
He was the slow but strong option who slammed opponents instead of vaulting over them. His Thunder Tackle and Power Slide dash attacks made up for his lack of speed. He came back as a boss and DLC character for the long-awaited Streets of Rage 4, where he gained some new moves to smash hordes of punks with, like the devastating Thunder Strike.
3 No More Heroes
Suda 51 has been involved in wrestling games since his surprisingly morbid story mode for Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special, which he produced a DLC sequel to in Fire Pro Wrestling World. Since then, his games have featured grapplers to one degree or another. For example, Mask De Smith in Killer7 has his own level-up system via his masks.
So, it’s no surprise that he worked wrestling into the No More Heroes series as well. Lead character Travis Touchdown can learn to wrestle from videos, luchador masks, or from magazines in No More Heroes 2. Just stun an enemy, and Travis can give them Tombstone Piledrivers, Tiger Drivers, and a variety of suplexes, among other slams and smashes.
2 Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Fighting games are full of rather fantastical wrestlers. Skullgirls’ Beowulf dashes across the screen with steel chairs. Street Fighter’s Zangief has been delivering Spinning Piledrivers for 30+ years. While Tekken’s King, while slightly more realistic, is still a near-7ft wrestler in a jaguar mask doing Rey Mysterio flips and Kurt Angle-esque multipart throws.
The most realistic grapplers can be found in the Virtua Fighter games. Wolf Hawkfield and Jeffry McWild’s throws have such weight and impact that they’re impressive to watch. In turn, El Blaze has a more speedy Lucha Libre move set based on runs, dashes, and springboard jumps. Compared to some of their counterparts, they really bring out the more technical and intricate aspects of wrestling.
1 Yakuza series
VF5: Ultimate Showdown's improvements from earlier VF5 games were largely because of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios, the people behind the Yakuza series. Even there, they showcased their interest in pro-wrestling. Many of the games have featured Kiryu and co using wrestling moves, like suplexes, headscissors, and powerbombs. Beyond that, the games are a who's who of Japanese puroresu greats.
Old legend Yoshiaki Fujiwara appeared in the first five games as The Florist. While Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2 featured New Japan stars past and present with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, The Great Muta, and Masahiro Chono, among others. Former NJ grappler and current AEW star Kenny Omega is also due to appear in an upcoming game.