Years ago, as an obsessed wrestling fan, I played the Nintendo 64 video games WCW/nWo REVENGE, NO MERCY and WRESTLEMANIA 2000 non-stop. For my money, those titles were the height of console wrestling gaming. But as my interest in wrestling waned after the disastrous mishandling of WWF’s WCW/ECW invasion angle, my interest in wrestling video games similarly dissipated. The last wrestling game I purchased was DAY OF RECKONING 2 for the Gamecube. Since then I haven’t been motivated to pick up a single wrestling title from any company for any console. That, however, has been changed with the announcement of WWE ALL-STARS, THQ’s new, way over-the-top, journey into the squared circle.
The concept of WWE ALL-STARS involves current WWE Superstars competing against WWE Legends. Personally, I would’ve preferred to stick to just those wrestlers who would qualify for the All-Star title, but unfortunately the announced roster includes the likes of Kofi Kingston and John Morrison. I don’t mean to demean these guys as wrestlers but when you can choose from The Rock, Hulk Hogan, the “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior, who wants to play as Sheamus? These are currently announced rosters of current WWE Superstars and WWE Legends:
Current WWE Superstars:
John Cena
Triple H
John Morrison
Kofi Kingston
Rey Mysterio Jr.
The Big Show
Randy Orton
Ted Dibiase Jr. (Gamestop Exclusive)
WWE Legends:
Hulk Hogan
Ultimate Warrior
The Rock
“Macho Man” Randy Savage
Andre the Giant
Bret “The Hitman” Hart
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
The Million Dollar Man (Gamestop Exclusive)
So who else should be included? Approaching the roster logically, one has to realize the current Superstars and Legends rosters must be even, which is unfortunate, but is clearly dictated by the game’s overall concept. Secondly, given the over-the-top visual style of WWE ALL-STARS, the more colorful Superstars in the history of the WWE should arguably receive a slight leg up on some of the less gimmicky performers. Thirdly, the games class system (wrestlers are labeled with one of four titles: Brawler, Big Man, Grappler, or Acrobat) also must have an effect on who’s included in the game. You can’t, for instance, make a list of devoid of any one of those groups or a list overloaded with any one group. Previews of the game estimate the roster to contain roughly 30 wrestlers. Looking at the announced roster, minus the Gamestop exclusives, that leaves around 16 spots open. These are my choices:
WRESTLER: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Brawler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 6x WWF Champion, 2x Intercontinental Champion, 2009 WWE Hall of Famer
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Other than The Rock and Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin is easily the most recognizable wrestler in WWE history. His feud with Vince McMahon was one of the main factors in WWF regaining its top spot in the industry during the Monday Night wars of the 1990s.
WRESTLER: The Undertaker
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Big Man
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 4x WWF/WWE Champion, 18-0 Record at Wrestlemania
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: The Undertaker is one of the few big men in the history of the industry who can put on a decent match. After Andre the Giant, he’s probably the most recognizable big man in history of the WWE and he has a gimmick that is ideal for this type of game. Also, the “big man” category will certainly be the hardest to fill, so that makes ‘Taker an easy lock.
WRESTLER: “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Acrobat
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3x WWF Champion, 5x WWF/WWE Tag Team Champion, 3x Intercontinental Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Shawn Michaels is one of the most gifted in-ring performers in the history of the business. When he was on the Wrestlemania card, he was almost guaranteed to have the match of the night. He also might be the most well-rounded wrestler of all-time with mic skills almost as impressive as his in-ring ability.
WRESTLER: Chris Jericho
CLASSIFICATION: Current (?) WWE Superstar (Jericho’s contract expired a few months ago, but he’s already talking about possibly returning), Acrobat/Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1st Undisputed WWF/WCW Champion, 9x Intercontinental Champion (all-time record)
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: My favorite wrestler of all-time, Chris Jericho, had easily the best debut in the history of the WWE. Every wrestling fan remembers when the Millenium Countdown reached zero and JERICHO flashed across the Jumbotron. Chris Jericho is one of the best talkers in the history of the business, and he’s an expert at how to build a great feud and a good match with anyone. It’s hard placing him in one of the defined groups, so I’ve listed him as an Acrobat/Grappler hybrid.
WRESTLER: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Brawler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2005 WWE Hall of Famer, Main Evented Wrestlemania I, had own interview segment “Piper’s Pit”
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: While Roddy Piper didn’t hold many titles in the WWF, he was one of the top heels, if not the top heel, in the golden age of the WWF. Piper was amazing on the mic and received his own interview segment, “Piper’s Pit”, because of that. Also, back when Hulk Hogan was making a bunch of cheesy family flicks, Piper had a legit acting career including a starring role in the brilliant sci-fi/horror flick THEY LIVE. His Scottish gimmick, which involved wearing a kilt, certainly would fit well with the cartoonish nature of the WWE ALL-STARS game.
WRESTLER: Edge
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Acrobat/Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 6x World Heavyweight Champion, 4x WWE Champion, 12x World Tag Team Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: In the beginning of Edge’s WWE career, he was part of one of the greatest tag team feuds of all-time between the Hardy Boyz and himself and Christian (a feud that led to even crazier matches when the Dudley Boyz joined the fray). As a single’s performer, Edge has held one of the WWE’s top two titles a total of ten times.
WRESTLER: Eddie Guerrero
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Acrobat
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1x WWE Champion, 4x WWE Tag Team Champion, 2006 WWE Hall of Famer
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Eddie Guerrero could work a tremendous match and was brilliant on the mic. He may have only held the WWE title once, but if he hadn’t tragically passed away, he clearly would’ve remained a top guy in the company for a long time.
WRESTLER: Jerry “The King” Lawler
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Brawler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2007 WWE Hall of Famer, WWF/WWE Color Commentator
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: So some people might say calling Jerry Lawler a “Current WWE Superstar” is cheating, but to them I would point out he’s the current #1 contender on Monday Night Raw. Also, he’s unquestionably known more for his current role as commentator than for his time as a wrestler. Even if he only wrestles sporadically, Lawler gets a spot because he is a WWE All-Star and he’s one of only a few on the current roster.
WRESTLER: Gorgeous George
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2010 WWE Hall of Famer, Charter Member of Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (inducted 2002)
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: At least one wrestler from before the WWF’s 1980s golden age should make the cut and Gorgeous George had more of an influence on the history of professional wrestling than perhaps any other performer. Gorgeous George was the first cowardly heel. He was the first wrestler to really have entrance music. Without Gorgeous George, there’s no telling where the wrestling business would be today.
WRESTLER: Christian
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Acrobat
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2x ECW Champion, 9x WWE/World Tag Team Champion, 3x Intercontinental Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: As mentioned above in my argument to include Edge, Christian was part of that same brilliant tag team feud. While it’s taken Christian a longer time than Edge to really cement himself as a legit single’s performer, he’s certainly one now.
WRESTLER: Mick Foley
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Brawler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3x WWF Champion, 8x WWF Tag Team Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Mick Foley might’ve been the most unlikely champion in the history of the WWE. He looked like he belonged in the stands rather than in the ring, but his willingness to put his body at extreme risk and his stellar promo work led him to the top of the company. He’s also ideal for a wrestling video game because of the multiple gimmicks he had over his career that can be used as alternate costumes.
WRESTLER: Kane
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Big Man
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1x WWF Champion, 9x World Tag Team Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: The only reason Kane makes it in this game is because he’s a big man and there’s a general shortage of them. That’s it. The only other big man available would be the Great Khali and including him would just be a complete embarrassment.
WRESTLER: Mr. Perfect
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2x Intercontinental Champion, 2007 WWE Hall of Famer
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Mr. Perfect makes the list because of his ability to always swat away the gum he spits out on the way to the ring, for bowling a 300, for catching his own hail mary pass in football, and for just generally being perfect. He’s also a pretty good worker and has one of my favorite finishing moves of all-time: the Perfect-Plex.
WRESTLER: CM Punk
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3x World Heavyweight Champion, 1x ECW Champion
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: If the ECW relaunch failed in all other respects, at least it brought CM Punk to the WWE. Watching a CM Punk match often makes me nostalgic for the good old days of the original ECW, where he would’ve fit in perfectly. Out of the newer guys on the WWE roster, Punk is definitely one of the company’s best in-ring performers.
WRESTLER: Ric Flair
CLASSIFICATION: WWE Legend, Grappler
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 2x WWF Champion, 3x World Tag Team Champion, 2008 WWE Hall of Famer
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Woooooooooooo! This was actually a really tough choice. Ric Flair is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, but I associate him so much with WCW, I had a hard time listing him as a WWE Legend. But, frankly, his run as a WWE Superstar was so much more impressive than the other wrestlers I was considering, Flair had to make the list. (Sorry Junkyard Dog, Jake Roberts and Jimmy Snuka!)
WRESTLER: Evan Bourne
CLASSIFICATION: Current WWE Superstar, Acrobat
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: none really…
WHY HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED: Bourne makes the list solely because of his high flying offense. His repertoire of moves is so ideal for this video game, he has to be in there. Plus, unlike the Legends half of the roster, there’s not an overwhelming wealth of talent to choose from among current Superstars.
So who am I missing? Who’s on my list but doesn’t deserve to be there? Feel free to rip my selections apart in the comments section.
