Wrestlemania
Predicted Matches
Match from 2K14: Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd ($15,000 Body Slam Challenge)
Add: Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

WHAT THE FUCK!? Instead of reaching out and getting a couple more characters to add to the roster for WWE 2K24, 2K Games (or WWE) decided to skip the very first Wrestlemania event, not even the classic "WELCOME TO WRESTLEMANIA!" from former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon... Which given his recent allegations does not surprise me honestly. But to not even replay the match from WWE 2K14 really stings!

Wrestlemania 2
Predicted Matches
Match: Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy (Steel Cage)
Add: Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth vs George Steele (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Add: Mr. T with Joe Frazier vs Roddy Piper with Lou Duva and Bob Orton

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Two years in a row! They couldn't even add Savage vs Steel!? Given the choices in for the next Wrestlemania this does not make any sense. I know that it was a hard event to recreate given some of the people involved, but we couldn't even get Piper vs Frazier? Piper is in the game for god's sake! Wow, its shocking that 2K Games/WWE would choose to skip not only the first Wrestlemania, but also the second.

Wrestlemania III
Predicted Matches
Match: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)

Here we go! This is where the WWE 2K24 Showcase mode begins. It's obvious that these are the two entries that would be added to this mode since one is considered one of the best wrestling matches of all time, and the other is known worldwide as one of the most amazing moments in wrestlemania history. What confuses me though is that they added Savage vs Steamboat with Elizabeth and George Steel at ringside, yet we didn't get Savage vs Steel at Wrestlemania 2. Sure, that wasn't a great match, but it least it would give something from the show to be added into the mode, and you can use it to set Savage vs Steamboat up too!

Wrestlemania IV
Predicted Matches
Match: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: The Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules with Bobby Heenan

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

And we're back to no matches again. I understand that this was the big tournament for the World Heavyweight Championship, but you have Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase in the game, so there is no reason why you cannot have the ending to the tournament in the game! This was the moment that got Randy Savage over, gave him the belt, and started the feud that would lead to the formation, and destruction, of the Mega Powers that leads into Wrestlemania 5's main event! This is starting to get frustrating...

Wrestlemania V
Predicted Matches
Match: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) vs The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan (WWF Championship)

Pick up the phone because I called this one! The replay of the WWF Championship match was a given since it was one of those pivotal moments in Wrestlemania history, but seeing Warrior's first loss to Rick Rude was a great thing to play. It's not often from this point in time that you will get to see a Warrior loss, let alone play the match. As for Savage vs Hogan, it was the "Mega Power Implode" match where the two showed the world why they were the top two men in the business. I'm very happy to see logic prevail with this event

Wrestlemania VI
Predicted Matches
Match: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental & World Heavyweight Championships)
Add: Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire with Miss Elizabeth vs "Macho King" Randy Savage and Queen Sherri

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental & World Heavyweight Championships)

Oh look, the obvious match got the spot and nothing else. I know this is the beginning of the end of the Hogan era in Wrestlemania history, but this match has been replayed a million times. 2K Games could have added something to promote their Nightmare Pack DLC, but chose not to do so, taking away Dusty Rhode's only Wrestlemania match. A real shame.

Wrestlemania VII
Predicted Matches
Match: Sgt. Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: The Undertaker with Paul Bearer vs Jimmy Snuka
Add: The Ultimate Warrior vs Randy Savage with Queen Sherri (Retirement Match)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Another event with no matches included... SIGH! I guess with no Sgt. Slaughter there is no main event, and no Snuka means no Undertaker, but no Warrior vs Savage? This is the last Wrestlemania where Savage would be an active wrestler... Till next year. I'm more upset that we do not get to see the start of "The Streak" with The Undertaker as its the beginning of one of the most historic win streaks in wrestling history.

Wrestlemania VIII
Predicted Matches
Remove: Ric Flair vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Add: Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Add: Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice with Harvey Wippleman

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper (WWF Intercontinental Championship)

Ok, called the addition of Hart vs Piper here since the other two matches required people who are retired and hate the company (Sid), and are under contract with another wrestling promotion (Flair). I thought for a moment that Flair signed on with 2K Games directly, giving a way around the contract situation to allow the match between him and Savage to take place, the real last time Savage would appear as an active wrestler. However, I guess lawyers are stronger than a Ric Flair chop in this case. But in the end, Hart vs Piper was the better match anyway.

Wrestlemania IX
Predicted Matches
Match: Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Yokozuna (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Match: Yokozuna vs Hulk Hogan (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: The Undertaker with Paul Bearer vs Giant Gonzalez with Harvey Wippleman

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

NOTHING?! AGAIN!! We know all three men involved in the match are available in WWE 2K24, so why didn't this happen in the Showcase mode? Sure, there is no Mr. Fuji, but that shouldn't stop anything from happening. I know this was a horrible use of backstage politics in order to change the main event (Hogan told Vince that having a heel be the last one to win at Wrestlemania would be a bad idea and sink the show, so he got things changed at the last minute so that he would defeat Yokozuna for the title to "send the crowd home happy"), but it was a very Wrestlemania moment style thing to happen. The use of matches in this mode really starts to confuse me.

Wrestlemania X
Predicted Matches
Match: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (Ladder match for the Undisputed WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Match: Yokozuna vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart (WWF Championship with Roddy Piper as special guest referee)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (Ladder match for the Undisputed WWF Intercontinental Championship)

No complaints about this one. The ladder match is the most memorable match out of this whole show, so to play it again is a good thing to transition into the "New Generation" era of WWE. Bret vs Yokozuna would have been nice to see, given both are in the game, but the story just does not work without the previous match between Bret and Owen happening, and we all know that match will never be playable thanks to Martha Hart's disdain for WWE.

Wrestlemania XI
Predicted Matches
Match: The Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy
Match: Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund ("I Quit" match with Roddy Piper as special guest referee)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Writing about this mode is starting to get frustrating. All these shows with no matches show a huge disrespect towards the history of Wrestlemania that could only come from a company that is obsessed with rewriting or hiding the past because of social media and cancel culture. Not even Michaels vs Diesel? I guess the huge use of celebrities as timekeepers, valets, etc would stop this from happening, but it was something that could be worked around with generic models and bluring of faces in the footage. But hey, lets have another year without matches as we transition from the Hogan era to New Generation.

Wrestlemania XII
Predicted Matches
Match: The Undertaker vs. Diesel
Match: Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship)
Add: The Ultimate Warrior vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley with Sable

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? "The childhood dream has come true" moment is SKIPPED?! I can understand Warrior vs Hunter getting skipped because it was a horrible squash match, but skipping one of the best Irom Man matches and a key point in Shawm Michael's career... This should not stand! A horrible choice to exclude this one from the Wrestlemania moments section as it is one of those types of moments... also Undertaker gets more disrespect as they skip his match with Diesel, once again showing that the early streak days do not matter to a current era focussed WWE.

Wrestlemania 13
Predicted Matches
Match: Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Submission match with Ken Shamrock as special guest referee)
Add: Rocky Maivia vs The Sultan with Bob Backlund and The Iron Sheik (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Add: The Undertaker vs Sycho Sid (No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Submission match with Ken Shamrock as special guest referee)

Fair enough, the other people needed for my other match choices would be a long shot at best. But we do get one hell of a submission match that we already played instead. There is nothing that can compare with that image of Austin screaming at the camera while covered in blood. Even though I am not a fan of submission matches, this is one I don't mind playing once again.

Wrestlemania XIV
Predicted Matches
Match: The Undertaker vs. Kane
Add: The Rock with The Nation of Domination vs Ken Shamrock (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Add: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Championship with Mike Tyson as special outside enforcer)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Really? REALLY?! Ok, I understand Mike Tyson being an issue with licensing rights with this match, but The Rock vs Shamrock? Undertaker vs Kane? You couldn't even give us those matches? Undertaker vs Kane was one of the best introduction storylines of the time, and you didn't want to showcase The Rock winning a championship? What are these developers at 2K Games smoking to exclude a PIVITAL Wrestlemania in WWE history that not only showed the emergence of The Rock, but the beginning of the Austin Era? I swear monkeys could have made a better selection of matches for this mode.

Wrestlemania XV
Predicted Matches
Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock (No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship, Mankind was the special guest referee)
Add: The Undertaker with Paul Bearer vs Big Boss Man (Hell in a Cell)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Alright, I know there are not many matches that could be done at this event, and it was pretty forgetful. But we have Rock, Austin, and Mankind available in the game and they were not used to make this match happen? The Undertaker match I could understand, but not the main event. The more I play of this mode, and the more matches and events missing from this mode does not make this feel like a showcase at all, but more of a problem with WWE needing to use only their contracted wrestlers and their refusal to reach out to missing wrestlers or their families in order to make things special.

Wrestlemania 2000 (16)
Predicted Matches
Remove: Triple H with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs The Rock with Mr. McMahon vs Mick Foley with Linda McMahon vs Big Show with Shane McMahon (Fatal 4-Way elimination match for the WWF Championship)
Add: ...

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches.

Well, I called this one. Just about every match got screwed over by contracts and people passing. A good idea to skip this one.

Wrestlemania X-Seven
Predicted Matches
Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock (No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship)
Add: The Undertaker vs Triple H

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock (No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship)

Since both Austin vs Rock matches at Wrestlemania were No DQ matches, I guess one of them had to show up somewhere. Given that Austin was available to talk about his feud with The Rock, it was a good idea to do the one that Austin won. I'm not too sure what the issue is with not giving The Undertaker his due when it comes to his contribution to Wrestlemania, but I hope that they fix this soon as we are approaching the end of The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak.

Wrestlemania X-8
Predicted Matches
Match: The Rock vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan
Remove: Chris Jericho vs. Triple H (Undisputed WWF Championship)
Add: Rob Van Dam vs William Regal (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Add: Kurt Angle vs Kane
Add: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Scott Hall with Kevin Nash
Add: Jazz vs Trish Stratus vs Lita (Triple threat match for the WWF Women's Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

My god, talk about missing the assignment. No Rock vs Hogan is one of the biggest matches in both men's careers. No Austin vs Hall, even with both men available in the game. No Kurt vs Kane, leaving Kane out of the mode completely at this point. No RVD vs Regal, even with both men in the game. The amount of misses that this selection of NOTHING makes is downright criminal. The even reference Austin vs Hall later in the game. Another wasted opportunity to expand on a great event.

Wrestlemania XIX
Predicted Matches
Remove: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Match: The Rock vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Add: Trish Stratus vs Victoria with Steven Richards vs Jazz (Triple threat match for the WWE Women's Championship)
Add: Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle (WWE Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

A chance to build up Brock and it's gone thanks to the accusations that are currently against him. We don't even get the final Rock vs Austin match at Wrestlemania. Given the upcoming matches, even Kurt misses out on one of his main events. But outside of that, there weren't too many options available when you take the roster into account. Its a shame to see matches removed or skipped because of legal issues.

Wrestlemania XX
Predicted Matches
Remove: John Cena vs. Big Show
Match: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar ("Stone Cold" Steve Austin as special guest referee)
Add: Torrie Wilson and Sable vs Miss Jackie and Stacy Keibler (Playboy Evening Gown Women's Tag Team match)
Add: Victoria vs Molly Holly (Hair vs. Title match for the WWE Women's Championship)
Add: Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle (WWE Championship)
Add: The Undertaker with Paul Bearer vs Kane

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle (WWE Championship)

Cool, they picked something that pays tribute to Eddie Guerrero. No issues with that as it was one of the most creative finishes to a match that I've ever seen in wrestling. Once again Undertaker vs Kane doesn't happen, leaving Kane in the cold once again. And why add Molly Holly to the roster if you're not going to add some of her opponents so we could do some of her matches? But then again, the Evening Gown match would not fly with the modern PG WWE audience. So I guess its fine to leave this one out.

Wrestlemania 21
Predicted Matches
Match: John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. John Cena (WWE Championship)
Add: Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero
Add: The Undertaker vs Randy Orton
Add: Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels
Add: Batista vs Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship) *Remove Ric Flair

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels

An odd choice here. This wasn't the best match of the card, and probably one of the lesser matches that these two put on overall. But anything that puts Kurt on the card I guess. I would have liked to see Eddie vs Rey used here because you can link that into Rey vs Dominic down the line, but since this was covered with WWE 2K22 Showcase mode, a repeat probably wouldn't be a good idea at this point. Also, we have JBL, so why skip the match with Cena? It makes no sense.

Wrestlemania 22
Predicted Matches
Remove: Edge (W/ Lita) vs. Mick Foley
Add: Mickie James vs Trish Stratus(WWE Women's Championship)
Add: The Undertaker vs Mark Henry (Casket match)
Add: Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton (Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship)
Add: John Cena vs Triple H (WWE Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Ok, Undertaker vs Henry was a wish, but ultimately he is under AEW contract, so there goes that one. But the two world title matches shouldn't have been skipped. There is a lot of build there for many great wrestlers that would have been great to be given a chance to play. But there seems to be a pattern of missing Triple H and John Cena in this mode for some reason.

Wrestlemania 23
Predicted Matches
Match: Batista vs. The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship)
Match: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

We have the wrestlers, we have the means to create the matches, we know these have been done before and worked well, so why not give us a chance to experience them again? Why are we leaving Cena out of an event again? Why is The Undertaker being so disrespected? Why is Batisia even in the game if you are not going to use him? WHY? WHY!? WHY?!

Wrestlemania XXIV
Predicted Matches
Remove: Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (Flair's Career Threatening match)
Match: Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena (Triple threat match for the WWE Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Ok, I get it, we're not going to repeat matches we have played before in WWE 2K14, or referenced in WWE 2K22, or WWE 2K23. But fuck me, this is annoying. We have good matches available, challenging matches, and something that would bulk up this fucking shit show of a mode. By this time in the game, I was getting frustrated at the lack of selection of matches that should be showcased over trash that was boring back then and is boring to play now... If we get to play. As we head towards Wrestlemania 30, where new match options are available, the more this mode relies on footage over gameplay.

Wrestlemania 25th Anniversary
Predicted Matches
Remove: Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show (Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship)
Match: Randy Orton vs. Triple H (WWE Championship)
Add: Rey Mysterio vs John "Bradshaw" Layfield (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Add: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

WWE 2K24 Line Up
The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

If you're going to select any match to have in this line-up, then I agree that Undertaker vs Michaels is the one to have. One of the greatest Wrestlemania matches to ever be held. I would have liked to see Mysterio vs JBL be playable too, as that was a really good match as well, with Mysterio getting the win and proving that a small guy can be world champion. But since 2K Games seems to want to make sure we don't get much content, giving the one match they did, we should be thankful for that at least.

Wrestlemania XXVI
Predicted Matches
Remove: Chris Jericho vs. Edge
Match: Batista vs. John Cena (WWE Championship)
Match: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (No Disqualification Streak vs. Career)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

No repeats, so no Undertaker vs Michaels 2 here, and we can't have Cena for some reason. So frankly, there is nothing available here to work with. I tink I'm coming down with Stockholm syndrome as I'm getting used to this abuse of wrestling history.

Wrestlemania XXVII
Predicted Matches
Remove: Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio
Match: The Miz vs. John Cena (WWE Championship)
Add: Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio
Add: Randy Orton vs CM Punk
Add: Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler (Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee)
Add: The Undertaker vs Triple H (No Holds Barred)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

So many matches to choose from, and you choose nothing... Pathetic. This running theme of missing 2-3 shows in a row is annoying as hell and I'm running out of things to get upset about. At this point I'm done. This mode is looking worse and worse the more I play it.

Wrestlemania XXVIII
Predicted Matches
Match: Triple H vs. The Undertaker (No Holds Barred)
Remove: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Championship)
Match: The Rock vs. John Cena

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Not even the "Once in a Lifetime" match up? Sure, it happened before, but it was a moment in Wrestlemania history. Whatever.

Wrestlemania 29
Predicted Matches
Match: CM Punk vs. Undertaker
Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (No Holds Barred)
Match: The Rock vs. John Cena (WWE Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

The final Wrestlemania from the previous 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode and we get... Nothing. I know they loaded the mode last time with this event, but to give it nothing when you have the return of CM Punk happen just in time to add one of his best, and only, Wrestlemania matches into the mode is a bad choice. But at this point, bad choices are normal with this game. I guess if it isn't involving MyFaction, then who cares right?

Wrestlemania XXX
Predicted Matches
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper
Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs The Undertaker

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs The Undertaker

I called one of the matches that would be included. I guess I should be happy with that, but given what comes down the track, getting Cena vs Wyatt would have been nice, but contracts and family issues stopped this from happening... But 2K Games find a work around some things later, so why not for this match? But hey, we get the ONLY time we'll be playing Brock Lesner in this game with this match, so there is that to work with.

Wrestlemania 32
Predicted Matches
The Undertaker vs Shane McMahon (Hell in a Cell)
Roman Reigns vs Triple H with Stephanie McMahon (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Wow, we're really going to keep this skipping shows thing going with the last 10 events are we? Fine, go ahead. It would be nice at this point if 2K Games packed this end fo the mode with as many matches as possible, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards is it? At this point I'm used to disappointment with this mode.

Wrestlemania 33
Predicted Matches
Seth Rollins vs Triple H with Stephanie McMahon (Unsanctioned match)
Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker (No Holds Barred)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

So we're not going to build up Roman Reigns through the game heading into the three-plus year championship reign? Ok then. Why bother doing something that would be beneficial to the story that you are trying to tell with a showcase mode? I'm no games developer, just a wrestling fan who dropped money to play this game, so what would I know about telling wrestling stories?

Wrestlemania 34
Predicted Matches
The Undertaker vs John Cena
Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Yep, fuck this. No point in complaining at this point. Might as well just skip to Wrestlemania 39 at this point as it feels like that might be the only event with matches in this slim shit mode.

Wrestlemania 35
Predicted Matches
Triple H vs Batista (No Holds Barred match)
Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair (Winner Takes All triple threat match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair (Winner Takes All triple threat match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)

Holy shit! A match to play... Wait... We spend 90% of this match watching the damn thing, with the last 10% only being a few moves that keep getting blocked by constant blindsiding by the two AI. Might as well have just have watched the match from start to finish.

Wrestlemania 36
Predicted Matches
The Undertaker vs AJ Styles with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (Boneyard match)
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs John Cena (Firefly Fun House match)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs John Cena (Firefly Fun House match)

If there was any match that I wouldn't have minded watching again from start to finish, it would be this. Getting to play the in-ring segments of the match was just the icing on the cake. It was fun to watch and play as Bray one last time against many forms of John Cena, especially in the WCW segment where Cena was pretending to be Hollywood Hogan. I wish those segments were longer, but since this match was mainly tributes to different eras of WWE, this was fun to play and watch either way.

Wrestlemania 37
Predicted Matches
Randy Orton vs The Fiend with Alexa Bliss

• Rhea Ripley vs Asuka (WWE Raw Women's Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
No Matches

Don't want to build up Rhea? Fine. Whatever. Fuck this mode.

Wrestlemania 38
Predicted Matches
The Miz and Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio
Bianca Belair vs Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Women's Championship)
Cody Rhodes vs Seth "Freakin" Rollins
Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman vs Brock Lesnar (Winner Takes All match for the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kevin Owens (No Holds Barred)

Don't want to use Cody or Bianca? You know, those cover stars you touted so much. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of dropping stunners on KO as Stone Cold, or on anyone else for that matter, but you would think that you would use your cover stars more than just once in a mode where they had some absolute banger matches on one of the biggest stages in wrestling. I didn't even pick this match as something to include as it started as KO Show segment, then dropped into a match, so it would have been hard to impliment into a game, but 2K Games proved me wrong with this and I'm nto going to begrudge them for surprising me for the first time in this mode.

Wrestlemania 39
Predicted Matches
Night 1
Austin Theory vs John Cena (WWE United States Championship)
Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs Logan Paul with KSI
Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio
Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair (WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship)

Night 2
Brock Lesnar vs Omos with MVP
Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Bianca Belair vs Asuka (WWE Raw Women's Championship)
Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa vs Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)

WWE 2K24 Line Up
Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair (WWE SmackDown Women's Championship)
Bianca Belair vs Asuka (WWE Raw Women's Championship)
Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa vs Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)

Given there were a lot of matches to be picked from, it doesn't surprise me that the cover stars got the final spots in this mode. All three matches are pure classics in the eyes of fans and also WWE themselves. If there is one match I think they missed, it was Rey vs Dom. If they set that up with Rey vs Eddie beforehand, then this would have been a great way to show what Dom can do and pay one final tribute to Eddie in the process. But given what they wanted to do with this mode, which is something I could work on figuring out for a hundred years and still have no clue, I guess this was a good way to close out the mode.

WWE 2K24 - 40 Years of Wrestlemania: Final Verdict

After playing through all of the matches that this Showcase mode has to offer, I feel that what was presented wasn't even a "best of" Wrestlemania, but more of a very select series of moments where contracts and available licenses played more of a factor into what was selection than anything else. There was an excessive amount of blurring in the videos used too, with some parts almost unwatchable at times.

Out of 39 Wrestlemania events, 22 of them have no matches at all. You could see the frustration in my writing as many events had perfectly useable matches available, complete with the wrestlers involved available on the roster, yet nothing came about for a lot of great feuds. The further I got into the mode, the more I thought they would stack Wrestlemania 30 through 39 as a lot of the roster is available in the game and WWE loves touting their more recent roster members over their past roster members.

There was word that 2K Games didn't want to repeat too much from WWE 2K14's 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode, but the amount that was passed over is criminal to wrestling fans. I know that contracts and licensing issues are a thing with games like this, but you could do more to get around it. Even Rollins vs Orton at Wrestlemania 31 had generic-looking goons at ringside to replace Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury who were blurred out in the footage. So you can't tell me that they can't make generic character model for Mike Tyson or other characters so we could get other showcase matches into this mode.

Playing my way through this mode was a slog, with aggressive and cheating AI making some of the tasks impossible to accomplish as they stun-locked me with unblockable/un-reversible moves, or kept me on the mat longer than things should have been. There was one match that happened when I was streaming where I was pinned, failing the match, when the kickout meter was full. It wasn't bad timing, it was cheating, plain and simple.

All said and done, this showcase mode is nothing when you compare it to WWE 2K14's version 10 years ago. Not only has the "gameplay" been replaced with so much blurred WWE Network footage that you might as well just watch the matches on the actual WWE Network, but when you do play, the game forgets that you are meant to be recreating moments, and will rip into you like it is on the highest difficulty setting (even if you have it set on Easy).

When I was streaming the last part of this mode, I had people in the chat saying that they would not bother buying the game till it was cheaper because this mode looked "too thin". Others mentioned that they were more entertained by hearing me talk about wrestling, hearing me explain the history of the wrestling business, my opinions on the wrestling business, and my personal stories about those I've worked with, met, and talked to in the business. When me telling stories comes off better than Corey Graves talking about Wrestlemania matches, you know you have done something wrong.

2K Games needs to realize that this current method of telling the story of matches through interlaced video segments might work when you are on a personal level like they did with Rey Mysterio and John Cena, but when you are doing historical recreations of events like Wrestlemania, the gamer wants to PLAY the matches, to experience every moment themselves, not watch most of it like its a preview for the WWE Network. Pick and choose a better method and do more matches for all events, even if it replays a previous year. I hope in 10 years when WWE 2K24 celebrates 50 Years of Wrestlemania, we get to play more and experience everything possible instead of a bare-boned thin mode that selects 10 matches from 50 years of shows.