Are you a sports fan who wants to play wrestling games on your PlayStation console? No wonder! This sport is massively popular in regions like North America and Australia. With the evolution of entertainment forms, it is no surprise it entered the video game industry. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) is one of the leading wrestling franchises out there. Moreover, developers 2K Games own the rights to publish WWE video games on various platforms at the time of writing. WWE 2K is an almost annual series with yearly title releases since 2014, and THQ released WWE games until then. With that said, let’s get into the best WWE games for PlayStation.
1. WWE 2K22
WWE 2K22 is the best representative of WWE wrestling games in terms of graphics and gameplay on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The game was a breath of fresh air, and while it’s not ideal, it was the result of learning from mistakes and going back to basics. It is well-optimized, looks good, has offense and defense mechanics sorted, uses a lot of licensed characters, and features both the Create-A-Character myRISE mode and the General Manager gameplay mode. As a quick note, the latter mode was gone since the SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 game. Thus, WWE fans have requested it for over a decade.
2. WWE 2K19
You may notice a year is missing, and if you’ve been in the loop, you know WWE 2K20 was so bad that WWE 2K21 was skipped. However, WWE 2K19 was great, and the return of its single-player story-oriented campaign was widely praised. The 2K Showcase mode follows the career of a returning wrestler Daniel Bryan and features the biggest roster of wrestlers up to that point. You’ll also find the character creation suite is fun and exhaustive, and there’s even a fun mode where wrestlers have extremely inflated heads. Its popularity led to the creation of WWE Battlegrounds which replaced WWE 2K21 in 2020.
3. WWE 2K18
WWE 2K18 solved nearly all the player complaints in WWE 2K17 and was the first WWE 2K game to be released on PlayStation 4, bringing some graphical and performance improvements. While it lacks the highly-desired, well-loved 2K Showcase single-player career mode we mentioned, it sports a replacement. In this case, you begin as an NXT wrestler to become a WWE champion. Another noteworthy introduction is the carry system that lets you use the environment (think chairs) in your attacks. There’s also a Royal Rumble match mode that permits up to 8 wrestlers in the ring simultaneously.
4. WWE 2K16
WWE 2K16 is the Stone Cold Steve Austin-centered title among the most popular WWE games for PlayStation. If you aren’t his biggest fan, you may dislike that the campaign follows his grueling story of rising through the ranks from WCW to ECW, then within WWE. Other than that, you’ll surely enjoy the MyCareer offline mode and have a lot of fun in the creation suite, whether Create a Championship, Create an Arena, or Create A Diva portions. Although WWE 2K17 was not horrendous, we recommend skipping that title if you aren’t into paid DLC required for unlocking some wrestlers.
5. WWE 2K14
We skipped another title, WWE 2K15 because most people agree it 2K made all the wrong decisions with their second-ever title. Most wrestling fans agree that their first game after the takeover of the franchise, WWE 2K14, was excellent. It features two offline solo campaigns on top of modes such as WWE Universe, 30 Years of WrestleMania, and The Streak mode which sees you try to beat The Undertaker’s 21-0 wins win streak. Beating Brock Lesnar who achieved that feat in real life a huge motivation, in our opinion.
6. WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2011
We propose picking up WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2011 if you have a PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, or PlayStation 3 laying around. Incrementally improving on the massive update its predecessor a year before brought, it’s a shining example of what Yuke’s, a long-term WWE Japanese game development studio, can do. There are many things to mention. However, we’d focus on the reworked WWE Universe mode and the new motion physics system. It finally lets you do the things with ladders, chairs, and ropes you saw on TV.
7. WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth
We propose trying WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth if you own a PlayStation 2 and miss the story-driven single-player mode aspect. Many gamers think it was poorly done in many WWE games (excluding WWE 2K22 and WWE 2K19). Well, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth is well-known for laying the path for a solo playstyle that lets you develop your career in SmackDown or Raw. Its matches also extend outside the ring to the backstage area and even the streets of Times Square.
8. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
WWE Legends of Wrestlemania from 2009 was released on PlayStation 3. Although the next title is for PlayStation 4 and 5, we also suggest our list of the best WWE games for Android if you want to diversify. With that said, the title lets you relive all the most famous Wrestlemania matches with a completely new fighting system. Instead of analog sticks, the game makes you use the face buttons and the D-pad for fighting moves, resembling arcade gameplay. Also, the transfer mode lets you bring wrestlers from the WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2009 game.
9. WWE 2K Battlegrounds
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a PlayStation 4 title from 2020 that is the top dog among arcade WWE games for PlayStation. Although arcade mode isn’t unusual, this was a response to the failure of WWE 2K20. It contains all the best features of its arcade predecessors, WWE All-Stars and Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game. It can only be described as “fun” and “youthful”. We recommend it to anyone that wants something casual or weird such as superpowers, loud sounds, and cartoonishly oversized wrestlers. Unfortunately, its creation suite is underwhelming and you won’t see as many moves.
10. WWE All-Stars
WWE All-Stars is the go-to title if you liked the arcade style of WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Also, if you own a PSP, PS2, or PS3 and dislike WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2011. It marked a big shift from the simulation style of the WWE games released a decade before. The title has been described as “more of a Marvel superhero game than wrestling”. Sadly, the single-player campaign and creation suites you may want are gone. However, the disproportionately-sized wrestlers with goofy, physics-defying move sets are a ton of fun in WWE All-Stars.