Clocking in at number 10 is the infamous Steel Cage, famous for two wrestlers deciding to end a fued the old fashioned way. 2 men enter a cage and only one leaves. Many matches over the years have been decided in that very ring, inside a steel cage.
This game leaves it simple enough, a nicely sized steel cage to do exactly what you have to do, beat your opponent well enough that you can succesfully end the match by exiting the cage. A cool feature is the fact you can even jump off the cage!
Steel cages in games since then have gotten better and more brutal, but this game set the bar for all steel cage match modes at the time. This stays at number 10 because it is a great addition to us wrasslin fanatics, but also because its the best of it kind of match.
At number nine is the very first Smackdown series game ever to set foot into a wrestling fans household, this game presented something other games have tried to do but never like this...Wrestler video titantron entrances.
For the first time I saw this, I was blown that my favorite wrestlers video highlight were shown in full screen, and then out comes the wrestler him/herself ready to do battle. No Mercy did a decent job of this, but to have the entrance video in full clear quality and view set the tone for games ahead of this one.
At Number 8, ECW in itself was a major uprising in the wrestling industry. Taking the classic Eastern Championship Wrestling promotion and revamping it to fit the needs of rabid fans who crave more shocking storylines, cooler wrestling personalities and dare I say the heavy use of weaponry.
ECW Hardcore Revolution was a major game in itself, taking the engine of the already popular WWF Attitude game and giving it an extreme makeover. The game itself was rated 17+ because of the violent and barbaric match types they put in. Imagine barbed wire matches and anything goes hardcore matches, all the while having ECW wrestlers use profanity and have scantily clad female wrestlers in the mix.
This game as offensive at it may sound left many a fan happy wanting to live the glory days of ECW, and this is why it jumps in at number 8.
Lucky number 7 is the behemoth himself WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth on the PS2. Wrestling games have always been about deciding where to go in your career, but this one allows you to make decisions as to what you want to do.
You want a wrestling match? Sure thing pal, you do wrestle matches in your career but sometimes you are not even on the card, just simply walk around in the full backstage area and you'll find someone who you can have become your friend, or if you feel a bit frisky you can offend him and find yourself an enemy who can hunt you down the road in your career.
Feel your up for a title shot? You can do that too! Sometimes you'll be offered a chance to reach the top of your career and be quick to do so, or those chances don't come often. Maybe you'd have to demand a title shot, your pick.
After winning the title, be prepared to defend it against all comers and how you defend it will count also, this cool feature stays in at number 7.
Entering the ring at number 6 is the classic WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role for the PlayStation system. This mode is simple enough to understand, you choose how many matches you want your whole Pay Per View card to have, from there you can choose the wrestlers and match types they will be preparing themselves for.
Not only that, but the coolest part of this feature is the fact the matches you assigned will be rated, so will you think there is a five star classic battle in your hands or a simple warmup for the big event, this requires alot of thought, so it would be wise to save the main-eventers for the end of your card and some of the low contenders to open it up.
At number 5, WCW Backstage Assault has popularized on the zany off the top anywhere fall matches that ECW and WWE has done time and again, and well, this video game does just that and only that.
Backstage Assault gives us a nice sized bunch of popular wrestlers although heavily overdone and handful of backstage areas. In these backstage areas you can use anything and including the kitchen sink at your disposal to beat, pummel, and knock your opponent senseless. Looking to pin your opponent? Hmm, not in the ring because this game does not even have one.
Backstage Assault can be seen as a good way to loosen agression on a bad day, especially if you are a pro wrestling fan. The amount of weapons and environments you can use against your opponents is mayhem! This was fun, and since then we have not seen much action in video games backstage since then, but thats not a bad thing, its a good thing.
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 comes in at number four for a very good reason, the all exclusive debut of the short lived General Manager mode, or GM Mode for short.
In this mode, we had the option of picking out of the cast of pro wrestlers to come join our wrestling brand, from there you can give him his salary, the amount of weeks he is paid to perform and to hype him or her up by putting them on your show in matches which you can choose from.
This mode goes even deeper and more agressive, since not only do your have to keep your wrestlers happy by putting them in matches every week, but you are also going against the rival brand who is on a mission to make his show the better program.
Think you got what it takes to run your own show? This mode is the only mode to prove so, and it was all fun and games while it has lasted since this mode has been discontinued in later wrestling games.
Number 3 is the thing to be for this gem. Many wrestling games of the past were simple, pick two dudes and jump into the action right away. Well, thats fine for people in a hurry or just want to play, no bones about it.
WWF War Zone one-upped the old fashioned wrestling gamers ways when you pick your wrestler and all of a sudden he comes out decked in full ring gear, entrance music blaring, doing his signature taunt while fireworks come out of the stage.
Ever since then, this feature in games have been improved 10 times as much within the past decade, but for the first time it was cool seeing your chosen wrestler come out the way he is supposed to, with meaning.
Setting the tone not only for number 2 but for many wrestling games alike is the classic WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64, a game like this shines brightly on many users top number ones. I like that, I do.
No Mercy set the bar for wrestling games for a variety of reasons, one of which was the amount of pro wrestlers to choose from. You can spend hours, days, months, maybe even years making endless amounts of wrestling matches you'd like to play. Then from there the match type, how many wrestlers in the match and so on.
What makes this feature great is that some wrestlers have alternate clothing to choose from, sometimes which also reveals a hidden wrestler! Pretty cool i'll say, and always holds a spot in my heart for many a year to come.
At number 1, and yes the final choice today is the great Story Designer mode in WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2010. Although an heavily over-rated mode I can see why.
In story designer, it takes a mode that other types of games have used before, that being creative freedom. Perhaps you want to have your favorite wrestler who is an underdog in the WWE a big title win, or maybe someone you dislike in the title hunt? How about you pit him against the owner of the WWE and have him fired the next day!
Story Designer mode not only allows you to make matches, it also offers a nice amount of premade skits to choose from, from there you can change camera angles, add text to the stories (which reminds us of the old Smackdown 2 stories of old), and pretty much decide what fate your version of WWE has.
This mode also has stories you can upload from other users to give them your opinion of what they made, and vice versa. Probably the coolest mode in wrestling game history can only be improved from here.
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