Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. To be the man, WOO, you gotta beat the man! And you're about to have the chance to do just that, because finally, WWE 2K18 has come BACK to gamers everywhere! 2K games annual installment in it's WWE franchise has become a benchmark of the gaming season for wrestling fans, much like Madden for NFL fans, or NBA 2k is for basketball fans. It means a fresh start for WWE gamers, with new modes, refreshed creation suites, and updated rosters (although things move so fast in WWE, often certain characters gimmicks are already dated by the time the game comes out). Avid grappling junkies wait all year to finally get the chance to take control of their favorite superstars, or create their own, and begin their yearly march to glory.
However, wrestling fans are a particular bunch (just ask Jason Jordan), and with each new installment often comes a litany of complaints regarding player rankings and stats. This year is no different, and while the jury is still out on whether WWE 2K18 will join the exalted ranks of No Mercy or Here Comes the Pain, one thing is for sure: a lot of superstars overall stats are just bogus. But don't worry: we've taken the time to compile 20 of the most ridiculously wrong character ratings in the game so YOU don't have to. This is 20 WWE 2k18 Ratings That Are Disgraceful! And that's the bottom line, CAUSE THEGAMER.COM SAID SO!
Did we miss any? Get a few wrong? That comments section is calling your name, jabroni!
20 Braun Strowman (88)
Sure, 88 is a relatively high rating. But WWE bills Braun Strowman as "The Monster Among Men." He's supposed to be unstoppable, essentially the Incredible Hulk of WWE. And yet, his rating in the game doesn't crack 90? That doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm not saying he needs to be in the upper 90s, or even more than 90 for that matter, but keeping him in the high 80s puts him in the same category as, say, the Usos, who both score an 86. No slight to those guys, but from the way WWE presents Braun you'd expect his rating to far tower over theirs. If you don't make him a monster in the game, why should I believe he's one in real life?
19 Jinder Mahal (88)
The Modern Day Maharaja's rating suffers from the same problem as Strowman's. He's held the WWE Championship, the belt with a lineage tracing all the way back to the great Bruno Sammartino, for 147 days. And yet, he too finds himself stuck in the high 80s? That's absurd. Jinder's rise to the top was an unexpected one. When he beat Randy Orton at Backlash back in May, a lot of critics felt it was too soon to put the belt on him, and that not enough time had been spent taking Jinder from two-minute squash match jobber to world champion (myself included). But Jinder has stepped up to the plate, and has now defended his title against a plethora of very viable contenders, like Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. If he can do that, he deserves to have his rating crack the low 90s.
18 John Cena (93)
The most polarizing figure in the WWE seems to be unable to anything without causing some kind of controversy, so why should his rating be any different? Personally, I love John Cena. Even though it took me some time to get there, I've come to the conclusion he really is one of the greatest of all time, and his contributions to the business are too many to list here. That being said, a 93 overall rating for modern-day John Cena is just too high. Cena's run with the United States Championship was second to none, but still, "big match John" hasn't really won too many big matches lately. His last feud with Roman Reigns resulted in him passing the torch, and his last run with the WWE title was a 15-day reign back in January of 2017. His rating should reflect this, and belongs closer to an 88 or 89.
17 Shinsuke Nakamura (89)
This guy is just the best. In New Japan Pro Wrestling, there were few who were more on top of their game than Nakamura. Taking the inspiration for his character from both Michael Jackson and Freddy Mercury, Nakamura is a funky, feminine, lanky, butt-kicking machine. But since coming over to America and the WWE in 2016, it feels like the US team hasn't known exactly what to do with him. He's been in high profile matches, but other than holding the NXT Championship, has yet to win major gold in WWE. That being said, Nakamura is among the most talented wrestlers on the planet, and deserves a rating that reflects that. A 93 would be much more fitting for the Japanese spark plug.
16 Shane McMahon (84)
84?! 84?! Are you insane? Okay, let me put it here in print just so everybody can see it: Shane McMahon is not a wrestler. He's not. Here's what he is: a 47-year-old man whose dad owns the company he works for. In the past, I've enjoyed a bunch of Shane's work. His match with Kurt Angle at King of the Ring 2001 is one of the most brutal and impressive showings I've ever seen. But allowing yourself to be thrown into and off of things does not make you a good wrestler. Shane has made his name as a daredevil, even as recently as last month participating in a Hell in a Cell match. But the fact is, anybody can jump off a cage. When it comes to in-ring prowess, Shane just can't cut it. My rating is a 74.
15 Triple H '98 (88)
1998 was when Hunter Hearst Helmsley was gearing up for one of the biggest years of his career. 1999 would see him hold the WWE Championship twice, which he would do again in 2000. Arguably, he was in the prime what in retrospect has been arguably one of the greatest careers of all time. Therefore, an 88 rating just doesn't cut it. On top of that, it becomes even more frustrating when you look at his current day and 2001 ratings, an 89 and 91, respectively. You're telling me Triple H is better now, when he only wrestles part-time and almost always loses, than he was at the height of his career? Nah, buddy, that just doesn't make sense. Game over.
14 Brutus Beefcake (84)
Sorry, but this is too high. I know an 84 isn't a particularly high rating, but Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, aka Ed Leslie, is a guy whose short time in the spotlight was far too long. If the sign of success in the professional wrestling industry is longevity, then sure, one could make the argument Leslie has had an amazing career. But if you measure success as finding your character, and riding out that one amplified version of yourself over the course of one long career, i.e. Sting or The Undertaker, then Leslie is a complete failure. He boasts numerous terrible and instantly forgettable gimmicks, like "The Booty Man," or "Zodiac." I'm honestly not even sure why 2K thought fans would want him in the game. I'd give him no higher than a 73.
13 Seth Rollins (92)
Really? The Architect of the Shield, Seth Freakin' Rollins, has certainly had some ups and downs in his career. Sidelined with a torn ACL at a house show in the height of his first WWE Championship run and inexplicably brought back as a heel despite crowds desperately wanting to cheer him, then reigniting a fairly stale feud with Triple H, Rollins has struggled a little bit to find his footing lately. His reignited partnership with the Shield feels like a step in the right direction (and not just for him), but a number of setbacks have stopped him from really getting to that next level. A 92 feels way too high, and cover boy Seth Rollins probably belongs somewhere closer to an 88 or 89.
12 Rob Van Dam (88)
ECW era Rob Van Dam was among the most exciting and electric performers to watch. With moves like the Five Star Frog Splash and Rolling Thunder, he was the perfect mix of acrobatic capoeira style and laid back stoner vibes. Van Dam recently returned to the WWE in 2013 for another run, and while it was great to have him back, Van Dam didn't exactly make a massive splash in the WWE scene (see what I did there?). There's no denying that in his prime, there were few wrestlers more fun to watch, but an 88 rating implies modern-day Rob Van Dam would be expected to hold his own with say, Bruan Strowman. Not likely. There's no question he can still hold his own, and has achieved a remarkable level of longevity, but his rating should probably be somewhere closer to an 85.
11 Bobby Roode (85)
GLORIOUS! Bobby Roode is so great. And not just his entrance! Roode is a fantastic technical wrestler (they just know how to grow 'em in Canada, I suppose) who has built up a phenomenal body of work, even before arriving in WWE. Many fans out there are probably even buying this year's game just for the opportunity to finally play as the glorious one in a WWE video game (it's a big reason I'm picking it up this year). For these reasons and more, Roode has earned a far higher rating than an 85. He could wrestle circles around half the roster, and even at the age of 40, definitely still has multiple title runs in him. Additionally, Roode is among the quickest and funniest wrestlers I've ever seen, and his tag team promos with Austin Aries in TNA are legitimate chucklers, which is rare in the world of wrestling. Bobby deserves a GLORIOUS 91!
10 Finn Bálor (88) / Finn Bálor Demon (92)
You're not serious here. You're telling me that when normal, leather jacket wearing, pouty-faced Finn Bálor wrestles a match, he gets an 88. But when he decides to take three to four hours before the match to put on enough makeup to clog his pores for a year, his stats somehow go up FOUR POINTS? I mean, that's not a negligible increase. It takes him from the high 80s to the low 90s, and suddenly we're putting Demon Bálor in the same conversation as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart. I like Bálor a lot, but you'd be crazy to say he belongs in that category. I mean that is some powerful makeup. Where can I get makeup like that? Maybe it's also all the dry ice they use in his entrance.
9 Undertaker (93)
I love The Undertaker. Honestly, and I say with without hyperbole, The Undertaker may be the best wrestler of all time. This guy took a character that could have easily lasted a week and turned it into a twenty-five year career. Think about how many characters just like The Undertaker you've seen quickly fall out of favor in the world of pro wrestling (I'm looking at you, naked Mideon). 'Taker is quite literally one of a kind.
However. He's also undeniably in the twilight of his career. I mean, we're supposed to believe he's retired now, right (yeah, sure)? He now has tow loses at Wrestlemania, and there's no way around it, some of the rub has just come off. Undertaker's matches have become tough to watch, and it's hard to blame him with the amount of wear and tear he's put on his body. He's just not who he used to bed. 'Taker should be far closer to an 86.
8 AJ Styles (90)
He's the best wrestler in the world. Period. End of story. AJ Styles is the best wrestler alive right now. His promo game has finally caught up to his in ring ability, and virtually every time he steps into the ring, you know you're going to see a classic. He is so incredibly smooth, and his style is such an amazing blend of arial and grounded attack, that it's almost impossible to replicate. He's capable of creating a memorable match no matter who he's in the ring with. His matches with John Cena are undoubtedly some of the greatest of ALL TIME.
A 90 is good, yes, but AJ Styles should be the highest rated wrestler in this game, and it shouldn't be that close. If I was making the calls, AJ would have a 97. After all, he is phenomenal.
7 Tye Dillinger (80)
Poor Tye Dillinger. This guy just seems to constantly get the short end of the stick, despite being a more than steady hand in the ring and being constantly beloved by the fans. Tye's debut on the WWE roster, entering at number ten in the 2017 Royal Rumble match, was one of the more memorable parts of that year's PPV. Since then, he's had a decent run on Smackdown Live and has done more than enough to prove he belongs on the main stage of the WWE. An 80 feels extremely low for a guy who's capable of so much, especially when you consider it puts him below someone like, say, Scott Dawson. Dillinger deserves at least an 85. Although I have to give it to them for making sure his rating was a multiple of ten. Well played.
6 Randy Savage (90)
"Macho Man" Randy Savage is one of the greatest wrestlers to ever walk the planet. I mean, he's been in the danger zone! Seriously though, Savage paved the way for so many other household names, including Shawn Michaels and Daniel Bryan to say the least. He was among the first of the "smaller guys" to enter the land of giants, and, through sheer work ethic and talent, force his way into the title picture. His Wrestlemania III match with Ricky Steamboat is widely regarded as the best match of all time. It's not that a 90 is a low rating, but for a guy whose face belongs on pro wrestling's Mount Rushmore, it's just far too low. Savage deserves at the very least a 95.
5 Razor Ramon (85)
This is so insulting. 85? For Razor Ramon? The Bad Guy? Participant in one of the greatest ladder matches ever at Wrestlemania X? Look, if you want to give modern day Scott Hall a low rating, that I'd understand. But 2K didn't even do that. Listen to this madness: modern Scott Hall has an 86 overall while his Razor persona somehow only has an 85. What? How does that make any sense? Even though Hall would go on to reach new heights in WCW as a member of The Outsiders and co-NWO founder, some of his all-time greatest in-ring work was put in during his time as toothpick tossing Razor Ramon in WWE (WWF at the time). Anything less than an 88 is absurd.
4 Steve Austin '97 (92)
Too low. Sorry, but it's too low. Similarly to Macho Man, Steve Austin is one of the undisputed absolute greatest game changers in this business. He changed wrestling forever with this Stone Cold persona, which was born in 1996 at the King of the Ring PPV. This guy is on the rise and in the middle of one of the absolute greatest runs in WWE. So how on earth are you only giving him a 92? While Austin's mic work and promos are second to none, he's so much more than that. Austin is a student of the wrestling game, and understood his character's in-ring style perfectly. Every move, every step was planned out methodically. The level of detail someone like Daniel Day-Lewis gives to a performance, Austin gave to a match. Austin deserves a 96, and that's the bottom line!
3 Bret 'Hitman' Hart (92)
"The Excellence of Execution" is probably the best technical wrestler in the history of the business. Not only was Hart know for being technically flawless in the ring, he also takes great pride in the fact he never seriously injured any of his opponents, which is arguably the most impressive thing one can claim in an industry where throwing and jumping on top of people is just another day at the office. There's no debate Bret Hart was a next level in-ring talent, and his run at the top was a huge part of WWF's New Generation era. So while a 92 is flattering, it's too low for someone who basically didn't botch a single move in his entire career. Hart deserves a 94.
2 The Rock (93)
A 93 actually feels about right for The Rock, although not for his current iteration (aka Dwayne Johnson on a break from shooting a movie). What makes no sense about this is Rocky's 2001 version has a 91, while modern day rock has a 93. That just doesn't check out. The Rock barely ever even wrestles anymore, and in one of his few matches of the last ten years, he was so out of practice he left a pretty tame contest seriously injured.
It's important to remember that at one time, The Rock was THE biggest star in wrestling. And while his in-ring prowess has never been anything mind blowing, similar to Stone Cold, The Rock was able to perfectly amplify himself to make his character seem both larger than life and real at the same time. I was lucky enough to see The Rock win the WWF Championship at Backlash in April of 2000, and I can tell you first hand that place came unglued when the three was counted. I'd be okay with these ratings if they were just switched.
1 Roman Reigns (95)
Any wrestling fan who's kept an eye on the product in the last ten years saw this coming. Come on. You have to be kidding me. A 95 rating places Roman Reigns above the following:
John Cena
The Rock
Steve Austin
AJ Styles
Bret Hart
Kurt Angle
The list goes on and on. I mean, this is absurd! Ever since the fans outright rejected Roman, it seems WWE and Vince McMahon have just done whatever they can to cram him down fans' throats even harder. And giving him the top rating in the game despite still struggling to find himself on screen isn't going to earn him any more respect. I actually don't mind Roman. I think he's talented, and he's improved greatly. But this ranking is disrespectful of all the rightful superstars it places Roman above. "The Big Dog" would be much better suited with an 88.