Clash and Burn: Top 3 WWE 2K Games

Greetings Marks! It is your favorite resident Clash Man, Johnny Clash. Since the hype surrounding WWE 2K22 is getting louder and louder, I figured I would bring Clash and Burn back to talk about my top 3 favorite 2K games!

I am doing a top 3 rather than a top 5 because 2K games only go back to 2K14 and we obviously had no 2K21 release and 2K20 was… 2K20. One day I plan to expand this conversation to other games considered part of this series (WWE ’12-13), but for now I want to do mini deep dives into some of my favorites from the current series. Let’s go!

3. WWE 2K19

Ok, hear me out before you judge. 2K19 was one of the first 2K games that I felt had an in depth story mode that I could sink my teeth into. By story mode, I am referring to “MyCareer” mode. This was also the last game to be developed by Yukes (YIKES!).

I think something cool that 2K games have done is not only put in the MyCareer/MyRise modes into their games, but also feature some really unique showcase modes. This game featured the Daniel Bryan Showcase, and though it sounds great, it only featured 11 matches, which is a significant difference from its predecessor. The AJ Styles Million Dollar tower also gave casual fans slight hope at the chance of becoming a millionaire, just by playing this game. That’s some good marketing if you ask me.

I thought MyCareer in 2K19 was one of the most robust, lengthy, enticing story modes that 2K has developed. Though it was corny at times, MyCareer had everything including, a classic work-your-way up story from the indies, (inside of a hardwood floor gym, I can smell the polyurethane), to an NXT invasion, all the way up to a main roster Universal title run.

One of the more unique features was the inclusion of the Bray Wyatt compound and some interesting backstage interactions with Matt Hardy and Papa Shango. I also popped at the return of Barron Blade from previous games, but this time as your head booker for BCW and future WWE backstage agent.

If you have not played 2K19’s MyCareer yet, it’s definitely time to see what the “Buzz” is all about, but don’t plan on hearing a real voice-over from John Cena.

2. WWE 2K16

A Terminator commercial and a Texas sized Showcase mode? Sounds good to me! While the MyCareer in 2K16 wasn’t one of their strongest, it still held some ground in being one of the more addictive features of the game.

WWE 2K16 showed a drastic change in detail in every character model and that might have been one of the bigger selling points in this game behind the Stone Cold Showcase mode. It was nice to see some change to that capacity and as we know, it would only get better until that 2K20 wall hit.

The Showcase mode detailed the career of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and featured the largest roster in the game’s history, which was definitely needed to cover the entire career of the Texas Rattlesnake. Any time a game reminds me of how great the “Two Man Power trip” was, it’s ok in my book. Once you finish this Showcase mode, you are able to download the Hall of Fame pack and dive back into some other classic matches from history.

If you ask me, 2K16 was everything that a wrestling simulation should be. If only the model of this game carried on through out the entire series. Maybe there is hope for 2K22.

1. WWE 2K15

Ok, for obvious reasons I am going with 2K15. No one expected that Sting commercial to hit, and no one expected it to be as epic as it was. When those drums started playing the Crow theme and the entire band had the face paint… CHILLS. Then the man, the Icon, turns around for the first time in his career under the WWE umbrella. CHILLS AGAIN. But there’s more to this classic game than the Vigilante.

WWE 2K15 was the first WWE 2K game to feature a “Showcase Mode.” This one covered 33 matches of the most historic rivalries throughout WWE modern day history, with the first being John Cena and CM Punk. To me, that’s what a Showcase mode should be. Keep me coming back for more and let me relive something modern and fresh, but cool. Then you have the very bitter rivalry between Triple H and Shawn Michaels, which starts at their famous bout at Summer Slam ’02 and works its way all the way up to their Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood ’04.

On top of this, there are also DLC Showcase modes available like; Christian and Randy Orton during the “One More Match” phase of Christians career; and the careers of Mark Henry and The Ultimate Warrior.

But now, what might be my favorite part of the game… IT’S STINGGGGGGG! The WWE game debut of “The Icon” Sting in 1991 and 1999 form. No more “CAWs” for me. I now had Sting already loaded into the game with a move-set I didn’t have to create. For this reason alone, I tend to cling to 2K15 as the most iconic and memorable for myself. This would lead to some of my favorite modern day WWE memories with Stinger and I always felt this video game was the gateway to the Sting we see flying through tables on TNT today.

So there you have it. These are my top 3 favorite WWE 2K games. I have very high hopes for 2K22 and I hope they deliver after the mess of 2K20. You know George and I will be focusing on the new release in it’s entirety when it comes out and everything leading up to it, so stay tuned to @gamemarkspod for all of the info as it drops!

As always, thank you for reading, follow us on all social media @gamemarkspod, download this week’s episode and GAME OVER, MARKS!

– Johnny Clash