Wrestler appearances in other video games

Over the last 7 years, I've been working on an official, top to bottom translation of 1994's Super Fire Pro-Wrestling Special.

While every in-game Wrestler has obviously received a Fire Pro rename (Riki Choshu is known as 'Hurricane Rikimaru', for example), I just discovered
that Special's Edit mode technique data section mentions certain Wrestlers by their actual names.





The moves are:


Riki Lariat - a reference to one of Riki Choshu's signature techniques.

Race Style Backdrop, Brainbuster & Knee Drop - alluding to Harley Race.

Sasuke Special - one of Great Sasuke's popular aerial attacks.

Victor Knee Roll - a counter submission technique named after Victor Koga; the man responsible for popularizing Sambo in Japan.

Gotch Style Piledriver - a nod to Karl Gotch.

Piper Lock - named after Roddy Piper, to my understanding.


Fact-wise, Super Fire Pro-Wrestling Special is the third game in the Fire Pro series to feature a create a Wrestler mode. I believe Special is also
the first instance where real Wrestler names were mentioned (as moves in Edit mode).

Create your own luchador!
Platform: Web browser

Featured on dallasnews.com, Create your own Luchador is a browser-based avatar maker, that allows players to create their own
custom Luchadors. The site was created to promote local Lucha in Dallas.



Using the various mask pieces and accessories, the first Wrestler I was able to create was Tiger Mask.



I then spotted Lucha legend Tinieblas immediately; along with Pentagon.



The next mask reminded me of Blue Demon. Followed by a mask that looks reminiscent of The Patriot.

In total, there are 15 masks to choose from (and 7 accessories to customize on top of that).

You can customize your own Luchador here:
interactives.dallasnews.com/2015/lucha-libre/

For every great mobile Wrestling game (Wrestling Revolution, Pro-Wrestling Gong, Rowdy Wrestling, etc), that features
recognizable appearances by Wrestling greats, there's plenty of clunkers out there that have taken a back seat to character
design.

Some of which, I question how they are still available for download on a legal level! Which brings me to our next entry:


Wrestling Superstar Champ Game
Platform: Mobile, Android devices
Developer: Fire Falcon Games
Year: 2022



The official cover art of Wrestling Superstar. Do I even need to comment here? It's likes someone took the WWE 2K models of
Randy Orton, Bill Goldberg and Roman Reigns, then scrawled all over them in Adobe Photoshop!




Expectations VS reality. No relation to John Cena.



Have you ever wondered what Stone Cold looked like in a singlet?



The big black machine ...KANN! No relation to Kane.



The uninspired Wrestler names continue with another overly-tattooed abomination known as 'Thomas Mark'.

I guess 'Mark Thomas' sounded too edgy. Looks like a re-skinned Roman Reigns or one of the Uso brothers.



That can't be Jake The Snake Roberts, can it? It's like every character in Wrestling Superstar got drunk and went to the
same tattoo shop after a show. I can just see it now:


Stone Gol: Hey! Let's all go get tattoos!

John Sina: YEAHUH! That's a great *burp* idea!

Thomas Mark: I know! I'LL TATTOO MY ******* FACE!

Group of Superstar characters: *pops*




Some of these characters look like they were lifted from other mobile games (graphically, I'd probably lean on
older PSP titles).



The weirdness continues. Is Alexander Pat the missing third member of the Briscoe Brothers?



I spoke too soon. The dastardly Peter Carl is a visual force to be reckoned with. Part time professor, part time
surfer. Part time ...are those ninja death stars sticking out of his right arm and chest?!!!

I...um....yeah.
Moving on....




Like just about every other character in Wrestling Superstar, the longer you look at Jennifer Alan, the weirder her
character design gets. Is that an eyepatch? Is she wearing clown makeup? What game was she lifted from.

So many questions. So little time.



Uso #2? Looks just like our other tattooed samoan look-alike, Thomas Mark.



Is that a broadsword?! Randy Russel ...also known as the guy with the creepy looking toadstool tattoo on his frickin' chest.



By this point, I stopped using rational thoughts when dissecting Wrestling Superstar's roster.

I can't think of a game that recycled Wrestler designs more lazily.



The in-game brother of Peter Carl ...who just so happens to also be a darker version of a Wrestler
we talked about two spots ago ...Randy Russle WITHOUT the broadsword.

Mindblowing. Just. Mindblowing.



Is that supposed to be The Rock or John Wick. Or....try this one on for size...both?



The final character. I'll give Wrestling Superstar credit. Most of these Wrestlers were hard to figure out.

Unfortunately, Wrestling Superstar isn't the only mobile game guilty of using assets stolen from other game developer's
releases. Just searching "Wrestling" in the Google Play Store brings up a large number of Wrestling games which all follow the
same formula: models that look like they were ripped and repainted from a pre-existing WWE title.

It's a shame, really. While mobile games don't garner the same level of respect as their console/ PC counterparts, there are,
in fact, a handful of really great mobile Wrestling games out there worthy of a download. The worst part, however? Wrestling
Superstar is just the tip of the iceberg.

As this thread continues, we'll be looking at other lazy mobile efforts and weird WWE-inspired characters that are featured in
these "games".

Much like our beloved Fire Pro Workshop, open sandbox creation game Minecraft also has it's own workshop.

On planetminecraft.com, players can download custom skins created by other Minecraft enthusiasts. Many of which, are blocky tributes
to Wrestling's biggest stars. Let's take a look at some of the fan-created customs available for download on the site:




Hulk Hogan.                                         Andre The Giant.                                Ultimate Warrior.



The Undertaker.                                   Bret 'Hitman' Hart.                                             Owen Hart.



Even Jushin Thunder Liger makes two appearances!



Tiger Mask II.                                     Mitsuharu Misawa.                               Bruiser Brody.

     

Rey Mysterio Jr.                                      John Cena.                                          Triple H.



Stone Cold Steve Austin.                       Yokozuna.                                       Shawn Michaels.



Naturally, Macho Man Randy Savage has many fan-created customs. Each one, more creative than the last.





Road Warrior Hawk.                            Road Warrior Animal.                         Big Van Vader.



Jake 'The Snake' Roberts.                   Jimmy Snuka.                                      King Kong Bundy.



Sting.                                                  Roddy Piper.                                        Stan Hansen.



Ric Flair.                                                Sheamus.                                          Great Muta.



Big Show.

Welcome back to another exciting episode. For our new viewers, this thread is dedicated to cataloguing Wrestler appearances in other video games
outside of mainstream Wrestling titles. Be it RPG's, Beat 'Em ups, card games or even obscure Japanese golf simulators. If there's an obscure Wrestler
reference, you'll probably find it here.

Last week, I promised we'd go further down the rabbit hole of questionable Wrestling games that you can download on your mobile devices. Well, if
everyone's ready for more punishment, I have another dud that's ready to step into the ring.


Ring Wrestling Championship
(or 'Wrestling Champions Game 2022', as the game is known on the Google Play Store download page...)
Year: 2022
Platform: Mobile
Developer: Grind Game Studios




Generic Wrestlers, nice logo, decent graphics and a forgettable game name. We're off to a good start!



One of the first problems you may notice with Ring Wrestling Championship are the character models themselves.

I'm almost certain these characters were stolen from a WWE game - which is a common problem with most mobile Wrestling games these days.

The default Wrestler is clearly AJ Styles with a Batman/Sin Cara mask.



This Wrestler is even more cartoony. Makes me wonder what WWE game this John Cena look-alike comes from?
Nice try with the Rock tattoo, though...



By character #3, I started coming up with my own theories as to how Wrestlers were put together in Ring Championship: models slapped together in WWE's
Create A Wrestler mode.

Alexa Bliss? Sasha Banks? Who knows.



The love child of Dave Batista and The Great Muta. The facepaint looks like it was lifted from Stardust.



I don't know why Nikki Bella's face is contorted like that (and out of scale with the rest of the model's body) ...but it scares me.



Ever wondered what John Cena would look like if the superstar sported a goatee? Well, Ring Championship Wrestling answers that question and more.



Is our masked Wrestler a bargain bin Asuka? Is she Tekken's Kunimitsu with a downgrade? You decide.



My bootleg sense is telling me that this tattooed miscreant is supposed to be a repackaged Kane.

Suddenly, the Big Red Machine doesn't look as intimidating wearing Purple ring pants.



This next knockoff is most probably a recycled Paige model.



Ever wondered what Roman Reigns would look like without his long locks? Even more so, have you ever pondered what the Roman empire
would look like if he stole the Young Bucks ring pants? Now you do.....now you do....

I think you're right about Emma, Faulknasty. Unfortunately, I haven't finished sharing the roster of Ring Wrestling Champs.

Let's all take a deep breath. Strap ourselves in  ...and get ready for part 2:



Brie Bella, no doubt.



Ever wanted your Rock to have spooky, pale-white eyes?

Despite the $23.99 price tag to unlock all Wrestlers (which is grossly overpriced for a low budget Wrestling game), players can also unlock Wrestlers by
acquiring in-game currency.



The biggest problem however is in the game itself. How many Wrestling games can you think of where a Wrestler's finisher is hidden behind a paywall?

During matches, players can activate a special finisher - which, as expected, takes out a considerable chunk of energy from the opponent. Should the player
wish to use more than one finisher ...they have to pay for it with in-game currency.

And, for the players that don't have enough in-game currency ...you're welcomed to purchase some ...with actually money!



Ring Wrestling wouldn't be the first Wrestling game to offer in-game purchases. Such was the case with WWF's WrestleFest back in 1991.
Though as quarter-munching as WrestleFest was, players didn't have to pay for the privilege to use their favourite Superstar's finishers...

Playing them so you don't have to: the onslaught of shady mobile Wrestling games continues.


Real Wrestling - Ring Fighting
Platform: Mobile
Developer: Gamesterritory






As usual, the in-game graphics look nothing like the product photos.

The first knockoff is the most bizarre AJ Styles look-alike ever released. What connection the Phenomenal One has in
common with this Brazilian fighting style is anyone's guess

I guess Tekken's Eddy Gordo and Christie were out of town for the week.



The next character is 'Black Jack'. Clearly Andre The Giant.

I'm starting to think 'Real Wrestling' was originally intended to be a fighting game. If so, Black Jack would be the second time
Andre would be featured in a fighting game since Final Fight's Hugo/Andore clones.



No, this next character is not the late actor Gene Wilder's long lost cousin. It's Baron Corbin - before he shaved his head.



The singlet and unicorn headband were clear indicators that this character was inspired by WWE's The New Day faction.
Specifically, Big E by the looks of it.



Jason looks like a throwback to Booker T, as he appeared in WCW as part of the Harlem Heat tag team.



Russian Widow is Aya Brea from the Parasite Eve game series. Judging by the graphics of this title, I'll assume
most of the models were stolen from PSP games.



Weeeelllll it's the Zack Shooooowwwww. Actually, it's Batista.



The joys of downloading unlicensed Wrestling titles are questionable moments like this one. Tekken's Irish femme fatale Anna Williams
...now known as Brazilian Lesnar. I'm speechless.

I wish I could get footage of Real Wrestling in action, but by the time I booted up the game for a playthrough ...the game crashed.
Personally, I think Real Wrestling became self aware, and didn't want to be played.