WWE 2K25 Hands-On Preview

The WWE product has never been more popular. Television storylines have focused on Cody Rhodes finishing his story and capturing the WWE Undisputed Championship, something that last year’s entry in the WWE 2K series acknowledged with Rhodes as its cover athlete.

This year, the attention turns to Cody’s WrestleMania XL opponent, Roman Reigns, and the Bloodline faction.

The Bloodline is much more than just Roman Reigns, though. It plays off Reigns’, whose real-life name is Leati Joseph Anoa’i, family heritage. If the Anoa’i name and family sound familiar, there’s a reason for it.

The Samoan family has seen their bloodline (pun intended) in WWE for decades, including 2025 Royal Rumble winner Jey Uso and his brother Jimmy. Their father, Rikishi, is a WWE Hall of Famer. You can go back further and trace the Anoa’i family heritage back to the 1970s when the Wild Samoans tag team debuted in the then WWF.

And, of course, you can’t talk about the Anoai family without bringing up The Rock.

So why does all this matter? Because WWE 2K25 is about celebrating that heritage in this year’s 2K Showcase.

WWE 2K25’s Showcase Celebrates the Anoa’i Family

I had the chance to experience three different Showcase events featuring prominent members throughout the Bloodline Dynasty with the ability to relive history, make history, or change it. These matches come complete with an introduction by Paul Heyman explaining the legacy of those involved.

Each match played to the strengths of those involved. For example, the Nia Jax versus Lyra Valkyria Queen of the Ring ’24 match establishes Nia’s strength as a heavy enforcer-type wrestler. It’s a nice touch that adds a cinematic element to the gameplay that, while present on the live product, isn’t always featured in-game.

With WWE’s popularity soaring to Attitude Era levels, the video game adaptations need to match that excitement. WWE 2K25 is on the right path, paying homage to an iconic wrestling dynasty while delivering satisfying gameplay that matches what we watch every week.

The fight’s opening moments feature Lyra trying to get in any offense she can, but Nia is too big and powerful; she’ll even no-sell some of Lyra’s moves, and you can see Lyra’s concern on her face.

Storytelling has always been an important part of WWE’s best matches, and now it’s present in gameplay as well. Of course, with the focus on storytelling, it’s important to stay true to what has happened when you’re reliving past matches.

It’s no secret that Nia Jax’s character isn’t popular with fans, especially those active in the internet wrestling community. Despite having to play her in Showcase, you will be booed. It’s a great sign that Visual Concepts isn’t forcing revisionist history in the way Vince McMahon would; Nia works as a monster heel, and she plays as one, too.

She doesn’t control as fluidly as someone like Lyra; if I tried to play fast and aggressively, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. It’s a nice gameplay touch that matches how each athlete performs in the ring.

But, critically, resurfacing a storyline isn’t just about reliving moments; it’s about recreating them. Take, for example, the Roman vs. Seth Rollins Royal Rumble ’22 match, where you can change history.

Sure, Reigns already retained his championship, but he did so via disqualification. Here, it’s not just about winning; it’s about inflicting punishment, something the live product has leaned into in recent memory.

We saw Reigns choose to attack Seth with a chair during the Main Event at WrestleMania XL, a decision that cost him his Undisputed Championship. Then, just last week, at the time of writing, at the Royal Rumble, we saw more of the personal hatred these two men have when Seth curb-stomped Roman with both feet.

During this Showcase match, your objectives aren’t just to win; they are to inflict pain. If you get hung up on that, though, you can easily still lose.

Of course, sometimes you just want to create fantasy match-ups we never saw, which is where the “make history” comes into play. The Wild Samoans and Dudley Boys are two of the most decorated tag teams in wrestling history.

I’m not ashamed to admit how many times I replayed their Tables Match during my four hands-on hours with WWE 2K25. And yes, that included lighting a table on fire.

WWE 2K25’s Gameplay Is An Absolute Blast

Replaying that aforementioned Tables Match over and over only works because of how much fun I had with WWE 2K25.

The gameplay strikes an excellent balance between an authentic wrestling experience and an arcade-style fighter. The controls feel like a combination of Tekken-style combos with some precision you’d expect in other sports games.

You can mash buttons to perform basic combos, but you’ll be missing out on some of the more iconic moves and slams.

The return of Chain Wrestling helped add a new layer of strategy, though there was some frustration involved. There wasn’t a clear-cut way to counter if your opponent locks you up, which can result in some frustrating sequences where you’re unable to counterattack.

It’s doubly annoying considering that there are plenty of simple, easy prompts for you to counter other moves, which play out like a Quicktime Event, albeit one that requires split-second reactions.

2K and Visual Concepts stressed that this was an earlier build of the game, and there were some signs of that. Interacting with the environment wasn’t always perfect.

The demo normally did a good job of prompting when I could power slam my opponent through an object, but sometimes, I wasn’t given that prompt despite facing a table or the barricade. This was most noticeable when fighting in the game’s non-traditional arenas, most notably the NXT Parking Lot.

Thankfully, this is more than a fun Easter egg than a staple of the core gameplay, but there’s still a lot of mayhem waiting to be unleashed here, leading to some creative, over-the-top scenarios in-game. Even if you’re deadlocked in a lengthy 20-30-minute fight, the mayhem that awaits you is beyond entertaining.

Best of all, if you decide to try to set up a high-risk maneuver, such as a dive from the top of an ambulance, you need to make sure your opponent is down and out. Otherwise, they’ll climb with you and punish any of your missteps.

The same is true for using the various weapons lying around these arenas. Smashing everyone with chair shots or sledgehammers is effective, but your opponents are always ready to counter.

It’s an excellent way to prevent move spamming, adding another layer of strategy to the game. The good news, too, is that it feels obvious which items you can pick up, which means you won’t have to guess if a chair is usable or just set decoration.

The bad news, though, is that it sometimes feels a little finicky when trying to figure out what you’re picking up despite pressing the correct button directly in front of said chair.

You’ll need to beat your opponent to make them suffer, especially if you’re playing as Rhea Ripley against Dom Mysterio in an Intergender Wrestling match. Knocking Dom out after beating him senselessly is oh-so-satisfying.

WWE 2K25 Is Shaping Up To Be A Smash Hit

With WWE’s popularity soaring to Attitude Era levels, the video game adaptations need to match that excitement. WWE 2K25 is on the right path, paying homage to an iconic wrestling dynasty while delivering satisfying gameplay that matches what we watch every week.

It’s an earlier build that isn’t indicative of the full release build come March, so there are still some rough items around the edges.

Still, I left our hands-on time with the game, desperately wanting more. Things felt a little limited as to what we could play, but still, I’m excited to see how 2K Showcase pays respect to the Bloodline.

This preview only scratches the surface of what to expect in WWE 2K25; there’s so much more waiting to be discovered, and I can’t wait to jump in when the game releases next month.