Every WWE 2K Showcase Mode, Ranked By Fun Factor

One mode that has been a staple of the WWE 2K franchise for years now has been the Showcase Mode. Typically revolving around a wrestler’s career or a certain feud within the promotion, players take control of one or more wrestlers and play out multiple matches while unlocking new roster members, items, and arenas to use within the other modes in the title. WWE 2K24’s Showcase Mode “Showcase of the Immortals” covers the 40-year history of WrestleMania.

Ever since 2K took control of the series after THQ went out of business, the mode has been present. It has focused on feuds like CM Punk vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, or the careers of Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, and more. Let’s go through and decide how fun every Showcase Mode has been while also giving an honorable mention to WWE 13’s Attitude Era mode, which “technically” doesn’t qualify as a Showcase Mode but would be ranked considerably high if it was.

WWE 2K20 “A Glitch In The System”

Tron Meets The WWE

• The Story Takes A Lot Of Inspiration From Films Like Blade Runner And Tron.
• Features Four Towers To Complete After The Main Story.
• Takes Around 45–60 Minutes To Complete.

WWE 2K20 tried to go in a different direction with its downloadable content. Switching up from just releasing packs of new wrestlers, fans instead got the “2K Originals”, which had their own Showcase modes and revamped gimmicks for existing wrestlers. From an already horrible game came the quite boring Empire of Tomorrow DLC.

The Showcase within this pack was “A Glitch In The System”, which centers around Asuka and her friends Naomi and Sonya Deville attempting to take on The Authority Mega Corporation led by Alexa Bliss. The DLC has some interesting designs, such as the robot Nia Jax and Hacker Asuka but failed to truly capture the enjoyment of most fans.

WWE 2K20 “Grip Of The Overlord”

Tron Wasn’t Enough, Let’s Rip Off Mad Max

• Takes Inspiration From The Mad Max Series Of Films.
• Players Control Seth Rollins As The Wanderer.
• Clocks In At About An Hour To Complete.

Continuing on with the trainwreck that was WWE 2K20, Wasteland Wanderers took a shot at being Mad Max with professional wrestling. The gameplay and approach to storytelling wasn’t much different compared to any of the 2K Originals, but it had one of the cooler and more interesting designs.

Fans did applaud the theme and designs of the characters, but it couldn’t get past the stench that 2K20 has all over it. Players take control of Seth “The Wanderer” as he has to compete against a list of lackeys before taking down the big bad Overlord, Samoa Joe.

WWE 2K16 “Hall Of Fame Class”

Historic Matches From The 2015 Hall Of Fame Class

If having the incredible “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Showcase mode wasn’t enough for players in WWE 2K16, 2K released another Showcase mode based on the 2015 Hall of Fame class with names like Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Alundra Blayze, and more.

Finally having names like The Harlem Heat, Dustin Rhodes, and Alundra Blayze made the $9.99 asking price of this mode far from bad. The concept of a Hall of Fame Showcase would return for 2K17 with new inductees and done a slight bit better.

WWE 2K17 “Hall Of Fame Class”

Historic Matches From The 2016 Hall Of Fame Class

2K17 did a better job with the Hall of Fame Showcase as matches like Sting vs. Ric Flair or The Fabulous Freebirds vs. Cactus Jack & DDP were a bit more fun to play compared to The Bushwhackers against The Natural Disasters. Despite that, there was one major issue with the game in general.

Fans went from having two Showcases modes in 2K16 to having none when 2K17 dropped. This made some fans upset about the fact they had to pay another $9.99 for a Showcase that, for all intents and purposes, should have been included in the game from day one. Minus that issue, the variety of arenas and names from different eras made this Showcase mode a memorable enough one.

WWE 2K20 “Saving Southpaw”

Southpaw Regional Wrestling Makes Its Video Game Debut

• Based On The Southpaw Regional Wrestling Series By WWE.
• Players Need To Stop Mr. Mackelroy (Tyler Breeze) From Destroying Southpaw.

One of the more promising bits of DLC from the 2K Originals concept was that of Southpaw Regional Wrestling getting to appear in a WWE video game. However, this had to appear in WWE 2K20, so fans can’t have anything nice. The story is standard fare and can be simplified down to wrestling a few matches while stopping some big bad guy.

The alternate versions of wrestlers were somewhat fun with them, of course, being based on the Southpaw show that WWE created. The DLC still suffered from everything else the 2K Originals faced, such as un-fun gameplay, numerous crashes, and countless glitches.

WWE 2K20 “The Demon Within”

The Introduction Of The Fiend

• Brought In Bray Wyatt’s Fiend Character.
• Featured Horror-Themed Versions Of Randy Orton, Aleister Black, And More.
• Was The Most Anticipated DLC From WWE 2K20.

The best and most buzz-worthy DLC from WWE 2K20 was also its first in the form of The Bump In The Night pack. It catered to the horror-loving side of professional wrestling and also introduced the much-beloved Fiend gimmick of Bray Wyatt. The arenas and characters received from this DLC are also some of the best, with a snake-like Randy Orton, literal demon Finn Balor, and more.

The Showcase mode itself was centered around a story between a swamp monster, Bray Wyatt, and Finn Balor. The towers to accompany the Showcase mode saw some wacky scenarios with Sheamus, The Fiend, Nikki Cross, and Mandy Rose.

WWE 2K20 “The Women’s Evolution”

The Game’s Main Showcase

WWE 2K20 was planned to be a big title in the WWE series and a great piece of representation for the women on the roster with Becky Lynch on the cover and the Showcase mode centering around the rise of the Four Horsewomen. Of course, things went wrong with the game, and it has been mocked and ridiculed online to no end, but that doesn’t take away from what the Showcase mode was trying to do.

A showcase featuring four of the most prominent figures in women’s wrestling at the time was a great idea, just wish it was on a better game.

WWE 2K24 “40 Years Of WrestleMania”

Skips Over A Lot Of WrestleManias

Now, as it hasn’t been talked about yet and will appear later, WWE 2K14 had an amazing Showcase mode featuring multiple matches from WrestleManias 1-30. 2K24 was meant to be a sequel to that mode in a sense and celebrate the 40 years of WrestleMania but decided to skip over numerous events.

This makes some sense, as having 40-plus matches in this mode would be a slog, it could have been made fun if 2K didn’t rely on “slingshot technology” or make the matches a chore to complete. A match like the Firefly Funhouse match between The Fiend and John Cena is practically 80% cutscenes and rarely sees the player even handle controlling the game.

WWE 2K15 “Hall Of Pain”

Players Get To Induct Wrestlers Into Mark Henry’s Hall Of Pain

Mark Henry saw a breakthrough in his career around 2011 when he turned heel and created the “Hall of Pain”. Matches saw him completely dominate names like Big Show, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, and more en route to becoming the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time.

2K15 decided to make three Showcase modes centered around 2011-13, with one of them being Mark Henry’s run. The DLC was quite short with only nine matches, so it didn’t feel like a chore to complete.

WWE 2K15 “Path Of The Warrior”

A Throwback To The Late 80s And Early 90s

With The Ultimate Warrior being a pretty huge returning name to the WWE series in WWE 2K14, 2K decided to capitalize on this and create a Showcase focused on the Warrior’s career in the WWE as a DLC pack the next year. The mode featured some much-needed content representing that era of WWE, with names like Macho King Randy Savage, the old-school Undertaker, and the Honky Tonk Man.

This Showcase would be the shortest and last of the 2K15 life cycle, clocking in at 8 matches. The SummerSlam 1988 arena has become a bit infamous online with players as the PPV remained in every 2K title after its introduction.

WWE 2K22 “Rey Mysterio’s Career”

2K’s Comeback After 2K20

The failure of WWE 2K20 saw the 2K team decide to take a year off and come back strong with 2K22. For the most part, this was a success as the game was a much better product than 2K20, and also featured a pretty solid Showcase mode. Focusing on Rey Mysterio and some decent and odd choices of matches throughout his career.

Odd, because most wouldn’t immediately think of SummerSlam 2009 vs. Ziggler or a number one contender match against Batista on SmackDown to be Mysterio’s most historical. This would also be the first Showcase to feature the now infamous Slingshot tech that 2K uses when cutting to real-life footage. This hadn’t drained fans just yet.

WWE 2K23 “Beat Up John Cena”

A Unique Take On 2K Showcase

WWE 2K23 took a unique and interesting approach compared to previous 2K Showcase modes; instead of playing as one character and reliving their career, play as that person’s opponents. Players got to control names like Edge, Batista, The Rock, Roman Reigns, and more, all while facing different versions of Cena.

This mode would have ranked much higher if it wasn’t for that damned “slingshot tech” as only a year in, it was already wearing players down with the number of times 2K would cut to footage and take control away from the player.

WWE 2K19 “The Return Of Daniel Bryan”

Relive The Yes Movement

WrestleMania 34 saw the long-awaited return of Daniel Bryan to the ring, so 2K decided who was better to do a Showcase mode about other than the leader of the Yes Movement himself. This was also the return of Showcase mode, as 2K dropped the mode besides a DLC Hall of Fame release for 2K17 and removed it entirely from 2K18.

Going through Bryan’s WWE career gave players access to the original iteration of NXT, WWE Velocity, and some versions of Bryan that never made it into a game, such as Bryan Danielson.

WWE 2K15 “One More Match”

The First DLC Showcase Mode

The first ever Showcase mode released as DLC was focused on the months-long rivalry between Christian and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. This would also be the most fun out of all the DLCs released for that game, with its only real major issue being the lack of variety in matches, as five of the nine are Randy Orton vs. Christian with names like Sheamus, Mark Henry, and Alberto Del Rio making appearances throughout.

Getting to play through Christian’s heel turn at that time was quite fun and again, with those DLCs only being eight to nine matches, they don’t take much time to complete.

WWE 2K15 “Best Friends, Bitter Enemies”

A Look Back On The Ruthless Aggression Era

WWE 2K15 came with two Showcase modes on the disc and featured even more via DLC. The first most players will go through is the historic feud between former D-Generation X members, Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

The mode was a highlight of 2K15 and showed what the 2K team can do when they put a lot of effort into this mode. Getting to go through a large portion of Triple H’s reign of terror and his time with Evolution was exciting, to say the least.

WWE 2K15 “Hustle, Loyalty, Disrespect”

The Best Showcase 2K15 Had To Offer

Despite how great “Best Friends, Bitter Enemies” was, it couldn’t touch the second Showcase mode in 2K15. Playing through the highs and lows of CM Punk’s year-long reign as the WWE Champion was special as it was the last WWE game to feature Punk, until WWE 2K24 saw him released as DLC.

This Showcase also started the trend in 2K15, which saw multiple Showcase modes focus on 2011-13 for some reason.

WWE 2K16 “Steve Austin 3:16”

The Best Showcase Focused On One Wrestler

The absolute best attempt 2K has had at focusing a Showcase mode on one person was 2K16 and the career of Steve Austin. While names like John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, and so on are all amazing, they pale in lineage and spectacle to Stone Cold.

Also, the fact that 2K threw in bonus matches from his time in World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling gave wrestlers and arenas from those companies that aren’t featured often in the 2K franchise.

WWE 2K14 “30 Years Of WrestleMania”

Nothing Has Beat The Original

Now for the best of the best, it goes to 2K’s first title, WWE 2K14. This mode was so beloved and critically acclaimed that 2K tried to go to the well again with 2K24 and the 40 Years Of WrestleMania Showcase. The only issue is that the mode is quite long and features 47 matches, taking one or more from every WrestleMania up to that point.

Getting to unlock names like Andre The Giant, Goldberg, Mr. Perfect, and more was enough reason for fans to complete this mode, as those names weren’t featured in many (at the time) modern wrestling titles. If 2K wants to make Showcase mode worth players’ time and exciting again, look back at this game.