Image via Complex Original
The history of video games based on professional wrestling is a sketchy one at best. While there have been many games that have been able to capture the feel of real professional wrestling (now that's an oxymoron), there have been many more that have failed miserably in bringing us the face stomps and chair shots to the back of the head we've come to expect.
We've sifted through the decades of professional wrestling video games and have narrowed the list down to The 12 Best Pro-Wrestling Video Games Ever.
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12. M.U.S.C.L.E.
Platform: NES
Year: 1986
Publisher: Bandai
This game was awesome in the most ironic way possible.. Made to compliment the toys where you'd match little pink wrestling action figures against each other, the video game was so bad that its very existence is hilarious. The best way to describe its impact is to say that it's the E.T. of wrestling video games. If you have a copy, hold on to it for dear life as it's a rare collectible.
11. Rumble Roses
Platform: PS2
Year: 2004
Publisher: Konami
By this time, numerous pro-wrestling video games have come and gone but there was still a space open for a sub-genre in sports entertainment. Rumble Roses posititioned itself to be the premiere women's wrestling video game. Rumble Roses featured and all female roster and included a gimmick mud wrestling match. Sexist, absolutely but it's ridiculous storyline of a mad scientist dressed as a nurse looking to create super soldiers out of women beating each other up cannot be ignored.
10. Celebrity Deathmatch
Platform: PS One, PS2, Xbox
Year: 2003
Publisher: Gotham Games
Celebrity Deathmatch was one of MTV's most popular shows in the 90s which is why there's no surprise that a video game would come out around the same concept. Players put a roster of celebrities in a ring and fought to the death. With 27 characters ranging from adult film legend Ron Jeremy to self-proclaimed psychic Ms. Cleo, Celebrity Deathmatch was the perfect game for pop culture fans looking to pound on their favorite celebrities before TMZ would take over.
9. Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Year: 2010
Publisher: Konami
In an attempt to bring the Lucha Libre style of professional wrestling to American audiences, Konami brought the AAA pro-wrestling promotion to the video gaming world. The gameplay and graphics were good but good ol 'Merican unawareness of the AAA's relevance kept Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes Del Ring from being a power player in the list of wrestling video games.
8. WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game
Platform: Arcade
Year: 1995
Publisher: Midway, Acclaim
WWF Wrestlemania The Arcade Game was pro-wrestling's answer to Mortal Kombat. Instead of the cartoonish graphics of past WWF video games, Wrestlemania aimed for realism. Since gamers were already hyped from the Mortal Kombat revolution, it was easy for this title to win our quarters.
7. Def Jam Vendetta
Platform: PS2, Nintendo GameCube
Year: 2003
Publisher: EA Sports BIG
For the first time ever, hip-hop's heroes were able to get beaten without the help of a rival's entourage. Def Jam Vendetta's fighting engine was originally supposed to be used in the WCW Mayhem but when Electronic Arts lost the WCW license (WWE owner Vince McMahon bought WCW in 2001), Vendetta was born. Characters in the game included Scarface, Joe Budden, Redman and Ghostface Killah. Each having signature wrestling moves and taunts.
6. WWF No Mercy
Platform: Nintendo GameCube
Year: 2000
Publisher: THQ
As the best pro-wrestling video games to come out on Nintendo's GameCube, WWF No Mercy was a follow up to the WWF Wrestlemania 2000 game. Although some of the features from the prior video game was taken out (like wrestler entrances), No Mercy improved in other areas like an improved career mode and character customization.
5. Pro Wrestling
Platform: NES
Year: 1987
Publisher: Nintendo
One of the first pro-wrestling games to be released was generically named Pro Wrestling on the Nintendo Entertainment System. For an 8-bit game, the graphics were very well done and the moves were animated just good enough to give an authentic feel of real action. While putting it up against professional wrestling video games now Pro Wrestling looks crude and minamalist but in its time, it was the coolest on the block. Not to mention the horribly translated victory message from Japanese that read, "A Winner Is You!"
4. WWF Superstars
Platform: Arcade
Year: 1989
Publisher: Technos Japan Corporation
Pro-wrestling video arcade games sucked quite a bit until the arrival of WWF Superstars. This was the first game to focus on the real wrestlers that were on television. Finally, fans were able to battle it out with characters that they were familiar with opposed to generic brawlers that only had relevance to the video game itself.
3. WWF Smackdown!: Here Comes The Pain
Platform: PS2
Year: 2003
Publisher: THQ
While the WWF Smackdown! series had been dominating the pro-wrestling video game genre, it was its Here Comes The Pain release that established the franchise as the best ever. The graphics were drastically improved along with the game's roster. Because of the push in making larger and more detailed characters, signature moves looked more realistic and made a more exciting experience for pro-wrestling fans and gamers alike.
2. WWE '12
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Year: 2011
Publisher: THQ
A decision was made to drop the Smackdown! Vs. Raw title as the franchise moved away from it's old fighitng engine to a more complex one. Older features like weak/strong grapples were taken out and replaced with a more robust fighting system that included a wider variation of moves that could be performed depending on the opponent's physical state.
After THQ went under in 2013, the rights to WWE franchise for video games went to Take Two Interactive who kept the original Yukes and THQ developers on board. That didn't mean that the new generation of WWE games didn't go through its evolution. The title leaned more towards hardcore wrestling fans by incoroporating controls to execute more moves native to actual WWE pro-wrestling and its characters. This alienated more casual players but satisfied the fans looking for more of a WWE television experience.
1. WWF Wrestlefest
Platform: Arcade
Year: 1991
Publisher: Technos Japan Corporation
Riding off the success of WWF Superstars, what really made WWF Wrestlefest the blockbuster it was was the four-player feature. Also, in a move of business brilliance, players could dump in more quarters for more energy. It only drew more hatred towards rich kids since they'd be hogging the machine for hours.
