WWE 2K20: 5 current wrestlers that could be rated 90+ (but won't be)
It's unfortunate, but some people take the wrestler ratings in the WWE 2K games really seriously. Like, really really seriously. Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret "Hitman" Hart, for example.
It gets even weirder when you consider that the criteria used to determine these ratings aren't exactly as cut and dry as, say in the FIFA or Madden NFL games. At least with those, the players have statistics and other records to go by.
In pro wrestling, the rankings in these games aren't determined by how good a performer is at, you know... performing. They're determined by how good at pro wrestling those putting together the performance decide each wrestler is. Obviously, the performers themselves have some sway in determining that, as well as how the audience reacts to each performer and... look, it's really kind of weird, OK?
So, needless to say that, unlike our similar previous list, this one is going to be a bit more difficult to arrange. Therefore we had to add some rules and caveats and things of that nature.
First off, we went through the list of all the male wrestlers in WWE 2K19 (we're not trying to be sexist, it just made putting this list together easier - if you'd like to see a list like this about the Women's Division, let us know in the comments) and noted each one that was rated 87 or above.
We figured, at that rating, there's a good chance they could go up this year. We also only included those in last year's game, but we did include the DLC.
Then, we eliminated any part-timers, retired wrestlers or wrestlers who most likely won't be in the game next year (like Undertaker, British Bulldog and Dean Ambrose, respectively). Finally, we picked five of them that we felt were the most likely to not hit that rating above 90 - not counting any versions of the wrestler from the past the game might add (for example: current Daniel Bryan was rated 88 last year, and his 2013 version was rated 92).
We also have to take into account where each performer was around the time of WrestleMania 35. 2K Games and Yuke's have to finalize these wrestlers and their rankings at some point - and that's usually around WrestleMania. Now, can that change between then and the release date? Yeah, of course. But, for these purposes, that's our cut off point.
We told you it was confusing.
Finally, we need to point out that while we feel these guys won't get above that 90 rank doesn't mean we don't like them - in fact, just the opposite. Some of them we're massive fans of. We'll explain why they could have been ranked higher and then why we feel they won't.
Got that? OK, let's get going.
#5 Braun Strowman
WWE 2K19 rating: 89
Why he could have been: Strowman has been on and off the brink of superstardom, back and forth, more times than anyone else in recent memory. One moment, it looks like he's about to win a world title for the first time. Then, he's getting destroyed by Brock Lesnar in the time it takes someone to get a beer from the fridge.
Despite all that, though, he's consistently been portrayed as a monster and a force to be reckoned with and he frequently manhandles his opponents with ease. You never know when he's going to get that big push once again.
Why he won't be: We may not know for sure when that big push is going to be, but it certainly wasn't around WrestleMania 35, when the roster and "stats" were finalized. While he did indeed win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, it was both a match relegated to the pre-show and a showcase for celebrity involvement (Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost and Michael Che were entered as part of a "feud" with Strowman). It was good for the company, not exactly good for Strowman's standing in said company.
Despite that, the Monster Among Men still has a bright future with the company. He only began training as a wrestler in 2013 and made his main roster debut two years later.
He's come a long way in a very short time and he's been involved in some pretty big angles and stories since then - including a number of Universal Title matches. While he's come up short in those, we have no doubt that he'll get some serious singles gold eventually. But, for WWE 2K20, don't expect his ranking to go higher than 89 - if it's even that high at all.