While I consider myself more of a casual WWE fan, I can’t deny just how good the WWE 2K franchise has been over the past few years. From the improved mechanics to the expanded rosters and even the awesome Showcase modes focusing on some of my favourite wrestlers over the years, there’s been plenty to love. In many ways, WWE 2K26 is a solid iteration, thanks to its massive playable roster and slightly improved gameplay mechanics.
But it simply feels more invasive and expensive than ever, to expand upon the experience, particularly for longtime fans who keep up with each game throughout the year.
Punch, Grapple and Throw
WWE 2K26 hasn’t really attempted to redefine or reinvent any of its core gameplay mechanics, but given how good that has been across the last few years, I’m willing to give it a pass. Strikes feel smooth and responsive, delivered with a sense of weight and accuracy, while grapples feel just as punishing, as you attack and wear down various parts of your opponent’s body.
In the same token, I’m a fan of the addition of the new physics-based collision systems that cause your opponents to ragdoll about, adding a more natural approach to certain grapples and big falls, which also provide some hilarious results. While most WWE games, including WWE 2K26, have specific canned animations for strikes and grapples, it helps matches feel a little more realistic, which can go a long way depending on your match of choice.
While you’ve always had to manage your stamina in one way or another, WWE 2K26 introduced the ‘winded’ system, which essentially sees players unable to render certain attacks and reversals, or even run for that matter. Your stamina wheel above your wrestler’s head will turn from yellow to purple, indicating you are now winded and forced to wait and defend while you recover. This system feels very relaxed and functions primarily in the background during matches, encouraging you to keep an eye on your stamina and pick your moves carefully. What follows is a delicate dance of risk and reward that feels incredibly satisfying as you time your attacks and string together the right amount of moves while keeping your stamina in check.
Reversals even take up stamina, and while you can dodge using the same button while pointing the left stick in any direction, it’s much more satisfying to land a cheeky crack on your opponent as they dish out what they think is a devastating finisher. Like previous titles, though, the reversal prompt, indicated above your wrestler’s head, just feels all over the place. At times, you’re able to identify the prompt, time your attack, and land the reversal, while at other times, it feels way too quick, or appears at a completely random time during a grapple, causing me to lose focus as I’ve simply assumed I missed my chance, and now have to face the consequences.
Beyond these tweaks, WWE 2K26 remains the same and just as solid in terms of its outright gameplay.
It’s Clobbering Time!
Anyone would think I just quoted Fantastic 4’s The Thing here, but CM Punk fans would have understood something entirely different. CM Punk might not be my favourite wrestler, but I can’t deny his impact over the years and his popularity as a whole, which has left a mark on the industry.
While I loved Rey Mysterio’s Showcase in WWE 2K22 for its accuracy and inclusion of real-life footage, or John Cena’s Showcase of the Immortals in WWE 2K23, where you played as his greatest opponents, CM Punk’s turn feels a little more uneven and jarring. While CM Punk himself feels a little too robotic and detached during his pre-match introductions, it’s really the least of this mode’s issues.
WWE 2K26 might be trying to celebrate the legendary career of CM Punk, but in the same breath, it’s also trying to avoid it. Now, I understand that certain legal troubles may have arisen here, but it’s worth noting that, for multiple reasons, CM Punk left the WWE in 2014 and remained absent for ten long years. WWE 2K26 fails to mention this in any capacity. The legendary (or infamous) Pipe Bomb promo, where CM Punk went off script and dissed the entire WWE? No mention at all. There’s still a fantastic career to celebrate here, but previous WWE 2K Showcase modes really leaned into what made those superstars so iconic and unique, so it simply feels like a missed opportunity here.
CM Punk also mentions “Slingshot Technology”, which aims to alter the outcome of crucial matches, usually turning some of his most damaging losses into wins. Once again, I feel like the Showcase mode could be doing much more with its time, but it does make for a few cool matches.
While the structure of the Showcase mode remains the same, with multiple objectives to complete within each match to unlock certain wrestlers and outfits, players can now partake in a new Gauntlet run, which sees the Showcase mode compressed into a single run where CM Punk must take on all 20 opponents, one after the other, in a single effort. You won’t get any of the pre-match introductions, but you will unlock every single reward by completing the mode in this fashion.
More of the Squared Circle
Beyond the Showcase mode, players will still be able to participate in various additional modes like the MyRise, The Island, and MyGM modes, all of which have been given a few nice tweaks and upgrades.
The MyRise mode sees players now coming back to the WWE after once dominating it, which makes little sense as far as the “Rise” in MyRise is concerned, but it does feel a little more streamlined than last year. Players can simply complete matches and earn stars to progress, and the overall plot does try to shuffle things about with a few neat twists.
The Island mode now allows players to grind out matches and complete objectives for one of three factions, building or diminishing favour with each as you see fit. A returning mode from last year, The Island has basically become WWE 2K’s answer to NBA 2K’s The City, which wraps its multiplayer offerings into one neat hub. That being said, I do like exploring and traversing The Island as opposed to The City.
Finally, the Universe mode adds the WWE Draft for additional opportunities to control match-ups and rosters, while MyGM expands its schedule to 50 weeks. The MyFaction mode, however, ultimately feels very familiar to last year.
In addition to the whopping 400 playable stars at launch, from Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and various Legends and Hall of Famers, there are also four new match types: I Quit, Dumpster, Inferno, and Three Stages of Hell. I Quit is a supercharged submission match of sorts, where you must hit a series of prompts correctly to finish your opponent. The Dumpster matches act like Cakset matches, where you have to weaken and ultimately throw your opponent in the trash. The Inferno matches see you building a temperature gauge with a series of moves, only to unleash fire on your opponents when full, while Three Stages of Hell sees you wrestling out of three distinct match types.
There is already so much here it could make your head spin, and while not all modes will land the same for each fan, I feel there’s enough to please almost everyone.
The Weight of the Wallet
There’s simply no way around it; WWE 2K26’s money-grabbing tactics are now worse than ever. I totally understand that 2K has been doing this for years with its NBA 2K games, but this is on another level. The new Ringside Pass system might replace traditional DLC, but it doesn’t even act like it. Players who want to invest the extra cash in additional DLC and season passes to begin with, via certain deluxe or premium editions of the game, are now no longer able to access outright rewards, but must now grind for them, too.
You’ll unlock rewards and currency simply by playing through your favourite modes, but the Ringside Pass system now requires you to spend upwards of 50 hours in WWE 2K26 if you actually want to get what you paid for. I can’t comprehend how something can still be inaccessible if you actually paid extra for it. Even if you are unlocking stuff relatively frequently, it’s always highlighted just how far you are from other rewards.
There are certain tiers for free and premium rewards, but I still find the lack of simplicity here baffling, as not even cold, hard cash can put these things in your hands anymore. If that wasn’t bad enough, you can even purchase tier skips to actually instantly unlock something you already paid for. I just can’t believe it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, WWE 2K26 is an incredibly fun experience bolstered by solid gameplay, plenty of matches and modes, and a crazy roster of 400 superstars at launch. While I wish the Showcase mode was a little more fulfilling, I admire the certain tweaks to other modes, helping the experience feel more streamlined.
But at the end of the day, the crazy Ringside Pass system does hold the experience back at virtually every corner, asking for not only more of your money, but even more of your time in the process.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Strong gameplay; Various mode tweaks and updates; Huge roster and plenty of matches
Lowlights: Showcase mode is a little disappointing; The Ringside Pass system is terrible
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 Pro with a pre-launch code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
