• [Dailystar Icon]
• Tech
• Gaming
• Video games

Daily Star's best and worst wrestling games from iconic entry and slobberknocker

Whether you're into TNA, WWE, or AEW, there have been plenty of wrestling video games over the years, but some are better than others which ones have you played?

[WWE 2K24]

How many of these games have you played?(Image: 2K Games)

Wrestling and video games make an excellent pairing. After all, "don't try this at home" doesn't apply when you put your best bud through a table digitally, and with such a heavy dose of nostalgia and personalization, it means you can create just about anyone you want and have them duke it out with any legend from any era of wrestling.

In fact, wrestling games are so good these days that we almost take it for granted. With WWE 2K25 now officially revealed, and the Royal Rumble just hours away, we've picked our best, and worst, wrestling games of all time. Some of them may even surprise seasoned veterans.

Which ones have you played, and which do you agree or disagree with? Let us know in the comments below.

The best wrestling games of all time:

5. Def Jam Vendetta

[Def Jam Vendetta]

Def Jam Vendetta was better than it had any right to be(Image: EA)

Those of a certain vintage will remember just how wild it was when AKI Corporation, developer of WWF No Mercy, released a PS2 and Gamecube game starring rappers like Method Man, Joe Budden, and Ghostface Killah, as well as eventual God of War himself, Christopher Judge.

Vendetta had a fantastic wrestling system, a great soundtrack, and a unique art style. Its sequel, Def Jam: Fight For NY, ramped things up but moved away from straight-up wrestling to a more violent game.

4. Fire Pro Wrestling

[Fire Pro Wrestling World]

Fire Pro Wrestling World is a solid effort, but the GBA titles haven't been dethroned(Image: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.)

Don't let the 2D looks of the Fire Pro franchise put you off the series has been around since 1989, but the 2001 Game Boy Advance game is the winner here.

A staggering roster packed with copyright-dodging WWE, WCW, ECW and even UFC stars, all of which were customisable, plus a huge array of modes made this the kind of game you could play for hours and still not see everything.

3. WWE 2K24

[WWE 2K24]

WWE 2K24 shows the series has never been better(Image: 2K Games)

2K's WWE games haven't all been home-runs (more on that anon), but 2K24 is the best the series has looked and felt in years.

A painstakingly recreated roster that's packed with classic and current superstars alike, a deeper creation suite than ever, and much, much more, it's the kind of annual entry that means WWE 2K25 has an almost impossible task to follow up.

2. WWE Smackdown Here Comes the Pain

[WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain box art]

WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain remains king of the ring for many(Image: THQ/Jakks Pacific)

Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain marks the first time Smackdown's naming convention hadn't been dictated by The Rock's catchphrase, and was the basis on which the Smackdown Vs Raw series was built.

It was also a phenomenal game in its own right, introducing the Elimination Chamber, changing up counters, and leading to all manner of multiplayer mayhem. The less said about the Bra and Panties match the better, though.

1. WWF No Mercy

[WWF No Mercy]

WWF No Mercy was the perfect encapsulation of the Attitude Era(Image: THQ/Nintendo)

AKI Corporation was at the peak of its powers with No Mercy, a game that transcended the N64 to become the stuff of playground legend. Everyone who had the game wanted to talk about it, and even Smackdown-playing PS1 owners wanted to hear about it.

Creation tools, career mode and a slick grappling system that even wrestling games today are borrowing from made it an unforgettable entry into the genre that remains the best around.

The worst wrestling games of all time:

5. TNA Impact!

[TNA iMPACT! box art]

TNA iMPACT! had enough 'star power' to do better(Image: Midway)

TNA Impact wasn't that bad in some ways, but at the time of its release, TNA felt like it had the world at its feet. Had the game been better, there's every chance it would have pulled an audience.

The main character of Career Mode, the unfortunately named Suicide, was even brought into the real TV product, but the whole thing lacked polish or a unique selling point. Still, it had Sting, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe, so there was definitely some star power.

4. WWF Raw

[WWF Raw]

WWF Raw wasn't fun to play, but at least it looked good(Image: THQ/WWE)

Raw remains one of WWE's biggest brands, and with Smackdown doing its thing on PlayStation at the time, the then-WWF decided to make a go of the red brand on the digital canvas for Xbox and PC.

Sadly, as good as the game looked, it just didn't play well, with bizarre pacing that meant a player could kick out of a pin, be pinned again, and lose a match. The roster was great, however, packing the best of WWE and the WCW/ECW invasion superstars.

3. Simpsons Wrestling

[The Simpsons Wrestling]

The Simpsons Wrestling was no Hit and Run, let's put it that way(Image: Activision)

Something a little different, and one you may not even know existed, but in 2001 we got a Simpsons wrestling game that was, frankly, a mess.

It was funny in small doses, but it was wildly unbalanced and ran poorly. Hilariously, mild-mannered neighbourino, Ned Flanders, was essentially the best fighter in the game, able to summon lightning from the sky thanks to his relationship with God.

2. WCW Backstage Assault

[WCW Backstage Assault]

Backstage Assault fared poorly with fans

How do you make a wrestling game less appealing? By taking the whole thing away from the ring, of course.

Backstage Assault sold abysmally, thanks to naff visuals and animations, and WCW's ever-shrinking roster of stars at the time (even including an unmasked Rey Mysterio Jr). It simply wasn't fun to play, but at least it worked...

1. WWE 2K20

[WWE 2K20 box art]

WWE 2K20 was laughably unfinished(Image: 2K Gaming)

A game that launched in such a poor state at the tail-end of 2019 that it forced almost two years off from the studio to rebuild ahead of 2K22, WWE 2K20 was one of the most broken games in any genre.

It was, if you'll pardon the pun, 'Rock Bottom' for wrestling games, but it did lead to such community outrage that it's kept 2K's feet to the fire. As a result, every game since has gotten progressively better, and as we pointed out earlier, 2K24 has found its way into the genre's best list.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.