The 5 Best Old School Wrestling Video Games…Period

#5: Tecmo World Wrestling (Tecmo)

(1989, Nintendo Entertainment System)

I was first introduced to this game during a sleepover at a friend’s house. Like me, he was a huge wrestling fan (and one who actually loved heels just as much as faces — that was a first) and loved video games.

Before this, I had played the lousy “Tag Team Wrestling” and Nintendo’s own “Pro-Wrestling” games which, while they helped to pave the way to better games, left a lot to be desired.

I know…Tecmo made for a great game of football and was infamous for an inhumanly-difficult Ninja Gaiden series…but WRESTLING?!

While based in a completely fictional wrestling universe, Tecmo World Wrestling was one of the first mainstream wrestling games I played that had a great control scheme (each guy had a dozen moves including set-ups and finishers), actual strategy and surprises (opponents could still kick out even though you THINK you had them), and great graphics, complete with those cool little anime-like cut-scenes you loved so much in Tecmo Bowl.

And, as you can see, the game actually had commentary. The little guy in the corner with Marv Albert’s rug didn’t actually “talk” (read: there was no audio) and the commentary was a bit overblown…but, honestly, Michael Cole isn’t much better. But it was COMMENTARY! And, hell, what sports fan, when nobody was around to see them do it, DIDN’T act as the guy doing commentary? What? Am I the only one?

Tecmo World Wrestling was at the center of my teen years. I still remember my brother and I using this game to battle over an imaginary title on more than one occasion.

Truly, this game was an underrated gem.