WWE 2K20: 3 ways to better showcase women’s wrestling

Although Becky Lynch isn’t the sole cover star for WWE 2K20, she is the first woman to be featured on the video game’s cover. Still, 2K has a lot to do when it comes to showcase women in their video game.

WWE 2K20 is a step in the right direction for the video game franchise. Not only will Becky Lynch be the first woman featured on the cover, but players will also have a chance to use women in MyCAREER mode.

While it would have been nice to see Becky on the cover alone, Roman Reigns’s star status and inspiring connection with fans make him deserving of the spotlight. And just having Becky on the cover represents some progress from 2K.

That said, being able to be a women’s wrestler in MyCAREER is also a big deal. Women playing 2K will get a chance to be a character who actually looks like them. Users can go up against the likes of Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, or compete for the prestigious NXT Women’s Championship before working their way up the ladder to face the cream of the crop.

Despite this progress, WWE 2K still has a ways to go when it comes to portraying women as equal to men in their video games. Here are three ways they can do a better job of featuring women’s wrestling in WWE 2K20 and beyond.

The Ratings Gap

One of the biggest issues I have with WWE 2K’s video games is the gap in ratings between women and men in the game. Why is it that the highest rated full-time women in WWE 2K19 were rated 85 (Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair), whereas the highest rated men were above 90?

In total (65!) playable male characters were rated higher than Charlotte, which is just ridiculous. You cannot tell me that there are that many wrestlers in the game who are better than Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Asuka, or the other top women on the roster.

And Trish Stratus and Beth Phoenix being rated 85 as two of the highest-rated female legends whereas the top male legends are all hovering in the high 80’s? Laughable. Absolutely laughable.

WWE 2K20 needs to have several women in the 90’s, including their cover star Becky Lynch and several women of the past. I want to see Trish, Lita, Jazz, and others rated as highly as the male legends.