In several weeks, WrestleMania 25 will erupt from Houston, Texas. We know what you’re probably thinking: they have twenty-five WrestleManias? And how did I get so damn old? In the past quarter-century, the WWE has grown from a small-ish organization with national mainstream appeal to a full-blown media spectacle.
Springtime is WrestleMania time for true fans of the WWE. Every March or April, the wrasslers of World Wrestling Entertainment gear up for the biggest pay-per-view event of the year. Long-standing feuds end, some championships change hands and every entertainer does their damndest to entertain fans. Even if you know nothing about wrestling, you know the name “WrestleMania.”
When THQ revealed its WWE spin-off, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania, one thing went through my mind. I know these brawlers. Hazy TV memories flooded back of the Hulkster stomping around his ring, Ultimate Warrior delivering sermons from the turn buckle and Andre the Giant, well, looking big. Very big. Back in the day there were no average Joes in trunks, no faceless pecked-up meatheads banging on about ‘real wrestling’.
As we sat down to see Smackdown vs Raw 2010 for the first time in L.A. during Summerslam weekend, we were skeptical. This had been the longest we could remember going without seeing a given year’s Smackdown before its release, which will be on Oct. 20.
In this business the bigger steps get noticed and applauded, while smaller but important updates can be overlooked. Last year WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2010 was a huge step forward for the series and we gave it high praise for the implementation of an insanely deep online community as well as a new storyline creation mode to go with Create-A-Wrestler. Now a year has passed and WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2011 is due in a few months. We finally got our hands on it recently and while it might not be a quantum leap, it seems to correct some of the few flaws of last year while maintaining the quality of the most recent edition...
Over the past several years, THQ's WWE SmackDown franchise has evolved into a real champion, most recently offering a thick pro wrestling package loaded with awesome community features, an impressive story designer, and a wide array of today's top wrestling personalities...
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