History YMMV / WWEVideoGames

* TierInducedScrappy:
** Any superstar with below 70 overall abilities in ''Here Comes the Pain''. Unless you love challenges or in the process of raising your own CAW(s) in Season Mode, it is not recommended to play as them. It would be unlikely for your superstar to counter moves, a simple body slam from bigger guys would hurt your superstar, a double team move would hurt even worse, and God help you if your superstar is hit with either a foreign object (such as a steel chair) or a FinishingMove. [[TakesAThirdOption Or a finishing move with a steel chair]].
** Both members of The Dudley Boyz[[note]]Bubba Ray and D-Von[[/note]] in ''[=SmackDown=] Vs. RAW'' are listed as '''light heavyweight''' without any high-flying moves to compensate their lack of "lifting bigger guys", therefore making them unpleasant to play as.

* TheScrappy: The protagonists of ''WWE 2K20's'' [=MyCareer=] mode Tre and Red are pretty much universally loathed by fans. Tre is disliked for being an [[LoserProtagonist incompetent doofus]] throughout the entire story and basically being a BumblingSidekick to Red, who many have called a "Mary Sue" due to her basically being better than [[StrawLoser Tre]] in every way when it comes to wrestling as well as the amount of CharacterShilling and successes she receives compared to him. Red also gets a lot of flak for [[spoiler: lying to Tre about his dead parents in order to manipulate him into joining her in a wrestling career, and still being treated as a good person for it.]] This is in stark contrast to ''2K19's'' protagonist Buzz who, while still a bit of a goof at times, is generally likeable and far more believable as a hero.

*** Its even more harsher considering with 2006, Taker beats Eddie by throwing him in a casket and burying him in it. In the case of Benoit for 2007, Taker at one point says to him "Your grieving family will have no one to blame but you when the inevitable occurs". Yikes

** Season mode of ''Here Comes the Pain'' (where you are playing as a person who wrestle instead of an in-ring gimmick) implies that backstage bullying, hazing and even career sabotage exist in pro wrestling industry. Reminder that this game came out before the height of IWC discussion forums and social media in general, where most people knows the bullying stories from.

** Mickie James' Road to [=WrestleMania=] in 2010 was this in spades. It's essentially a rehash of her original StalkerWithACrush story-line with Trish Stratus only recycled with Mickie herself in the role of Trish and Natalya taking her spot. Natalya is basically her number one fan, and it's all but an official LoveTriangle happening involving herself and The Brian Kendrick fighting for Mickie's affections. It's literally all but confirmed when at one point if you make a choice she can act frustrated over the fact she and Mickie aren't going on romantic dinners together or how it's implied that she sent Mickie a bouquet of flowers. [[spoiler: If you side with Kendrick, Natalya turns into a ClingyJealousGirl that eventually causes her and Mickie to be put at opposite ends. Side with Natalya over Kendrick and you get the two staying close 'till the end, Mickie winning at [=WrestleMania=] and celebrating with Natalya.]]

** Lets just say that the commentary in ''Just Bring It'', which infamously featured badly spliced-together lines from Michael Cole and Tazz has generated no shortage of [[FountainOfMemes memes]]. The most noteworthy and often quoted one is Michael Cole's "[insert wrestler here]....has a great.....[insert signature move here]!". Other noteworthy examples include.

** ''Just Bring It'' was the first game to allow players to fight in the crowd. However, they amounted to little more than crudely-animated cardboard cut-outs that effortlessly float away upon getting close.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** ''2K15'' had arguably the most watered-down version of the creation suite ever. You only had 25 CAS slots, could only make male superstars, and the non-superstar related creation tools, such as Create-An-Arena, Create-A-Championship, Create-A-Story and Create-A-Special-Move had all been removed. One of the first announcements for ''2K16'' was that they were bringing back 100 CAS slots, custom female superstars, Create-An-Arena and Create-A-Championship.
** ''2K16'''s new submission mechanic had gotten a mixed reaction amongst the fanbase, with many being unable to actually get submissions with it and many others claiming it was too easy to get submissions with it. ''2K17'' introduced an alternate button-mashing mechanic, but kept the other mechanic for those who were able to successfully use it, while adjusting it's difficulty.
** Following the revamp of moves that would basically teleport both the performing wrestler and the recipient into position for the animation, several of the new animations were a severe step down in authenticity and lacking the personality of the wrestler who does the move in real life. A particularly glaring example was [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock's]] People's Elbow, which looked terribly phoned-in. ''WWE 2K18'' saw several of the offending animations redone, with The People's Elbow in particular being very noticable, and it finally conveys the proper energy and actually looks like the "Most Electrifying Move in Sports Entertainment". WWE 2K17 had already begun the process, fixing the animation for Goldberg's spear and jackhammer, after the awful animations (and poor-quality model) he'd been saddled with during his prior appearance in 2K14.
** For many years, Wrestling/RandySavage's eyes had been mistakenly colored dark brown as opposed to blue like the real Savage. 2K and Yuke's finally gave his character model the correct eye color in ''2K18''. ''2K20'' also saw Savage's face redone and it looks far more accurate than the neanderthal-looking face he had before.
** ''2K22'' addressed some of the content specific issues that fans had with the game in post release patches, such as adding in the NXT 2.0 arena, offering larger match tables and more titles in [=MyGM=], and unlocking access to an assorted amount of alternate characters from [=MyRise=] at no extra cost to the players.

** From 2K19's [=MyCareer=] story, Cole Quinn was shown to be quite popular for being genuinely hilarious and being a great foil to Buzz, as well as being voiced by an actual WWE superstar (that being Mansoor). It was to the extent that Cole would eventually reappear in 2K20 as a playable character and makes a brief appearance in 2K22's MyRise, albeit this time he (along with all the new and returning original characters) is strictly an NPC and not playable through normal means (however, with Community Creations now cross-platform, PC modders have been able to extract his and other NPC models, some complete with unique commentary and ring announcer names, and upload them in playable form as essentially created superstars).

** From 2K19's [=MyCareer=] story, Cole Quinn was shown to be quite popular for being genuinely hilarious and being a great foil to Buzz, as well as being voiced by an actual WWE superstar (that being Mansoor). It was to the extent that Cole would eventually reappear in 2K20 as a playable character.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Wrestling/TheMiz' finisher in 2011, "'''''Skull''''' Crushing Finale," is listed as affecting ''the body''! In fact many moves in the game can qualify for this.

** Newer ''2K''-era titles have removed the ability to fine-tune body proportions on created wrestlers, meaning you can make a unique face for them but must settle for a predetermined build, with how tall they are being the only thing you can adjust. It's obviously another one of those changes in service to "realism", but it also makes a lot of fictional characters impossible to accurately recreate even though there are head options specifically made to accommodate literal ''cartoon characters'' (so, sorry, WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}, but no giant forearms for you).

** Newer ''2K''-era titles have removed the ability to fine-tune body proportions on created wrestlers, meaning you can make a unique face for them but must settle for a predetermined build, with how tall they are being the only thing you can adjust. It's obviously another one of those changes in service to "realism", but it also makes a lot of fictional characters impossible to accurately recreate even though there are head options specifically made to accommodate such types (sorry, WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}, no giant forearms for you).

** Newer ''2K''-era titles have removed the ability to fine-tune body proportions on created wrestlers, meaning you can make a unique face for them but must settle for a predetermined build, with how tall they are being the only thing you can adjust. It's obviously another one of those changes in service to "realism", but it also makes a lot of fictional characters impossible to accurately recreate even though there are head options specifically made to accommodate such types (sorry, WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}).

** In a meta example, on Steam, the second you agreed to the EULA for ''2k20'', you're locked to that game, and can't go back to ''2K19'' for whatever reason (i.e., want to go back and upload some screenshots), ''even if you get 2k20 refunded and removed from your library'', seemingly in a way to have fans stick with the now Yukes-free era of WWE games. The only way to get around this is to make an ''entirely new account'' on Steam and buy ''2k19'' (as well as any DLC you had on your old account) on that new account.

** "I'm going to give your grandmother bed sores!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The female 2K20 protagonist's infamous LameComeback. Quite a few players have riffed on it, and it's not uncommon to see it in the very thumbnails/titles of LetsPlay videos.[[/labelnote]]

** "I'm going to give your grandmother bed sores!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The female 2K20 protagonist's infamous LameComeback. Quite a few players have riffed on it, and it's not uncommon to see it in the thumbnails/titles of LetsPlay videos.[[/labelnote]]

* UnintentionallySympathetic: The Cruiserweight heels in ''[=SmackDown=] Vs. RAW 2007'''s Season Mode arc "Taking on the Show." Sure, the unprovoked ZergRush against Big Show in the first cutscene is a dick move; but given WWE's favoritism toward big men, these heels' NapoleonComplex vendetta is pretty understandable. It helps that they remain loyal to each other - including you, should you accept their offer - all the way through.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3SsHdKZ7Oc This video]] shows many events from the games that would eventually occur in the WWE's future; The return of Wrestling/BrockLesnar, the recreation of [[Wrestling/TheAuthority Evolution]], Lesnar breaking the Wrestlemania Streak of Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} reuniting, Wrestling/RandyOrton unifying the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles, the Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s brief revival, Wrestling/{{Eric Bischoff}}'s firing from the company, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels retiring at Wrestlemania, and Orton having a Triple Threat match with Wrestling/CodyRhodes and Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr at Wrestlemania. Yes, several of these are up to the player, but that only makes it more surprising to see the angle in real life.

** Changing how pre-orders worked for ''2K20'' - in the past, pre-ordering the game would not only let you access the game early, but it would also give you access to one of the more popular wrestlers on day 1, whereas everyone else would have to wait until their DLC pack dropped[[note]]for example, ''2k19'' had Ronda Rousey and Rey Mysterio as preorder bonuses[[/note]]. For ''2K20'', on the other hand, not only did they change it to pre-ordering wouldn't let you access the game early[[note]]likely because they knew they had a bad product on hand[[/note]], you'd also have to wait until the "Bump in the Night" DLC dropped to access the wrestler in question - this wouldn't be that bad if said wrestler wasn't ''[[Wrestling/BrayWyatt The Fiend]]'', one of the most successful wrestlers from WWE as of late[[note]]although on the flipside, pre-ordering did give you the entire first DLC pack for free, which also included the Fiend's Inhumanoids[[/note]]. This is also on top of the fact that if you pre-ordered a physical copy, an autographed plaque was included as a [[{{Feelies}} Feelie]][[note]]said autograph would be from either Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr, Wrestling/KurtAngle, or Wrestling/{{Edge}}[[/note]]...''[=didn't=]'' have said autographs[[note]]although it's worth noting that because of just ''how'' many people this happened to, Edge did promise to set up a PO box so he could sign them after he was done filming a movie[[/note]].

** ''2K22’s'' [=MyGM=] mode, full stop. Fans of the games have been interested in a comeback of a General Manager mode for years since its removal from the series in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 and the announcement of its return in December of 2021 seemed to be one of the sticking points for why the game would be worth purchasing. This was until the mode’s features were extensively detailed in February 2022, which introduced several limits to the way it would operate. Limits would extend to match types (only five to choose from with singles and tag matches being the only options), weekly cards (three matches with two optional promos, with only [=PPVs=] offering a vastly larger selection), and titles (only a main world championship and women’s championship). While some of these limits have been modified through the 1.09 patch, the mode is still lacking singles titles, the other match types, and the ability to play the mode indefinitely. Developers informed fans that they could go to Universe mode if they were interested in additional variety, which seemed to defeat the purpose of bringing back GM mode in the first place, especially when Universe only added a single character focused experience (entitled Superstar mode) into its options.

** ''2K22'' addressed some of the content specific issues that fans had with the game in post release patches, such as adding in the NXT 2.0 arena, offering larger match tables and more titles in [=MyGM=], and unlocking access to an assorted amount of alternate characters from [=MyRise=] at no extra cost.

*** More of a scrappy gamemode, but [=MyFaction=] is not very popular for the amount of microtransactions involved and the bugs involved. What didn't help is the amount of restricted content locked behind [=MyFaction=], including alternate versions of superstars with different entrances and entrance music (the DX variants of Triple H and Shawn Michaels, for example, provide younger versions of those characters that aren’t present in exhibition unlike previous years). It’s also unlikely that these characters will be added into other modes with a patch the same way that the 1.12 patch did with locked [=MyRise=] variations of characters due to the nature of the mode.
*** The hatred reached new heights once it was revealed that two [=MyFaction=] cards would be replacing Nash Carter after his release (which, while understandable, was '''very''' controversial in of itself). Many fans believe that the cards were not enough to make up for the removal of Carter, especially considering how this switch was done as quietly as possible and up till release was only publicized by outside sources.

** Several of the arcade-style games oversold hard impacts from falling to a hilarious degree, with wrestlers comically bouncing up and stiffly twirling in the air after hitting the floor, in a manner reminiscent of a dropped action figure.

** ''2K22'' has already been able to address some of the issues that fans have had with the game in post release patches, such as adding in the NXT 2.0 arena (for free), offering larger match tables and more titles in [=MyGM=], and unlocking access to an assorted amount of alternate characters from [=MyRise=].

** ''2K22''’s [=MyRise=] features a promo where the male character calls out Keith Lee for being all talk, including specific callouts on his having failed to make the cut for WWE on three seperate occasions. The final line even states that Keith will soon have to refer to himself as a ‘former WWE superstar’, something that came true after he was released from his contract a full four months before the game released in November of 2021.

*** The hatred reached new heights once it was revealed that two [=MyFaction=] cards would be replacing Nash Carter after his release (which, while understandable, was '''very''' controversial in of itself). Many fans believe that the cards were not enough to make up for the removal of Carter, especially considering how this switch was done as quietly as possible and up till release was only publicized by outside sources.

* UncannyValley: Wrestling/PeytonRoyce is this in spades in ''2K20's'' [=MyCareer=] mode. In all of the cutscenes she's in, her facial expression never changes so regardless of what kind of emotion she's conveying, she always has a blank stare on her face, plus her mouth never closes. Then there's her huge, manic eyes...

** ''2K22''’s [=MyRise=] features a promo where the male character calls out Keith Lee for being all talk, including specific callouts on his having failed to make the cut for WWE on three seperate occasions. The final line even states that Keith will soon have to refer to himself as a ‘former WWE’ superstar, something that came true after he was released from his contract a full four months before the game released in November of 2021.