The Top Five Professional Wrestling Video Games of All Time

WWF Royal Rumble (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo – 1993)

WWF Royal Rumble was a turning point for professional wrestling games on home consoles. After so many examples of to build on, Acclaim Entertainment brought home gamers a product that was widely considered the best wrestling game available upon its release.

WWF Royal Rumble included a lot of standard aspects in wrestling video gaming at the time. It had a single-player campaign where players worked through the roster to become the champion. Plus a Tag Team game mold for two-on-two action. Royal Rumble also included an option for teams of three to compete against one another. The big attraction was the inclusion of the Royal Rumble game mode that allowed for six wrestlers to be in the ring at a time; a new one would come into the ring once one is eliminated. At the time it was a nice challenge for players to start out as number one and make it through the whole rumble.

This game features a large roster with some exclusivity between the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. Bret Hart, The Undertake, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Crush and The Narcissist are on both consoles. The Genesis features Papa Shango, Rick Martel, Jim Duggan, IRS and Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair, Mr. Perfect, Ted DiBiase, Yokozuna and Tatanka are available on the Super Nintendo version. For many of them on this list, WWF Royal Rumble was the first game they were included in and the biggest roster available at the time.

These wrestlers used the same move sets except for the inclusion of their signature moves that were used to finish off the match. One special note for WWF Royal Rumble was the addition of their theme music to the game. Instead of 8-bit versions of the songs, the actual music was included to give the game a more realistic touch that wasn’t available at that time.