The WWE video games have gone through a few different eras since the turn of the millennium. First, they produced standalone games like WrestleMania and Smackdown! games, but eventually these were all consolidated into a single annual release known as the Smackdown vs Raw series, which ran until 2011. After that, series developers, THQ, closed the doors and the license was handed over to 2K Games, who have slowly grown the scope of the games year by year, with varying degrees of success.
Being a star in wrestling is often less about how good you are in the ring and more about how marketable you are as a personality, so WWE video game covers are a great way to see who had the most success in the business for that year. It’s an indication of the person(s) WWE trusts to sell such a big product with their faces alone.
We’ve rolled back the clock to 2000 to see every single WWE cover star over the past twenty years.
WrestleMania 2000 – The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Mankind, and Big Show
The WrestleMania 2000 show was not the best WrestleMania ever. What should have been an incredible Rock vs Triple H main event was tarnished and turned into a Fatal 4 Way with the horrible ‘McMahon in every corner’ gimmick turning the whole thing into a confusing mess. You wouldn’t know it based on the video game though.
Unsurprisingly, the cover features all four contestants in the show’s main event, albeit with a few odd choices. Mick Foley is in his Mankind gimmick on the cover, but he famously reverted to his Cactus Jack gimmick in early 2000 during his feud with Triple H. Read also : The Best New Video Games From 2022 To Date. Even stranger is the inclusion of The Undertaker, who didn’t even appear at WrestleMania 2000 due to injury.
WWF No Mercy – The Rock, Triple H, Edge, and Jeff Hardy
If you ask longtime fans what the best wrestling video game of all time is, they’ll probably say WWF No Mercy. It is the perfect encapsulation of the retro arcade style of wrestling games that many fans miss so much in the modern era. The Rock and Triple H were easy choices for this cover as they were still at the top of their game. Edge wasn’t as big of a star as he would eventually be, but he was one on the rise, and even though Jeff Hardy is on this cover, you can’t see his face as he gets beat up by Edge.
Smackdown! – The Rock, Mankind, and Chyna
smackdown! games is a beloved set among fans, especially the later ones, and the first one started the series off strong. Once again, Mankind is used despite Mick Foley removing the mask at this point, but it shows how powerful a marketing image his mask was. On the same subject : 10 video games that have exceeded their welcome. Chyna also gets a nod as the first woman on the cover of a wrestling game, which is fitting for her place in wrestling history.
Smackdown! 2 Know Your Role – The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Chris Jericho
Released the same year as the first, this game knew exactly what to take advantage of. Since the subtitle uses one of The Rock’s catchphrases, it’s no surprise that he’s front and center on the cover. Read also : Video game news you need to know about. Then it’s an easy selection of the biggest stars of the time such as The Undertaker, Triple H and Chris Jericho.
Smackdown! Just Bring It – The Rock, Triple H, and Kurt Angle
A pattern is emerging on Smackdown! covers as The Rock and Triple H grace the art of boxing once again. The Rock is even more prominent than ever, with Triple H and Kurt Angle reduced to background images you might not even notice at first.
WWF Raw – The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane, and Jeff Hardy
Despite both television shows being of relatively equal quality in 2002, the WWF Raw games did not fare nearly as well as the Smackdown! series. Still, Triple H managed to work his way onto the cover despite being on a completely different show, and The Undertaker reappears in his biker persona. Kane finally gets a spot as the featured person on the cover after many years on top, and then-star Jeff Hardy gets to look as cool as he ever has.
WrestleMania X8 – Stone Cold, RVD, and Hulk Hogan
Despite being arguably the biggest star of this entire era, along with The Rock, Stone Cold was rarely featured on the cover of video games for some odd reason. What’s even stranger is that he wasn’t a very prominent figure at WrestleMania X8, having a mediocre mid-card match with Scott Hall. RVD opened the show winning the Intercontinental Championship, which was nice, but the biggest star is undoubtedly Hulk Hogan, who recently returned to the WWF for his legendary match with The Rock.
Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth – Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Booker T
Despite still using The Rock’s catchphrase, he is nowhere to be found on this cover. Triple H takes center stage this time around, along with a selection of the show’s most popular stars, all of whom achieved big things in 2002.
WrestleMania 19 – Kurt Angle, Stone Cold, and The Rock
Considered by many to be among the best WrestleManias of all time, this game’s cover takes full advantage of the biggest matches. Kurt Angle entered the show as WWE Champion, facing Brock Lesnar in the main event, and Stone Cold vs The Rock saw the pair’s last meeting and Stone Cold’s official retirement until his unlikely match with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.
Raw 2 – Goldberg, Triple H, and Scott Steiner
Despite not being nearly as successful as Smackdown! game, Raw got itself a sequel in 2003. Goldberg was the perfect choice for the cover star, still hugely popular after his WWE debut earlier that year. Triple H’s inclusion shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at this point, but Scott Steiner is an extremely odd choice. He debuted at the start of 2003, has a few terrible matches with Triple H and slowly sank into obscurity for the rest of the year. There were far more deserving contenders at the time like Edge or Brock Lesnar.
Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain – Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Rey Mysterio
The Last Smackdown Ever! game and the torch has been passed. Not only does the subtitle use Brock Lesnar’s catchphrase, but he takes up almost the entire cover. His meteoric rise to the top has never been successfully replicated in WWE, so it’s no surprise that they wanted to take full advantage of his superstar status, especially considering he would leave the company just 6 months later
Smackdown vs Raw – Vince McMahon
The first in the annual Smackdown vs Raw series, the owner of WWE, Vince McMahon decided it was time for him to get some of the limelight for a change. It’s not as strange as it sounds, the Mr McMahon character is one of the biggest villains in wrestling history and his face is one of the most recognizable out there for fans. That said, he wasn’t the best person to represent the conflict between the two shows since he’s the owner of both of them.
Smackdown vs Raw 2006 – Batista and John Cena
In 2006, there had been a changing of the guard at the top of the WWE, and this cover symbolizes that. In 2005, Wrestlemania 21 saw the crown on the two men WWE staked the company’s future on, and a year later it paid off. One would eventually surpass the other, but in 2006 John Cena and Batista reigned over their respective brands as wildly popular champions.
Smackdown vs Raw 2007 – Triple H, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Batista, and Torrie Wilson
Despite a new era ushering in new stars, you can’t get away from Triple H’s grip as he takes full control of this cover. In the background are both brands’ most marketable stars, with both Cena and Batista still enjoying great success. Rey Mysterio was still one of the company’s most reliable babyfaces, and Torrie Wilson is there to wear as little as she can get away with on the cover of a “Teen”-rated game, because sadly WWE still didn’t take women’s wrestling seriously in 2007.
Smackdown vs Raw 2008 – The Undertaker, John Cena, and Bobby Lashley
For the first time since he returned to the dead man persona in 2004, The Undertaker is getting his face on a WWE video game as Smackdown’s top star. Unsurprisingly, John Cena represents Raw as he was in the middle of his ‘Cena wins lol’ phase that made fans despise him. Bobby Lashley is there to represent ECW, which by this time had been relaunched as a third WWE brand.
Smackdown vs Raw 2009 – Triple H and Shawn Michaels
You might be starting to think that Triple H’s contract says he has to be on a video game cover at least every two years, but you’ll be happy to know that this is the last time we’ll see him on this list. This year he’s joined by fellow Degeneration-X member Shawn Michales after the pair reunited to relive their glory days with antics that were rather dated in 2009.
Legends of Wrestlemania – Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and The Rock
A short break from the regular series, this game focused on all the nostalgia of years gone by. Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan remain some of wrestling’s most recognizable faces, and their WrestleMania 3 match remains an iconic moment in history. Then, of course, Stone Cold and The Rock had three good matches at different WrestleManias. Even manager Jimmy Hart and announcer Bobby Heenan got in on the cover action this time.
Smackdown vs Raw 2010 – John Cena, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge, and Rey Mysterio
The PG era was going strong in 2010 and there is no doubt who the biggest star in the business is at this point. John Cena rules the stands without argument, even The Undertaker has to play second fiddle to him now. Randy Orton finally gets a spot on a cover, despite rising to the top circa 2007, and Edge finally reappears in his modern iteration. Finally, there’s good old Rey Mysterio, who can always be counted on to give a game a marketing boost.
Smackdown vs Raw 2011 – John Cena, Big Show, and The Miz
We’ve reached the final Smackdown vs Raw game and it’s a strange cover to look back on. John Cena’s appearance is no surprise and The Miz’s inclusion is understandable as he was on the verge of becoming WWE Champion when this game was released. Big Show is harder to justify, though. He’s not the worst choice ever, but with the likes of Randy Orton, Edge and CM Punk there were far better options.
WWE All Stars – Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, John Cena, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio
This is the last ensemble cover to date, and they certainly went all out and chose a whopping eight wrestlers to be represented in this cartoon style wrestling game. The old vs new theme is clear, with legends like Hulk Hogan on one side and then-current stars like John Cena on the other. This marks Kofi Kingston’s only cover appearance to date, and Rey Mysterio reappears as a background character, although he could have been on both sides given his long career.
WWE ‘12 – Randy Orton
From here, the games favored solo covers over large casts, focusing on a single wrestler for a year, making it a far greater achievement to be featured. Randy Orton is a good pick for 2011/12. At this point in his career, he ruled Smackdown, holding the major gold belt more often than not during those two years.
WWE ‘13 – CM Punk
This is the last WWE game made by THQ and it is arguably one of its best covers ever. Funnily enough, while CM Punk was THQ’s first choice for the cover star, WWE management insisted they use Sheamus instead. It’s fair to say that THQ made the right choice by sticking to its guns with CM Punk. The man was arguably the most popular wrestler in the world slap-bang in the middle of his 434-day WWE Championship reign.
WWE 2K14 – The Rock and Daniel Bryan
2K’s first outing with WWE saw a legend take to the cover rather than a current star in the form of The Rock, who had returned in 2013 for his second match with John Cena. But if you were to pick up your copy of WWE 2K14 and flip the cover over, you’d find Daniel Bryan on the other side, in the midst of his meteoric rise as the most popular man in all of wrestling despite WWE’s insistence that he wasn’t what the people wanted Garden.
WWE 2K15 – John Cena
This game saw 2K make the leap to the then new generation of consoles, Xbox One and PS4. The graphics saw a huge upgrade, albeit at the cost of a slightly reduced roster. Still, putting John Cena on the cover was a surefire way to boost the game’s sales, and it proved successful.
WWE 2K16 – Stone Cold
Now firmly in the legend camp, Stone Cold’s famous “Austin 3:16” catchphrase made him a shoo-in for WWE 2K16’s cover. This game proved that 2K was dedicated to steadily growing and improving the series, and this style of development would continue over the next few years.
WWE 2K17 – Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is an excellent marketing choice because he is both a legend and a current star. His run of dominance may have been a boring time for many fans, but there was undeniable mainstream appeal to Lesnar, who since his first WWE run had struck gold in the UFC. The marketing for this also leaned heavily on the pre-order bonus character Goldberg, as Lesnar vs Goldberg happened in real life around the same time the game was released.
WWE 2K18 – Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins, who finally landed firmly in the current camp of stars, was on fire throughout 2017 and 2018. He turned face and beat Triple H at WrestleMania 33, whistled a bit, but eventually found his footing as one of the best Intercontinental Champions . modern era and could always be relied upon to deliver the best match of any given show.
WWE 2K19 – AJ Styles
Coming off the end of a 371-day WWE Championship reign, AJ Styles was a star that no one expected to make it big in WWE. He came with serious baggage as one of TNA and NJPW’s biggest wrestlers, and typically the stars of other companies aren’t treated very well in WWE. However, AJ Styles was the exception, having a rocket strapped to his back and becoming one of WWE’s most reliable marketing hands.
WWE 2K20 – Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch
WWE 2K20 was a disaster of a game, but both cover stars had the best years of their careers. Despite being a huge star, 2K had stayed away from Roman Reigns until this point as his relationship with the fans was extremely toxic thanks to poor management on the part of WWE. But in 2019, things turned around after Reigns made a heroic comeback from a leukemia scare.
Becky Lynch, meanwhile, became the megastar no one expected, but no one could deny. She adopted a cocky swagger that was supposed to make her a bad guy, but she was so cool that everyone loved it. Eventually, she would rise to the top at Wrestlemania 35, making her one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling.
It’s just a shame that the game was so bad that 2K took a year off from making the series.
WWE 2K22 – Rey Mysterio
After appearing on covers in nearly every era of WWE video games, Rey Mysterio finally got his chance to shine alone on the WWE 2K22 cover. Although he is not as big of a star as he was 10/15 years ago, his mask is iconic and that makes him one of the most marketable wrestlers of all time.
There will be many more WWE video games in the coming years, as well as an AEW video game, and almost anyone has a realistic chance of making it onto the cover of the game, but the fun is always in the speculation.
Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.
