WWE 2K18 - Roster Prediction

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Doesn't a year fly by? It only feels like a few months since we were contemplating whether Goldberg's appearance in WWE 2K17 would lead to a proper return to the company (it did, and in grand fashion too), and it doesn't feel like it was that long ago when we were debating the decision to have Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator characters as the pre-order exclusives for WWE 2K16. Hell, even the meltdown regarding the purged WWE 2K15 roster is still fresh in mind.

Getting back to the point of this article: it is that time of year once again where the WWE/2K collaborative team are hard at work preparing this year's flagship game for its annual autumn release. The hype for WWE 2K18 began several weeks ago, and whilst we haven't seen any screenshots of the game yet, it's only a matter of time before we do. Around that time, we should start properly hearing about which wrestlers have made the grade for the nineteenth installment of this hugely-popular yet somewhat flawed series (I'll gripe about the shortcomings of recent WWE games another time).

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A Wishlist For WWE 2K18

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

WrestleMania is well in the rear-view mirror now, the ratings have entered their usual spring slump, and Brock Lesnar is resting on a farm somewhere in Suplex City. All of which means that it must be time for the official announcement of the annual WWE videogame!

In all seriousness, late May/early June is usually the point where WWE and 2K begin to hype up their next videogame. Of course, it's hyped up to be the best game of all-time, even if its new features and innovations (and, more notably, its flaws) prevent it from meeting high expectations. Case in point: 2K17 was billed as a beast of a game, only for fans to discover that Showcase was removed, MyCareer remained a slog, the Promo Engine only reached part of its potential, much of the content was recycled from 2K16, and it was rife with glitches. So, whilst the most recent title delivered a lot of entertainment, it had too many limitations for it to be considered anything more than a really good game.

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WWE 2K17 - First Thoughts

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

While WWE usually enters something of a lull during its autumn months, there is one bright spot as the dark nights come earlier and the air turns colder - and that is the release of the annual WWE videogame, as part of the flagship series which began over 16 years ago. And after only sprinklings of information for so long, the last couple of weeks have finally seen some proper details about the upcoming edition, WWE 2K17. With almost two months remaining until its (unusually early) release date of October 11, there will be plenty of time for even more news to come out about the game, but there is a decent amount available at present to be able to form an opinion of what we can expect in this year's outing.

The WWE videogame series has seen some highs and lows over the years. Many - most, actually - say that the series peaked in the mid-2000s on PlayStation 2, and that all of the subsequent efforts on PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and, in recent times, PS4 and Xbox One, have not lived up to the standard set by such games as SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain or SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006. I feel the same way, although WWE '13 and WWE 2K14 were very good efforts, the best since the glory days of the mid-Noughties. WWE 2K15 took a major step back in its premature debut on current-gen consoles, and whilst WWE 2K16 was a big improvement, it still had plenty of areas where it was lacking or underdeveloped.

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17 Seventeens For WWE 2K17

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

That time of year has come around once again, where the countdown begins to the annual WWE videogame offering. As with WWE's biggest event WrestleMania, news is brief and based more on rumour than fact at first, before the occasional announcement eventually gives way to the full-on hype suggesting that this one will be the best yet, even if the evidence doesn't suggest such an outcome.

And make no mistake about it, the hype has begun for WWE 2K17. We know that Goldberg will be this year's pre-order exclusive, with both WCW and WWE characters set to be available for 'Da Man (along with two vintage WCW arenas). We know from E3 that John Cena, Sasha Banks and The Ultimate Warrior will definitely be included. And we know that Brock Lesnar will be the cover star for the eighteenth game of the most successful wrestling videogame series ever.

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Predicting WrestleMania 33

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

With WrestleMania 32 officially in the history books, the early speculation begins for WrestleMania 33. To be frank, the show isn't for nearly twelve months (obviously) and it will not even enter storylines until very late this year or in early 2017, but it's still interesting to consider what might go down on April 2 2017 at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida (which also hosted WM 24, which I attended).

I will base my predictions on the current roster and the most likely special guests at this point in time, since one cannot obviously not predict 100% who will be active a year from now (who imagined in early 2015 that AJ Styles would appear at the 2016 Mania?). So, here it goes ...

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WrestleMania 32 Predictions

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Having looked at the road to WrestleMania 32 a few days ago, I will now provide my predictions for all of the matches this Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

Before beginning with the bouts, I'll speculate on the potential involvement by legends and/or injured stars. The Rock is confirmed to be on hand, which I see most likely being as part of a talking segment with Steve Austin. I can also see Mick Foley being part of this to deliver a feel-good moment for the fans (albeit one not quite as memorable as the Austin-Rock-Hulk Hogan interaction at WM XXX). As for other stars, I can say Seth Rollins popping up in a backstage moment, and Shawn Michaels will probably appear at some point, although the Texas location means that Shawn will have to favour a babyface if his involvement is to leave the desired impact.

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WrestleMania 31 Predictions

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

With the biggest WWE show of the year less than 48 hours away, and the card set, I will provide my predictions for WrestleMania 31, in the order that I expect the matches to take place.

Kick-Off

1. Tag Team Title Match

For the second year running, the Tag Team Title scrap is a four-way on the pre-show. The Usos have had the most success as a team, but winning the titles again with no obvious new opponents seems a bit pointless. Los Matadores hadn't been on TV for months until a few weeks ago, and based on crowd reactions, The New Day are becoming the tag team division's answer to John Cena in terms of provoking the undesired response, so I don't see either of these teams winning. Which means a probable successful title defence for Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, which I would have endorsed had the other three teams had more momentum anyway.

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My History Of WrestleMania

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

As we edge close to WrestleMania 31, you will see a lot of stories discussing the history of WrestleMania. This is one of those articles, but with a difference: this charts the history of WM via my own personal experiences of each Mania. Call it a life story of WrestleMania; hopefully it will be a fun journey!

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I was born in 1988, meaning that I wasn't around for the first four WrestleManias. I would obviously learn in future how important they were, especially the first one. Had WM 1 not succeeded in 1985, the WWF would not have continued to exist, and who knows what professional wrestling would be like 30 years later? The company put so much of its financial muscle behind the event that it simply had to work. Fortunately (and obviously), it did, with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T's win over Rowdy Roddy Piper & Mr. Wonderful capping off a card that seems dull today, but was the biggest thing of all-time back then.

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Predicting WrestleMania 32

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

After a lacklustre build-up and somewhat disappointing card for WrestleMania 31, the onus is on WWE to rebound when it comes to WrestleMania 32, especially given their hopes of breaking the all-time company attendance record at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. But what can WWE do to ensure that Mania 32 is a vast improvement on this year's offering?

The first thing is to deliver a match that fans truly want to see and, right now, there is no bigger dream match which could realistically happen than The Undertaker vs. Sting. This is a bout that people have wanted to see for many years, and with Undertaker fast approaching retirement and with Sting on a part-time basis himself, not only is WM 32 the best chance to hold this match, it may be the last chance. Plus, it is in Taker's home state, the Streak not being a factor means that the result could go either way, and it would be the perfect send-off for both, making what could be a double retirement match a massive potential draw.

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16 Sixteens For WWE 2K16

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

With WrestleMania approaching, not only is this a crucial time for the WWE product on-screen, but it is also the time of year when the developers of WWE's videogame series, 2K Sports, will be hard at work as the current, spring version of WWE tends to be what we see in the year's game. This includes all the additions, updates, story creations and everything else which accompanies it.

However, it is safe to say that this year's game WWE 2K16 must hit a home run, to use an American analogy. The much-hyped 2K15 was a disappointment both on previous-gen and on next-gen consoles for varying reasons, leading it to be one of the lowest-rated releases of the entire series since it began way back in 2000. So, what can 2K do to ensure that the next instalment is a memorable one for the right reasons, and could even be considered one of the best of them all? Here are my suggestions; with it being 2K16, I felt that providing 16 top ideas for new content or improvements would be suitable (even if this is actually the 17th game of the main series).

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How the Invasion could have been done

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Watching the WWE Network series The Monday Night War rekindles memories of the WWF vs. WCW ratings battle. Yet fewer people remember what should have been the biggest storyline feud in wrestling history - erm, the WWF vs. WCW. Well, WWF vs. WCW/ECW. Although I enjoyed it at the time, I appreciate that it could have been better executed and generally lived up to the anticipation that people had had for years regarding such a rivalry. But how could it have been done? What exactly was the 'right' way to book the Invasion? Here's my take ...

Dateline: March 26, 2001. Vince McMahon announced that he has bought WCW, only for Shane McMahon to announce that in fact he bought WCW. Shane beats Vince in their Street Fight at WrestleMania X-Seven, and makes only brief televised appearances thereafter.

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Should Vince step aside?

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

This August, WWE chairman Vince McMahon turns 70 years old. But don’t let this opening sentence be the basis of the argument stated within the title; rather, it is a statement designed to emphasise that despite hitting an age that most would have long since retired by, Vince remains in total control of WWE, as much as he has since taking the reins of what was the WWF way back in 1982. But is it time for a change?

Let’s begin by acknowledging the incredible success of McMahon’s stint in charge of WWE. This is not just about Vince being a successful promoter of this one organisation; this is a man who revolutionised and forever changed the professional wrestling industry. Pre-1982, pro wrestling in America was territorial and was popular outside of the United States as well (particularly here in the UK), but no one US organisation was a truly national operation (the NWA World Champion roamed many territories, but the NWA itself essentially did not), never mind international, and wrestling was considered to be a “sport”, even if most sports did not see the main star covered in blood after being rammed into a steel cage. Wrestling attracted older audiences, mainly, in smoke-filled and dimly-lit arenas. In short, wrestling was popular – and could attract huge crowds, depending on the match and the area – but in hindsight, it could easily have fallen apart had it not modernised and offered something more than what it had done, essentially since the early 20th century.

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