When it comes to pro wrestling video games, there is a feature just as crucial as having a variety of modes, titles, and signature moves: the roster. Most wrestling games are based on real promotions, so any game worth its salt — even the WWE 2K games — is going to have all the current wrestlers as well as some old favorites. After all, many fans play these games so they can simulate (if not improve upon) a given promotion.
Let’s take a look at the best wrestling games of all time based entirely on roster. While some of these games perfectly encapsulate the era they came out, some of these are great simply because the lineups are ridiculously huge.
10 WWE ‘13 (Multi-Platform, 2012)
WWE has been releasing a new game pretty much every year but WWE ‘13 deserves some special love as being among the best. To go along with the solid lineup of contemporaneous wrestlers, WWE ‘13 boasted an impressive number of older characters thanks to its Attitude Era story mode.
While it could have just presented Rock, Austin, Foley, and the other stars of the era and called it a day, the game also had guys like Ken Shamrock, Legion of Doom, and Vader and even more unlikely choices like Brian Pillman, Mike Tyson, and Chainsaw Charlie.
9 Fire Pro Wrestling World (Multi-Platform, 2017)
Fire Pro Wrestling is a Japanese video game series that’s beloved by die-hard wrestling fans thanks to its uniquely simple gameplay style and the ability to customize literally everything. After years of dormancy, 2017’s Fire Pro Wrestling World was a return to form with a notable landmark.
While previous Fire Pro games relied on knockoffs and lookalikes of famous wrestlers, World actually had the New Japan Pro-Wrestling license, and not only featured everyone from the then-current roster, but later included the roster from sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom.
8 WCW/nWo Revenge (Nintendo 64, 1998)
Easily the best WCW game of all time, WCW/nWo Revenge is the perfect encapsulation of the promotion circa 1998, with its playable roster divided into four groups: the villainous nWo Hollywood, the babyface nWo Wolfpac, Raven’s Flock, and WCW proper. In other words, the roster is gigantic, especially for a game of its time.
Where the previous installment, WCW vs. nWo World Tour, had about 20 WCW stars and 20 original characters, Revenge had 60 playable characters, 40 or which were actual WCW wrestlers. This meant a great range of wrestlers including main events like Sting, Goldberg, and Diamond Dallas Page, to “lesser” stars like Stevie Ray and Van Hammer.
7 WWE WrestleMania XIX (GameCube 2003)
Made by longtime WWE game developer Yuke’s, WrestleMania XIX has a roster strong befitting the quality ‘Mania the game was named after. The game’s 45 playable characters include everyone who was big in 2003 — including Hulk Hogan and Goldberg — and midcard-and-below guys like Chris Nowinski, Lance Storm, and The Hurricane.
The numbers get even higher once one factors in the 20 unlockable “Boss” characters created for the game. Notably, the game also features up-and-comers who’d define WWE a few years after the game’s release like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista.
6 WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 (PS2, 2005)
Every era of wrestling deserves its definitive game, and SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 might be the game of WWE’s Ruthless Aggression era. Renowned for its introduction of the beloved GM Mode, SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 also has a great roster indicative of the era. It’s so extremely 2005, rounded out by wrestlers like Heidenreich, Muhammad Hassan, Paul London, the controversial Eugene, and even Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers. In addition, the game has legends like Andre The Giant, Junkyard Dog, Bret Hart, and various iterations of Hulk Hogan.
5 Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 (Nintendo 64, 1997)
Virtual Pro Wrestling 64, the Japanese version of the aforementioned WCW vs. nWo: World Tour, features most of the same WCW guys who show up in the Western release: Sting, DDP, Rey Mysterio Jr., Ric Flair, the nWo, and so on. But what made Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 a must-play for the die-hards is the inclusion of off-brand versions of pretty much every wrestler a fan of the Japanese scene would want in 1997.
New Japan, Michinoku Pro, and All Japan are represented, not to mention hardcore wrestlers, freelancers, shootfighters like Ken Shamrock and Minoru Suzuki, and a healthy dose of legends.
4 WWF No Mercy (Nintendo 64, 2000)
When it comes to the Attitude Era, No Mercy is not only the definitive game of the period, but also considered one of the best pro wrestling games ever. Developed by Asmik Ace and AKI, No Mercy not only improves on previous efforts Revenge and Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 in terms of gameplay and customizability, but also boasts a roster that makes the game a must for Attitude Era fans.
No Mercy’s over-60-character roster has all the big stars fans would hope for like The Rock, Steve Austin, and Kurt Angle, but also the other memorable wrestlers from the era like Hardcore Holly, D’Lo Brown, and Steve Blackman, and groups like APA, Right to Censor, and The Radicalz.
3 WWE 2K14 (Multi-Platform, 2013)
WWE ‘13 was impressive for the number of Attitude Era wrestlers it included, but WWE 2K14 offered over 100 total wrestlers thanks to its “30 Years of WrestleMania Mode.” That meant, in addition to the stars of the day like Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, and The Shield, fans got to play as wrestlers from across the history of WWE, from Golden Era stars like Ricky Steamboat and Sgt. Slaughter to later wrestlers like Diesel, Scott Steiner, and Eddie Guerrero. The game even included legendary WWE Champion Bruno Sammartino!
2 WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (PlayStation 2, 2003)
The 2000s delivered a number of classic WWE games, but SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain is one of the most beloved of the decade — some would say even better than No Mercy.
The game adds a number of innovations like improved in-ring gameplay, but the roster here is great, too. Its 65-wrestler roster featured one of the first major inclusions of legends in a WWE game as well as the first appearances of John Cena, Batista, and Rey Mysterio (at least in a WWE game).
1 Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (PlayStation 2, 2007)
As stated, the average Fire Pro Wrestling game is made up of lookalikes of famous wrestlers, albeit with different (or slightly off) names like Saber for Vader or Abdul the Danger for Abdullah the Butcher. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is no different in this regard, but the roster is preposterously gigantic, with 327 playable wrestlers.
That includes wrestlers from every notable Japanese promotion from NJPW to Osaka Pro, various freelancers, American wrestlers, joshi wrestlers, American and Japanese legends, and luchadores. There’s never been a more exhaustive roster ever, although it would take a while to rename every wrestler in the game.