"The Show Never Stops" is the slogan that's being used to hook you to the game. The developers at 2K and the WWE turned everything up to a nice 10 count. They tell you up front that there are no new modes, and that stands true, but with all the updates, both graphical, and technical, this year's edition may very well set a new standard. WWE 2K26 has no new game modes, and that's totally ok.
Before we get into all that, WWE Games and Xbox put on one hell of a presentation. Creator Fest brought press and content creators from around the world in to not only play the game, but also to interview and rub shoulders with WWE Superstars. Even more, they brought us to WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. I was told by Beanz at the NBA 2K Community Day to always "Act like you've been here before", but he wasn't there, so I freaked out a little. Ok, I freaked out a lot. I mean, Mark Henry was in my hotel lobby. Just sitting there. Chillin'.
As the press and content creators were getting a rundown of the day, our host, (and amazing story teller) Al Stavola was interrupted by Paul Heyman, and Paul Heyman did what he does best. He hyped up the game, he insulted the host, and he got us all ready to have an amazing time, even with a broken microphone. We were off and running. Sent to our creator stations full with video capture cards, and stations where we could take pictures with the one and only Andre The Giant.
The catered event had plenty to do for the first hour or so. As people were settling in and grabbing breakfast and coffee, the LED board into the event lit up, and music hit. And here came Blake Monroe, out of nowhere, with her graphic. On the floor with us. And then she was off to do interviews. The whole presentation was brought to us by Xbox, so after she stopped there, she made her rounds with the press. It was insanely cool. Oba Femi came out next. Larger than life.
As the day progressed, more superstars made their way through the creator bays and though the interview gauntlet. It was pretty cool watching people I see on Youtube actually living out their dreams. No longer were they interviewing three or four superstars at a Premium Live Event, they got the chance to interview a good amount of Superstars.
NXT Champion Joe Hendry, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Women's Tag Team Champion Iyo Sky, NXT North American Champion Ethan Page, Oba Femi, Chelsea Green, Blake Monroe, Bayley, Wade Barrett, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, Jacob Fatu, Trish Stratus, Megan Morant, Penta, and Tiffany Stratton were all in attendance.
Now, the press and content creators showed up and showed out. Along with us was Gaming Bible, Bleeding Cool, LevelUp, Complex, No Contest Wrestling (with O'Shea Jackson Jr.), Metro UK, and many, many more. On the content creator side, Bashworld, Denk Ops, BDE, SmallaFro, Smacktalks, TonyPizzaGuy, MinniePortable, Lugemania, Emily Mae, Jaeleeon, and so many more. Jaeleeon beat the breaks off of me in a WWE2K26 tournament. He won a World Heavyweight Championship signed by CM Punk himself.
"But Joe, what about the game?" Of course, of course. So as you already know, this game is exclusively next gen, and it definitely shows. Graphically, this could be the best WWE2K has looked in a long time. Last year, I nit picked the faces of the superstars when they show their faces after their entrances. There's still a difference, but you can tell it's a little more polished. The gameplay also feels familiar, and perhaps tweaked a little. Again, the slogan says the show never stops, and they have definitely worked on the overall presentation.
During the entrance, you can still change the camera controls, but now you can add pyro to your entrance, even in ring. You can also trigger face and heel crowd moves. And while some entrances look absolutely gorgeous, some entrances still lack that same polish. R-Truth starts on beat with his rap, but does not stay on beat during his rap. And, of course they're not saying Whoop That Trick, but whatever they're saying, it's off beat. Also, no, Booker T does NOT do the Trick Williams entrance, and that makes me sad. Nitpicky? Maybe. At least the Rock's entrance is SPOT on.
CM Punk's Showcase mode is pretty cool too. It literally takes you back through his career. I didn't spend too much time with this, because I didn't want to spoil it for myself. CM Punk narrates the entire thing, and some of his old music is back too, which is a nice touch. You also unlock different versions of CM Punk. There are 400 Superstars here, so of course 8 of them are CM Punk.
Lastly, for now, is the Ringside Pass. This is your battle pass, that replaces the DLC. The Ringside Pass sees you earning XP in practically any mode, and while you're in these modes, the game notifies you that you've unlocked something you can redeem. From VC, to move sets, to customization parts. The Ringside Pass has a free tier, and a premium tier. To access the premium tier, you either need to pay the same price you did for the DLC, or you get Season 1 included with the Attitude Era version of the game. There are 6 Themed seasons of all. I'll have more on that later this week. And yes, the theme of Season 1 is AAA. The first superstar you unlock is El Hijo Del Vikingo.
Overall, the game felt comfortable. The new mechanics are just icing on a very nice cake. I'll withhold my final judgement on whether or not you need to run out immediately to pick this up, as I was admittedly very distracted by all the other things. Check out some of the footage we got, including the Rock VS Gunther, The Royal Rumble, now with picture in picture, and more. And stay tuned. The show never stops, remember?
