Since its relaunch with WWE 2K22, we have seen a few firsts in the franchise (and in gaming history) when it comes to match types. WWE 2K23 saw the debut of War Games in any form in a video game. Dating back to the mid-’80s, this Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW match type was revamped in WWE in NXT and that incarnation has been featured in the WWE games. It’s largely similar to the WCW version, only the WCW version had a roof on top of the double-ring cage setup and weapons weren’t usually brought in whereas with WWE, it’s part of the gimmick alongside having platforms in the corners to dive from.
The Underground match came about in WWE during the pandemic as Raw Underground and it was similar to what is now a Matt Riddle/Josh Barnett Bloodsport match with a lot of ground wrestling, matwork and striking. Essentially, a version of worked MMA only with a ring without ropes. Initially, in WWE, it was any large fighting surface they’d have setup backstage and it was shot differently and probably the last true time that the Vince-run WWE creative tried things that were outside of the box and Underground was probably the best-received concept of any of them.
WWE 2K25 Special Editions and Release Date Announced
WWE 2K25 will now have intergender matches for the first time in series history.
It’s a blend of modern-day Bloodsport and the old shoot-style groups like RINGS and Pancrase where you take a worked sport and present it in a more realistic wrapper. The goal of Underground matches is to not only win, but to have as few traditional pro wrestling trappings as possible and focus more on grappling and strikes. This is where the return of the chain wrestling mechanic is going to be so important because you’ll be able to chain holds together into either a finishing sequence or a strike exchange into a submission move to wear a limb down for a finishing submission later on.
The Tribal Chief Can Engage in Underground Combat
WWE Underground matches will make their debut in 2K25 while also paying homage to wrestling’s past.
The WWE 2K series has never had anything quite like this mode in it, although the custom match types have allowed for things like a lack of going out of the ring, so you can enact some limits, but not fully like this match type. As in WWE underground matches, there will be a black mat and the rules card graphic will be presented just like it is before the match on TV. The ring as a fighting surface is there because you can throw people off the ring as if it’s almost the side of the cell where folks fall to their backs off a heavy grapple and you can dive off of the apron onto foes too.
The motto of WWE 2K25 is to let you Rule Beyond the Ring – and with Underground opening new doors to in-ring action alongside intergender matches, we’ll see more backstage brawling than ever before in the 2K series alongside the PS5 and Xbox Series-console exclusive Island modes. WWE 2K25 launches in a few different variants, with the base game launching on March 14 and the Bloodline and Deadman Editions offering extra content and seven days of early access launching on March 7.
