WrestleMania 37 was this past weekend, featuring some history making main event matches and the first WWE event in front of a live crowd in over a year. As usual, WrestleMania 37 was a major entertainment attraction, and those tuning in got to see a lot more than just wrestling matches. It was during WrestleMania 37 that the first WWE 2K22 footage was revealed in the form of a brief teaser trailer featuring Cesaro and Rey Mysterio.
The WWE 2K22 teaser was very brief, but it did appear to give fans a glimpse at gameplay. Judging by the WWE 2K22 teaser trailer that dropped at WrestleMania 37, WWE fans can expect the game to move the franchise's graphics quality forward in a big way, with smoother animations and more detailed character models. Beyond that and Visual Concepts once again being the development team on the new game, though, nothing else is known about WWE 2K22 in an official capacity.
WWE 2K22 has a lot to prove coming off WWE 2K20, which was met with a widespread negative reaction from critics and fans alike. WWE 2K20 reviews were universally negative, with many criticizing the game for its excessive bugs and lack of compelling content. The reaction to WWE 2K20 was so bad that 2K Sports made the decision to break the series away from its annual release schedule, skipping WWE 2K21 entirely to focus its efforts on making a comeback with WWE 2K22.
It's far too early to make any judgment calls about the quality of WWE 2K22. It's possible that the game will live up to the hype or even exceed expectations. It's also possible that the high quality graphics seen in the first WWE 2K22 trailer were just smoke and mirrors, and the final product will be as much of a mess as WWE 2K20 was. We really won't know until 2K Sports decides to show off more of the game, whenever that may be.
WWE 2K22's release date is expected to be some time this fall, and so fans can expect gameplay features and other reveals to take place between now and then. WWE 2K22 is taking inspiration from games like WWF No Mercy and SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, so there's a chance it could be quite a bit different than the other WWE 2K games. When putting together WWE 2K22's features, the developers could take inspiration not just from older wrestling games, but WrestleMania 37 as well.
Here is what WWE 2K22 could learn from WrestleMania 37 to be a unique and interesting WWE video gaming experience.
Make the Superstars Stand Out
In recent years, WWE has been criticized for featuring stars that all wrestle similarly, an inevitable result from everyone being trained at the Performance Center. However, WrestleMania 37 had two cards full of unique wrestlers with characteristics that helped them stand apart from other members of the roster. WWE 2K22 could embrace this to make sure that the roster doesn't feel like carbon copies of one another and instead embody the unique traits that they show off on WWE TV and at WrestleMania 37.
A perfect example of how this could work is with current WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair. Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks in the main event of WrestleMania 37 night one to win the championship, and throughout the match, her extremely long braid came into play. The braid was used by Sasha to get an advantage on Belair, but Belair also used the braid to her own advantage, using it to pull Sasha in for a clothesline and in one particularly memorable moment, cracking Banks across the gut with it with enough force that it sounded like a gunshot.
WWE 2K22 could have Bianca Belair on the roster as just another wrestler, but if the developers go the extra mile to make sure her braid is incorporated into the gameplay, it would go a long way in making her special and standout. Another example is with the massive Omos. Omos teamed with AJ Styles to win the Raw Tag Team Championship from The New Day, and his imposing size was a huge factor in the match. Omos in WWE 2K22 should be an equally imposing presence, and while making him a virtually unstoppable powerhouse may create some balance issues, some of the best WWE games had massively overpowered characters as well. It doesn't need to be balanced like a legitimate fighting game.
Basically, WWE 2K22 should make an effort to ensure that wrestlers all feel different from one another, and it should do so by mimicking what they actually do in the ring at events like WrestleMania 37.
Weather Effects
The first night of WrestleMania 37 was delayed due to weather, with the first match not getting underway until over 30 minutes after the start time. WWE 2K22 could incorporate outdoor arenas like past games have done, but also add in weather effects. The weather wouldn't need to delay the action like it did in real life, but imagine lightning and thunder booming in the sky during a match, or having superstars battle it out in a torrential downpour. The developers could get really creative with the weather effects and have them actually impact the match as well.
Of course, a feature like this could prove to be fairly controversial in the community, and so weather effects should be completely optional in WWE 2K22 if they were ever incorporated.
New Weapon Interactions and Gimmick Matches
The WWE video games have gotten somewhat stale when it comes to the weapons that the stars use in their matches. However, WrestleMania 37 featured some interesting weapon ideas that the developers could use as inspiration in the new game. For instance, during the Steel Cage Match between Braun Strowman and Shane McMahon, Strowman literally ripped off a part of the cage wall. Incorporating something like this would help fresh up Steel Cages Matches in WWE 2K22, as they have played out basically the same for years now.
In the main event of WrestleMania 37 Night 2, meanwhile, a piece of a steel chair was ripped off when Edge and Roman Reigns were struggling over it. This chair piece was later used by Edge to do extra damage to Reigns when he had him in a Crossface. Being able to use weapons this way instead of simply using them to beat on opponents would add a fresh dynamic to the proceedings and help make gimmick matches exciting again.
WWE 2K22 could look at other recent WWE gimmick matches for inspiration as well, like the Firefly Funhouse shenanigans between Bray Wyatt and John Cena at last year's WrestleMania event. And depending on how violent the game wants to take it, more extreme things like lighting opponents on fire could be added to the mix. Randy Orton did as much to "The Fiend" on an episode of Raw this past year, after all.
Special Guest Characters
Many fighting games feature special guest characters to lend the roster some extra personality, and this is something that previous WWE video games have done as well. For inspiration, WWE 2K22 developers could look to WrestleMania 37, which had a variety of special guests who would potentially make headline-making additions to the video game roster.
The most obvious choice would be rapper Bad Bunny, who had his debut match at WrestleMania 37 by teaming up with Damian Priest to take on The Miz and John Morrison. Bad Bunny's performance during the match has been widely praised by critics, with the musician pulling off impressive moves like a Canadian Destroyer on the floor.
Besides Bad Bunny, another option would be Logan Paul, who served as the manager during the match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Paul has been a hugely controversial figure in the past, but his presence in WWE 2K22 would give the game a ton of publicity.
Whatever Visual Concepts has planned for WWE 2K22, more information should come to light in the months ahead.
WWE 2K22 is in development for unspecified platforms.