Like the world of wrestling itself, the quality of wrestling games is a wide spectrum indeed. For every instant classic, there’s an absolute flop guaranteed to stink up the joint. You know the type of game, the ones that’d make Bryan Alvarez scream “MINUS FIVE STARS” at the top of his lungs. Yes, depending who you are, that could be a really obscure reference.
Now, as you might know already from the litany of listicles that are on the internet, finding the bottom of the barrel can make for compelling reading, so we’re doing just that. Hooray for originality and whatnot. Anyway, enough of the preamble, let’s break down 10 of the worst wrestling games ever made.
10. WCW Backstage Assault
If you want a reason as to why the WWF won the Monday Night Wars, there’s several, but the quality of video games is certainly one of them. Though the WWF was no stranger to bad wrestling games during that time, and we’ll get to those in a bit, WCW took it too far with WCW Backstage Assault.
As the name would imply, the entirety of the gameplay took place outside of the ring, with wrestlers being assaulted backstage. Who would’ve thought It’s a novel concept, and one that no doubt appealed to the more brutal aspects of the Monday Night War/Attitude Era timeframe, but weak gameplay and a dodgy camera made playing WCW Backstage Assault an absolute chore.
9. TNA Impact
Another game from a company fit to be described as second best in comparison to Vince McMahon’s wrestling goliath, TNA Impact is a snapshot of the company in arguably its prime, largely because their roster contained mostly WWE guys people actually liked. We’re talking Kurt Angle, Booker T, Kevin Nash and Christian alongside the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Sting, Bobby Roode and more. Say what you will about TNA, and people often do, but their 2008 roster was stacked.
The potential was there for something rivalling the offerings put out by the then-operational THQ, but the result was something that felt cheap and sub-par. Unsurprising, really, as developers Midway were going through a ton of financial difficulties at that point. Six months after the game released, Midway filed for bankruptcy.
8. Rumble Roses
Whilst not the worst wrestling game ever made (just look at some of the entries on this list), Rumble Roses deserves a place on here because of what it is: smut.
A product of a different, more male-oriented time in both wrestling and gaming, Rumble Roses was pitched as a sort of male fantasy wish fulfilment, with scantily clad virtual girls oiling up and getting their grapple on. I say male fantasy, it’s more like teenage boy fantasy at best. With that as its selling point, the gameplay almost became an afterthought. Who cares about what the action is like inside the ropes when you can take photos of the wrestlers in their bikinis?
7. WWE 2K18 (for the Switch)
We’ve put the boot in on WWE 2K18 a fair bit this week, and even suggested some ways it could be improved, but it wasn’t the worst wrestling game in the world. There’s certainly some enjoyment to be had, or at least there is if you don’t play it on the Switch.
Touted by many as being both the worst game available on the console and one of the worst ports in history, WWE 2K18 for the Switch is nothing short of a travesty. Bad framerates, awful textures and other downgrades help to create just a shitty overall experience.
6. Fire Pro Wrestling (Xbox 360)
A series departure in both gameplay and quality, Fire Pro Wrestling was an idea that came from the right place: trying to find a game that actually used the Xbox 360 avatars. Go on. Without using Google, name five games that actually used the avatars. I can only think of two others, three if you want to includes Crash Course and the sequel.
Moving away from the timing and skill based gameplay that the series is known for, Fire Pro Wrestling for the 360 focused more on button mashing and more casual gameplay elements, creating a game that was a husk of its former glory.
5. WWF Warzone
Remember when I said that WWF was no stranger to bad video games? This is what I was referring to. Though it was fondly reviewed back in the day, that’s largely because we hadn’t sampled better yet. No Mercy, WrestleMania 2000 and SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role were still over a year away, showing gamers what a 3D wrestling game done right could be like, and they’re still a lot of fun to play by today’s standards. On the other hand, WWF Warzone has aged like a crystal meth addict.
Poor controls, bog standard gameplay and the usual PS1 jankiness makes WWF Warzone hard to go back to. It’s only redeeming feature these days is the unintentionally hilarious promo packages from the wrestlers. It’s basically different stars cutting a promo in front of a green screen, which displays what appear to be pre-rendered backgrounds from Resident Evil 2 or 3. Impressive, considering Resident Evil 3: Nemesis wasn’t out for another year.
4. WWF Betrayal
If you’re about to be offended about this game being on the list despite being a beat ‘em up rather than a proper wrestling game, don’t read further. The final entry is a doozy. Anyway, WWF Betrayal was a Game Boy Colour game that’s arguably a better portable wrestling game than WWE 2K18 for the Switch. Arguably.
Playing as one of four characters – The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H or The Undertaker – you have to crack skulls around the city, chasing down one of the other four and taking back your stolen WWF Championship. Boring levels, crap enemies and stupid storyline (which is to be expected from wrestling) made WWF Betrayal feel like a betrayal.
3. Simpsons Wrestling
Living in infamy as one of the worst wrestling games, if not one of the worst games ever made fully stop, Simpsons Wrestling is just plain awful. Terrible gameplay, crap graphics even for the era and a lack of actual content made Simpsons Wrestling about as beloved as the TV show post season 9.
The only redeemable quality was trying to spot how many references to the TV show you could find with the characters and stages. Special mention goes to the Kang and Kodos stage that includes the “How To Cook For Forty Humans” joke from the original Treehouse of Horror episode.
2. Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighbourhood
On roster alone, Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighbourhood has a lot of merit, specifically if you love shit tier, mid-2000s indie wrestling. Well, “indie” wrestling; it’s mainly a bunch of CZW mainstays and the Insane Clown Posse (JUGGALO FOR LIFE).
If nothing else, you can have Andrew WK fight Zandig, or crazy bastard New Jack fighting adult film star Tera Patrick. For that novelty alone, you gotta respect the game. Shame that the gameplay itself was ropey, unresponsive and just uninspired.
1. WWE Crush Hour
I told you it was a doozy. Crush Hour is a product of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era where unrelated spin-offs were the word of the day. Antz Racing, the kart racing game based on the film Antz, springs to mind.
A weapon-based destruction derby game in a similar vein to something like Twisted Metal, Crush Hour was a bland experience that was more confusing than entertainment; the confusion being why did this get greenlit in the first place. Still, the wrestlers were voiced, so it’s still a step above WWE 2K18’s MyCareer Mode.
And that’s our list. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our list of the best wrestling games, and read how we’d go about fixing the WWE 2K games.
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