WWE 2K22: My journey with MyGM Mode

Whenever a new wrestling game comes out, every gamer is concerned about the General Manager Mode and WWE 2K22 is no different. What makes WWE 2K22’s MyGM Mode satisfy the gamers.

The minute you enter into MyGM you are asked to pick an executive and a show to run. I was able to choose between Stephanie McMahon, Sonya Deville, Adam Pearce, Shane McMahon, William Regal, or a created character. I wanted to go to the created character option, but the game warned me that I couldn’t use other CAW characters if I did. I was scared by that limitation (even though I had created only 2 characters) so I picked Shane O Mac. Picking Shane gave me special broadcast perks. I have no idea what those perks did, but I was intrigued by the idea that Shane would challenge Kane to a hardcore match.

On the next screen, I was given the choice of the show that I could run. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and NXT UK were among the choices. I flocked toward NXT UK hoping that I could hear from Nigel McGuiness on commentary. Unfortunately, Nigel was nowhere to be found. Instead, I got Michael Cole instead.

The game gives you a GM rival to play against you. It’s always good business to have other managers in the same company threaten to destroy you with their show. It’s not like we are all on the same team. Sonya Deville of Smackdown was in fierce competition with me. I am not sure what universe WWE 2K22 is, but Smackdown is never worried that NXT UK is going to outperform them. In this reality, Sonya Deville threatens to put my show into the ground with her wonderful GM skills. Gauntlet thrown.

The game starts with the draft. It’s a new season of WWE and we have four weeks to prepare for Backlash. Sonya Deville goes right for the triple-A stars: Drew McIntyre, Bailey, Lashley. I wanted NXT UK to be a revival of the indie wrestlers in their heyday. I selected Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks, John Morrison, and Samoa Joe. Apparently, those wrestlers don’t cost as much so I had some spending cash left over.

The first episode of NXT UK was in a glorified concrete building. There were no Titantron or LCD lights. All I had was a curtain and a ring. It mattered little how janky the arena looked because I was going to blow the audience’s minds with a return to wrestling greatness. My first match was going to be the amazing knock-down drag-out match between Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura. Dave Meltzer was going to give me 6 stars. That match could fill up any beer hall. After a 5 minute match, Kevin Owens sealed the victory. It was time to be told how awesome I was for being a genius booker.

Nope! Shane says that match scored poorly because both Kevin and Shinsuke were heels and no one wants to see two heels wrestle. WHAT? In what universe is the world not cheering for these guys to “fight forever?”

It dawned on me that MyGM mode is not a place for people to make dream matches. In fact, all my “dream matches” scored low and I was the worst-performing show on the network. Shane wanted me to pick faces versus heels and big wrestlers against little wrestlers. That is the formula for being a quality booker. I had to scrap my storyline where Dolph Ziggler gets into a brutal rivalry with Samoa Joe.

When you set up a showcard, you get the option to play, watch, or skip to the results. Playing or watching is fun to try once, but it doesn’t affect your show score at all. There’s no reason to eat up ten minutes of game time when the meat of the game is based on the wrestlers you pick and not how they wrestle.

Dumb.

Since I was not the best-selling show on the program in WWE 2K22, I had very little money to spend on extra wrestlers and set pieces for the arena. Ironically, I probably treated NXT UK like WWE would normally treat it.

This is my main drawback of WWE games and WWE 2K22 is no different. Yes, you can make your own wrestlers and yes, you can make your own arenas, but you can never escape WWE branding. WWE wants you to pretend that you are making money for them.

I would love a GM mode where you can create your own promotion and build up your own roster from scratch. In MyGM mode I was operating under simple rules that the WWE already defined. There’s no room to build up your own stars.

If AEW or Virtual Basement is reading this, I would love to see a general manager mode where you create the hype behind the wrestlers on your own brand. If you are a WWE fan then this GM mode will make you feel like you are running a WWE show. But what if I want to appeal to an ROH or GCW crowd? WWE 2K22 is not for dreamers who want to create the next big idea.

The lesson: I am bad at MyGM mode and all my choices were giving me some awful scores. I usually don’t stick around game modes where Shane is constantly disappointed in me. It’s fun to book your own shows and there is a method to the madness, but it is not a sandbox for creative trial and error.