So WWE 2K23 is set to come out on March 17, 2023, with John Cena as the cover star and will feature the standard edition, deluxe edition and icon edition and will release on PS4, PS5, PC and X-Box systems. Having said that, the biggest news (IMO), is that War Games is finally being introduced to a video game, which you can do in three-on-three and four-on-four matchups, I'll be honest, I'm actually excited to try it out.

Confirmed Roster

SPOILER: Click to show

AJ Styles
Akira Tozawa
Alba Fyre
Alexa Bliss
Aliyah
Andre The Giant
Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Asuka
Austin Theory
Axiom
Bad Bunny PRE-ORDER BONUS
Batista
Batista (Leviathan) ICON EDITION
Bayley
Becky Lynch
Beth Phoenix
Bianca Belair
Big Boss Man
Big E
Bobby Lashley
Boogeyman
Booker T
Braun Strowman
Bret Hart
Brie Bella
British Bulldog
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar '01 ICON EDITION
Bron Breakker
Bruno Sammartino
Brutus Creed
Butch
Cactus Jack
Cameron Grimes
Carmella
Carmelo Hayes
Cedric Alexander
Chad Gable
Charlotte Flair
Chyna
Cody Rhodes
Commander Azeez
Cora Jade
Cruz Del Toro
Dakota Kai
Damian Priest
Dana Brooke
Dexter Lumis
Diesel
Doink The Clown
Dolph Ziggler
Dominik Mysterio
Doudrop
Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre
Eddie Guerrero
Edge
Elias
Eric Bischoff
Erik
Ezekiel
Faarooq
Finn Bálor
Gigi Dolin
Giovanni Vinci
Goldberg
Grayson Waller
Gunther
Happy Corbin
Hollywood Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Humberto Carrillo
Ilja Dragunov
Indi Hartwell
Ivar
IYO SKY
Jacy Jayne
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
JBL
JD McDonagh
Jerry Lawler
Jey Uso
Jim Neidhart
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Joaquin Wilde
John Cena
John Cena '02
John Cena '06
John Cena (Prototype) ICON EDITION
Johnny Gargano
Julius Creed
Kane
Karrion Kross
Katana Chance
Kayden Carter
Kevin Nash
Kevin Owens
Kofi Kingston
Kurt Angle
LA Knight
Lacey Evans
Lita
Liv Morgan
Logan Paul
Ludwig Kaiser
MACE
Madcap Moss
Mansoor
Maryse
Matt Riddle
Molly Holly
Montez Ford
Mr. McMahon
Mustafa Ali
MVP
Natalya
Nikki A.S.H.
Nikki Bella
Nikkita Lyons
Noam Dar
Omos
Otis
Paul Heyman
Queen Zelina
R-Truth
Randy Orton
Randy Orton '02 ICON EDITION
Randy Savage
Raquel Rodriguez
Razor Ramon
Reggie
Rey Mysterio
Rhea Ripley
Rick Boogs
Ricochet
Ridge Holland
Rikishi
Rob Van Dam
Robert Roode
Roddy Piper
Roman Reigns
Ronda Rousey
Roxanne Perez
Sami Zayn
Santos Escobar
Scarlett
Scott Hall
Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon
Shanky
Shawn Michaels
Shayna Baszler
Sheamus
Shelton Benjamin
Shinsuke Nakamura
Shotzi
Solo Sikoa
Sonya Deville
Stacy Keibler
Stephanie McMahon
Steve Austin
Syxx
T-BAR
Tamina
Ted DiBiase
The Hurricane
The Miz
The Rock
Titus O'Neil
Tommaso Ciampa
Triple H
Trish Stratus
Tyler Bate
Ultimate Warrior
Umaga
Undertaker
Vader
Veer Mahaan
Wes Lee
X-Pac
Xavier Woods
Xia Li
Yokozuna
Zoey Stark

It has been confirmed that there will be 14 Matches in the John Cena's 2K Showcase. The mode will feature iconic matches where the leader of the Cenation lost. The following matches have already been confirmed so far...

John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - SmackDown 2002 (John Cena Debut)
John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 2006
John Cena vs. Batista - SummeSlam 2008
John Cena vs. The Rock - WrestleMania 28
John Cena vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 34
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - SummerSlam 2021

Will update when more info is available.

Odd choice to have matches you lost be the showcase, do you fail if your opponent doesn’t kick out? 👀

Also in 2K22 say…uh a friend named his myfaction team after a terrorist organisation as a joke then wanted to stream gameplay, is there anyway to change it or is said friend stuck with that name? 🤐

I just noticed it, but John Cena became the first person to appear on the cover of a WWE 2K game twice.  As he was also on the cover of the very first 2K game.

They should change things up next year. Maybe an action shot involving two superstars for next year. Or a tag team.

The confirmed roster is now up to 63 wrestlers, with Cora Jade making her 2K debut in WWE 2K23. Also, I think this might be the best Showcase yet, I mean you get to spend it beating John Cena with various wrestlers. What's not to love?

Feb 4, 2023 19:46:58 GMT Lony said:

The confirmed roster is now up to 63 wrestlers, with Cora Jade making her 2K debut in WWE 2K23. Also, I think this might be the best Showcase yet, I mean you get to spend it beating John Cena with various wrestlers. What's not to love?

They should make Cena unbeatable unless you buy the DLC. :lol:

Feb 6, 2023 15:44:02 GMT Big Pete said:

Feb 4, 2023 19:46:58 GMT Lony said:

The confirmed roster is now up to 63 wrestlers, with Cora Jade making her 2K debut in WWE 2K23. Also, I think this might be the best Showcase yet, I mean you get to spend it beating John Cena with various wrestlers. What's not to love?

They should make Cena unbeatable unless you buy the DLC. :lol:

I might pick up the season pass, depending on the female talent that are a part of the five DLC packs. Having said that, that would be hilarious AF.

I'm happy Cora is gonna be in the game, I just wish her ring gear wasn't so colorful. I would def had preferred black ring gear, as I would have teamed her up with Rhea Ripley in universe mode. Yes, one of the main things I look forward to are the female talents. I'd live to have Lita and the Bella Twins back in the game.

Edit: Depending on ring gear, I might toss Liv Morgan and Shotzi Blackheart with Rhea, as an all women's Judgement Day stable.

The Bella Twins are in, but more importantly than that Toxic Attraction (Gigi and Jacy) as well (my women's tag team division is gonna be sick), I'm hoping this means Mandy Rose will be in the game as well. The other women announced are Molly Holly, Nikkita Lyons, Roxanne Perez, and Queen Zelina.

Also, Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller are in the game as well, will update the roster in the opening post soon.

So Shankey and Veer are on the game, I have zero interest in either, although I suppose they could get paired up with Jinder Mahal in my universe mode. I am excited that Lita will be returning to a WWE 2K game, as she's a great legend to have that adds credibility to either of the main women's divisions or to pair up with Trish Stratus in the tag team division.

What I'm curious about though, is if Mandy Rose, Naomi and Sasha Banks, will they be in the game or not. I think given the time she was released, there is a very good chance Mandy will be in (given the rest of Toxic Attraction is in), I just don't think they'll advertise it. As for Naomi and Sasha, given recent events, I think this is a bit trickier, although they start working on the next 2K installment right after the last one is released, so who knows at this point?

Edit: The opening post is updated with an up to date roster.

The base game has forty-six women in it, which isn't bad, however, I'm hoping for another four or five with the DLC packs, for my universe mode. I'm not surprised that Naomi or Sasha isn't in, although I was hoping for Mandy Rose if for nothing else, to have all three members of Toxic Attraction in the game (then again she could always be in as DLC, although I'm doubtful).

I've been busy building my universe rosters, in google docs, so it's one less thing to plan out once the game is released.

Edit: Also the Steiner Brothers should be DLC, although that's partly cause I'd love for them to be in a WWE game, but also because I feel every Hall of Fame class should be in the next WWE 2K game by default.

The full list of 2K showcase matches has been revealed and they are...

1. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - SmackDown 2002
- Angle gloats about beating everybody, issues an open challenge

- A young unknown named John Cena answers the challenge, looking to make a great first impression with the WWE Universe


2. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - Backlash 2003
- John Cena gets his opportunity at the WWE Championship!

- Brock looks to turn back the challenge of a brash opponent who feels he deserves the opportunities that, so far, have seemingly only gone to “The Next Big Thing!”


3. John Cena vs. The Undertaker - Vengeance 2003
- Cena has angered “The Big Dog” in an attempt to move up the ladder as quickly as possible

- The Undertaker, after having given Cena respect in the past, looks to show his kindness wasn’t weakness, and that Cena’s made a huge mistake in calling him out


4. John Cena vs. Edge - New Year's Revolution 2006
- The historic first-ever cash-in of the Money in the Bank briefcase

- An exhausted John Cena is forced into defending his WWE Championship immediately after surviving the Elimination Chamber


5. John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 2006
- RVD looks to Cash In the Money in the Bank briefcase with an incredible home-ring advantage

- RVD promised to rename the WWE Title into the ECW Title if he was victorious, could Cena protect WWE from the extreme circumstances?


6. John Cena vs. Edge - SummerSlam 2006
- Edge has done everything he can to hold onto the title in nefarious ways. At SummerSlam, if he’s disqualified, he loses the WWE Championship!

- A rivalry that has raged for seven months continues as Edge looks to prove he’s got the inside track to defeating Cena


7. John Cena vs. Triple H - Night Of Champions 2008
- Cena made Triple H tap out at WrestleMania 22 to show he was on the level of The Game

- At Night of Champions, Triple H looks to prove he can correct the mistakes he made and get his victory back over Cena, while defending his WWE Championship at the same time


8. John Cena vs. Batista - SummerSlam 2008
- It’s a modern version of Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior as two of WWE’s most powerful forces collide at SummerSlam!

- The two drew parallels constantly, with both winning their first World Championships at WrestleMania 21. Three years later, they look to find out who the better man truly is.


9. John Cena vs. Randy Orton - Hell In A Cell 2009
- A years-long rivalry shows no signs of burning out any time soon as Randy Orton and John Cena are locked inside the Cell!

- Orton is a crazed and ferocious competitor as he looks to reclaim the WWE Championship from the man who took it away from him in the first place!


10. John Cena vs. The Rock - WrestleMania 28
- Attitude meets Ruthless Aggression when two eras collide!

- The Rock returns to WrestleMania competition after eight years. Does he still have the electricity needed to shock Cena?


11. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2014
- Having conquered The Undertaker’s Streak at WrestleMania XXX, Brock Lesnar feels absolutely unbeatable

- As WWE World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena knows that he’s the only one left to keep Lesnar from completely dominating WWE


12. John Cena vs. AJ Styles - SummerSlam 2016
- A huge rematch after their first meeting ends under questionable circumstances

- 5 years of bitterness boil to the top as AJ Styles looks to prove he’s every bit the generational talent that John Cena is known to be


13. John Cena vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 34
- Without a match for WrestleMania 34, Cena calls out The Undertaker

- Undertaker goes weeks without answering, leading many to wonder if he’ll even show up for WrestleMania!


14. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - SummerSlam 2021
- The Tribal Chief has dominated WWE for nearly a solid year, eliminating all challengers

- John Cena returns at Money in the Bank, letting Roman know that he wants another crack at The Head of the Table.

Last game was a big improvement for the series. I think it restored enough faith in buying this one day one. It's something my wife and I bond over, so why not have another game we can play together?

Can't for an improved GM mode.

Raven, you went and got married?

Nice, I did the same last August.

X-zero is he a legend?

Wow they just call anyone a legend these days.

Feb 23, 2023 3:42:00 GMT Blindy said:

X-zero is he a legend?

Ya Damn Skippy

500+ LRLR (UUDD) champion

Never lost the LRLR

He is a legend in the UUDD universe.

That's a nice gesture, UUDD and LRLR have really been excellent PR tools for the WWE so Breeze definitely deserves some acknowledgement, especially when it's video game related.

If Pretty Deadly make it in via DLC, I'll probably toss Tyler Breeze in with them as a faction.

Feb 23, 2023 12:42:06 GMT Big Pete said:

That's a nice gesture, UUDD and LRLR have really been excellent PR tools for the WWE so Breeze definitely deserves some acknowledgement, especially when it's video game related.

I think it is a PR reason as well since they promote the game weekly with Battle of the Brands. So they can have both of their gm screens use an in game model.

Have they actually announced any improvements for GM? I haven't really kept up with the 2K22 BotB but I remember on release it was really bare bones and seemed worse than SVR06.

So the above image has been making the rounds, with hints and clues to WWE 2K23's DLC plans. What are your guy's thoughts on it? As someone who does an all-female universe mode, if two-thirds of the DLC speculation is true, I'm going to have big plans.

DLC Packs

Steiner Row Pack - April 19

Scott Steiner
Rick Steiner
Ashante "Thee" Adonis
Top Dolla
B-Fab (non-playable manager)

Pretty Sweet Pack - May 17

Karl Anderson
Luke Gallows
Tiffany Stratton
Elton Prince
Kit Wilson

Race to NXT - June 14

Harley Race
Ivy Nile
Wendy Choo
Tony D’Angelo
Trick Williams

Revel with Wyatt - July 19

Bray Wyatt
Zeus
Valhalla
Joe Gacy
Blaire Davenport

Bad News U - August 16

Eve Torres
Wade Barrett
Damon Kemp
Andre Chase
Nathan Frazer

The DLC packs are kinda underwhelming, given a lot of the speculation that was happening. If I had to pick one, the Pretty Sweet Pack would probably be my favourite one.

Who were fans speculating on? I think I saw a couple of rumours about guys like Chris Masters and Carlito but they're not exactly selling me on DLC.

If anything when it comes to DLC, I'd love to see more historic arenas, graphics etc. If I want to sim WCW 1997 for instance I'd love to have all the PPV arenas etc.

The biggest news I read was that the game is going to include AI scalers, so now you can control how often a superstar will fly off the top rope or attempt a submission. It sounds like a more streamlined version of Fire Pro, but it's a step in the right direction.

GM mode also has a ton of new features added including basic ones we expected last year like mid-card titles.

I know there was speculation for Michelle McCool, Gallus, and Luna Vachon which all would have been cool as DLC. Also DDP, cause of the diamond by the white bunny, in the pix 2K released.

Edit: I'll have to look up the article I was reading prior to the DLC pack announcement, that broke down the picture.

I guess those would be the main ones, with Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs (the jacket by the bunny), as well as Meiko Satomura (due to Hit Rows record being red, similar to the Japanese flag), Mia Yim (due to the owl) and Roderick Strong (Diamond Mine)

Were there any there you wanted? Because I think for the most part they nailed the 30 or so additional wrestlers. I would have liked Gallus and Meiko Satomura but there's always going to be a few stars that don't make the cut. At least it's not like a 2K19 situation where they cut Ciampa, Cross and Murphy.

Mar 8, 2023 12:54:51 GMT Big Pete said:

Were there any there you wanted? Because I think for the most part they nailed the 30 or so additional wrestlers. I would have liked Gallus and Meiko Satomura but there's always going to be a few stars that don't make the cut. At least it's not like a 2K19 situation where they cut Ciampa, Cross and Murphy.

I def would have loved DDP and as someone who always does an all-female universe mode, getting as much ladies in as possible would have been cool, especially Michelle McCool as it's long over due.

Hell, even Torrie Wilson would have been nice, just so I could team her up with Stacey.

Eh honestly, it is what it is, we all have favorites we like that don't make it the game. I suppose that's why community creations exists, although I barely downloaded any in 2K22, where as 2K19 I created a new PS4 profile, just so I could set up an AEW universe mode, and still have about a 100 women between in-game, DLC and community creations for my all-female universe mode.

Haven't been following news as much this year but I hope advance create an entrance returns.

I was gonna pick up the standard edition after work today, however, the Wife surprised me with a copy of the Deluxe Edition last night, that she ordered off of Amazon.

Best Wife ever.

I'll do a separate post after work, once I get a chance to finish setting up My Universe mode.