File this under things I never knew — In WCW/nWo Revenge for the Nintendo 64, Wrath was a hidden unlockable character that could only be attained through using a GameShark. Wrath’s moveset was completed but certain holds and submission animations of his were glitched but still playable.

The strange thing is that I never once heard of this whenever the game came out, but I fell for another rumor regarding a hidden character. I remember reading that if you attained every championship in the game with Kidman, the Ultimate Warrior would do a surprise run-in and become immediately available to play as in your roster.

I burned through an entire Saturday just to find out that The Warrior unlock method was complete horseshit and he was nowhere to be found in the game.

WCW vs. nWo: World Tour Advert - Nintendo 64 [November 1997]

I can still remember renting this and Wheel of Fortune at the same time at my local Blockbuster Video and reading the instruction manual for the former title on the car ride home. I wasn’t expecting much out of a wrestling game (especially since it had been years since the last decent one), but I ended up finding myself completely obsessed over this one.

The multiplayer was excellent and quickly became a favorite amongst my brothers AND my friends since the gameplay was so easy to comprehend. An incredible title that was the beginning of an excellent run of wrestling titles on the Nintendo 64 from AKI and THQ.

The Undertaker Visits Acclaim Studios [1995]

These shots were taken during the character tracking for the terrible WWF: In Your House game from 1996. The reason that The Undertaker is sporting bright red in this shot is so that the developers could easily change the colors digitally for alternate character model color schemes.

[Via Flickr]

WCW Nitro Advert - PlayStation [January 1998]

One of those wrestling games that played terribly, but I absolutely loved due to the large number of WCW wrestlers available to play as. I remember keeping a spiral notebook available next to me where I wrote down the unlock roster code and every wrestlers’ special moves.

Then, there were these things. The legendary wrestler rants.

I still quote them to this day!

WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling Character Select Screen - Super Nintendo [1994]

Not only do you get to hear all of the wrestlers yelling their signature taunts (including Rick Steiner’s, “IT’S NOT MAH FAULT!”), but you also get to read each character’s short bio written for the game. Did you know that Johnny B. Badd was a five-time state boxing champion and that his finisher was called the Tutti Frutti Left Hook?!

Madness!!

WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling - Super Nintendo [1994]

I always had a soft spot for WCW games due to it being the league that first got me into wrestling. This game wasn’t too terrible, but I remember the highlight being the weird character select screen that had the wrestlers screaming their catchphrases whenever you highlighted them.

Plus, it was the only wrestling game out there that had the Little Richard impersonator/wrestler, Johnny B. Badd!

Meltzer rating: Five out of five stars.

WCW Mayhem Advert [August 1999]

While I do appreciate EA’s attempt at delivering a solid WCW experience after picking up the license from the wrestling video game Gods over at AKI and THQ, WCW Mayhem was just terrible all around. The fully motion-captured movesets and realistic wrestler models were the highlight of the title, but everything else down to how the character’s stood naturally was just a bit too rough around the edges.

I fully expected the series to get better with a sequel, but EA ended up making something that was even worse than before — the wrestling video game without an actual wrestling ring, WCW Backstage Assault.

WCW Wrestling Advert - NES [1990]

Not only was this one of the first Nintendo games that I remember playing, but this was the first thing that introduced me to the world of professional wrestling. I still remember seeing this on the shelf at the video rental store, both of the Road Warriors menacing staring back at the seven-year-old me — they looked so cool.

It was a shame that neither Road Warrior Hawk or Road Warrior Animal were playable characters, only the main bosses.

“Actual PS2 Graphics!” - Playstation Magazine #33 [May 2000]

God, I love covers like this especially when the amazing thing that’s being touted was nothing more than a bold-faced lie. The WCW 2000 game that’s being mentioned here ended up being WCW: Backstage Assault, a title that had one of the worst receptions for a wrestling video game.

WCW as a company might have been cooling down at this time, but EA’s decision to make a wrestling game that didn’t even have a wrestling ring probably had a lot to do with the poor sales. Also, the game was never released for the Playstation 2, only the Nintendo 64 and Playstation AND it looked nothing like the “amazing graphics” you see above.

WCW Mayhem Advert [August 1999]

After THQ switched over to making WWF games, Electronic Arts stepped in to create the next World Championship Wrestling title. I remember absolutely hating this title due to how poor the hit collision was, but I also recall laughing at how ridiculous the wrestlers looked when not in action. Everyone’s standing default pose from Sting to Goldberg to Bobby Eaton would have the character hunched over a bit with their arms slightly raised in front of them. It was almost like the wrestlers were riding an invisible horse and both hands were always clutching an invisible rein.

Terrible game, but at least it had an actual wrestling ring as opposed to EA’s follow-up WCW Backstage Assault.