It’s WrestleMania season once again, and WWE fans the world over looking for something other than weekly television episodes to fill the time until April rolls around can now get their hands on WWE 2K23. The latest entry in this long-running series brings a decent amount of positive adjustments and additions to the table, expanding on last year’s 2K22 offering in all the right ways.

The overall presentation, quality and quantity of content to dig into here is guaranteed to entertain not only the rabid mega-fans of the brand and franchise, but also ignite a spark within the eyes of the most jaded and apathetic among us. WWE 2K23 is proof that professional wrestling games can indeed be consistently good and, above all, fun.

If you’ve seen any promotional material surrounding this title at all, you’re likely already aware that 2K23’s Showcase mode focuses on the career of none other than your mother’s favourite (aside from Roman Reigns) wrestler, John Cena. You’ll get to experience some of the most iconic and memorable losses of the superstar’s career, with you taking control of the opponent in each match. Whether you’re assuming the role of The Undertaker or Kurt Angle, this choice of shifting perspectives eradicates any potential feelings of repetition on the player’s end.

Before stepping into the ring, John recalls his feelings before, during and after each match in the form of short clips that dip in and out of kayfabe. Explaining why exactly he failed to leave the arena that night victorious while acknowledging the strengths of those he faced is a nice touch, both building up to the fight you’re about to re-live and illustrating how much the man has accomplished in all his time within the company.



Of course, in order to recreate these bouts as faithfully as possible there are a string of objectives you’ll have to follow, like sending Cena over the ropes or performing specific signature moves, occasionally triggering a cutscene that seamlessly transitions from in-engine gameplay to footage of the actual match and then back again.

If you’re ever unsure of how to perform any technique or combo, the pause menu clearly explains the buttons and ring position required for successfully pulling them off. This is great if you don’t want to spend time completing the initial Xavier Woods-led tutorial offered when launching 2K23 for the first time, as Showcase mode gets you acquainted with everything you need to know fairly well with the added bonus of unlocking extra rings, belts, and wrestler appearances with each completed chapter.

If you’ve seen any promotional material surrounding this title at all, you’re likely already aware that 2K23’s Showcase mode focuses on the career of none other than your mother’s favourite (aside from Roman Reigns) wrestler, John Cena.

Elsewhere in the main menu, a different kind of power fantasy awaits you in the form of MyGM mode. Here’s where you get to take control of the action, dictating the direction of a brand of your choosing and booking every weekly show. After setting up a maximum of four different competing brands (either player-controlled or CPU) helmed by one of several GMs including the likes of Eric Bischoff, Tyler Breeze, and Mick Foley, the drafting process begins. The starting capital used to recruit as many stars to your show as possible is adjustable, as is the player/CPU turn order and difficulty.



Once you’ve assembled your talent pool, it’s up to you to create a weekly product that draws ratings and delivers enthralling rivalries through repeated pairings of compatible wrestling archetypes and paying close attention to the classic babyface vs heel formula. After each show, you’ll be presented with a ratings chart comparing every brand’s performance alongside a social media feed letting you keep track of what feuds to keep building towards or whether your opening and ending lacked impact.

Every show begins with you reading through your emails, Triple H provides constructive criticism on notable areas of potential improvement while your talent makes rematch requests or tries to strongarm you into upping their contract rate. You’ll additionally be handed a randomly generated task that, if completed, awards a power card used to either benefit your own brand and roster or screw over a rival. The CPU tends to hold off on using these cards until the week before a PLE, forcing extra expenses on your behalf or barring a randomly chosen high-ranking athlete from competing that night.



Any other cards can be purchased from within your hub between shows. Due to the random nature of these challenges, some of them will make no sense when viewed within the context of what you’re aiming to book. Sometimes it’s better to sacrifice a power card reward in favour of sticking to your script and maybe putting on a better show. Wrestler mails can be questionable as well in terms of lacking any common sense. I once had Finn Balor question why I hadn’t placed him in a match recently, while actively recuperating from a serious injury.

Sometimes it’s better to sacrifice a power card reward in favour of sticking to your script and maybe putting on a better show.

For some inexplicable reason, each season of MyGM doesn’t adhere to the typical coherent PLE calendar as you would expect. It’s not uncommon to have multiple instances of Extreme Rules in one season, or a WrestleMania Backlash without a prior WrestleMania event. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it sure as hell ruins the sense of immersion. Once you reach the end of a season, it’s time to do it all over again and run the draft. Depending on how well your product fared throughout the run, you’ll be allocated several lock-in slots for any stars you wish to retain going forward.



Transcending the boundaries of MyGM and breaking all creative shackles that held you down, Universe mode is for those who seek absolute god-like control of almost every single facet of all shows and matches – including any pre and post-match shenanigans. Move someone on Raw to NXT 2.0, add extra titles to a brand, create new tag teams, manage title contender rankings and divisions, place smaller shows on an event timeline that actually makes sense, and so much more.

And when you’ve had your fill of unprecedented creative freedom, head on over to MyRise where you’ll get to experience the excitement of living your own virtual ascent to WWE superstardom in one of two scenarios that determine your “origin story”. Replays are encouraged thanks to the inclusion of multiple career-defining branching decisions on offer, mostly occurring through responding to messages on social media. In order to get the most out of your playthrough, you’ll want to pay attention to the side stories and optional fights available, before committing to moving on with the main narrative.



MyRise’s main downsides lie in its voice acting, which ranges from hilariously bad to alright, and terrible lip-syncing. Granted, none of this can fully detract from the enjoyability of role-playing a WWE superstar, but its impossible to not notice. I can vividly recall a moment early on where Adam Pearce’s intonation when asking a question completely missed the mark in accurate delivery, giving the wrong impression entirely. The objective system from Showcase mode pops up here as well, though to a lesser extent.

The only issues I came across were the seemingly inescapable uncanny valley faces some wrestlers were unfortunate enough to receive, some stiff animations, and finicky turnbuckle climbing detection.

Most matches will simply tell you to win by pinfall or submission, some will give you a few prerequisites before finishing things off. I had to restart matches on more than one occasion because victory hadn’t been achieved in the specific way the game had wanted me to this time. As for out there in the squared circle, the only issues I came across were the seemingly inescapable uncanny valley faces some wrestlers were unfortunate enough to receive, some stiff animations, and finicky turnbuckle climbing detection. Aside from these tiny gripes, the game ran fairly flawlessly and behaved as intended.



Every game mode is a serious time-sink, MyGM being my personal addiction right now. This was the first mode I explored and, before I knew it, hours had gone by and I had to forcibly tear myself away for a while to see what other surprises 2K23 had in store for me. My curiosity led me to the online tab, yet another source of endless amusement. The ridiculous amount of community creations available to download and add to whatever mode takes your fancy is another huge rabbit hole you’ll never want to emerge from. There’s a sense of surreal beauty in setting up a Joe Biden vs Ronald McDonald tables match or adding Kenny Omega to the Raw roster. If nobody has made a piece of custom content you’re after, you’ll have to do the hard work with the remarkably robust character creation tools on offer here. And once you’re done, share it with everyone. Even if it’s terrible.

When all is said and done, WWE 2K23 is an incredibly feature-rich, highly customisable, and thoroughly enjoyable time for fans and non-fans alike. With the addition of the WarGames match type, easy to grasp fight mechanics, a hefty roster featuring stars from multiple generations and eras, and a mode catering to every type of player out there – including the card-battling MyFaction with newly added online functionality, WWE 2K23 truly feels like a complete package. This is the ultimate WWE sandbox, and its only worthy contender is whatever 2K24 will end up being.



*PS5 Review code provided by 2K Games

Reviewed by Ryan Pretorius