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A full list of every WWE cover star for every WWE video game ever released on home consoles
Author:
Ryan Woodrow
Publish date:
Being selected as the cover star of a WWE video game is one of the biggest signs of approval those behind the scenes can give to a wrestler – short of giving them the world championship. It’s a sign that those running WWE see the selected wrestler as one of the most popular and marketable stars in the company, a position that comes with a lot of respect and a healthy paycheque.
Going back through time and seeing the various video game covers can then be a good way to see who was at the top throughout history, giving you a condensed history of WWE from the early 1990s to the modern day.
We’ve gone through all 49 WWE video games that were released on home consoles to see who every cover star has been.
1980s/1990s WWE cover stars
WWF WrestleMania (1989) – Hulk Hogan
No prizes for guessing who the star of the very first video game was. The mid 80s to mid 90s in WWE is undoubtedly Hulk Hogan’s era, so you’re going to be seeing a lot of him on these early covers.
WWF WrestleMania Challenge – Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Big Boss Man
Ensemble covers would become more of a trend going forward, but you can be sure that Hulk Hogan is still front and center.
WWF WrestleMania (1991) – Hulk Hogan, British Bulldog, Sgt Slaughter
While Hulk Hogan is still the biggest star, this game was released while Sgt Slaughter was WWF Champion – and also amidst his “Iraq sympathizer” gimmick as WWE tried to exploit the publicity of the Gulf War; which sure is a shocking sentence in hindsight.
WWF Super WrestleMania – Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Sid Justice, Legion of Doom
Faces change all the time in WWF, but Hulk Hogan remains.
WWF European Rampage Tour – Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Bret Hart
The first cover to be without Hulk Hogan, although it isn’t clear why as he was in the game and with WWE at the time. Still, this marks Bret Hart’s first cover as he continued his rise through the company.
WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge – Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Ted Dibiase, Papa Shango
All of the big names you’d expect here, except now we have the cover debut of The Undertaker and a couple of smaller (but still noteworthy) stars like Dibiase and Papa Shango.
WWF Royal Rumble – Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Yokozuna, Mr Perfect
This game marks the start of a transition away from Hulk Hogan as WWF enters the New Generation era, where they focused on smaller-bodied stars amid the infamous Steroid Trial.
WWF King of the Ring – Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Mr Perfect, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger
Hulk Hogan is still around at this point, but he’s no longer the focus as Bret Hart takes up most of the space on this cover.
WWF Rage in the Cage – 21 wrestlers
We’re not listing all of these as it’s almost anyone who was noteworthy in WWF at the time, Hulk Hogan is notably absent though.
WWF Raw (1994) – 9 wrestlers
Once again this is too many to list, but this cover marks the first woman to be on a WWF video game cover in Luna Vachon.
WWF In Your House – Bret Hart, Vader, Shawn Michaels
Hogan is long gone from WWF by this point, with Bret and Shawn being elevated as the main stars of the next generation.
WWF War Zone – Stone Cold Steve Austin
After a couple of years without a video game it’s very clear who the top guy in the WWF is now, and that’s the bottom line because…well, you get it.
WWF Attitude – Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Mankind, The Rock, Triple H
If you were to pick a Mount Rushmore of WWF’s attitude era, these names would be top five picks on just about everyone’s list.
WWF WrestleMania 2000 – The Rock, Triple H, Mankind, Big Show, The Undertaker
Unsurprisingly, this cover features the four men who wrestled in WrestleMania 2000’s main event, although it’s worth noting that The Undertaker wouldn’t even be at that show due to an injury.
2000s WWE cover stars
WWF No Mercy - The Rock, Triple H, Edge
One of the most beloved wrestling games of all time, this features three of the biggest stars of the time, plus whoever the poor unnamed soul Triple H is hitting the Pedigree on.
WWF Smackdown! – The Rock, Mankind, Chyna, Billy Gunn
The first in the iconic Smackdown! game series, this marks the only time Billy Gunn would be on a game cover – even if it was only because The Rock had him in a headlock.
WWF Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role – The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho
As the game is named after The Rock’s catchphrase he’s front and center in this one.
WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It – The Rock, Kurt Angle, Triple H
Once again The Rock takes up the most real estate here, with Angle and Triple H having to fade into the background.
WWF Raw (2002) – Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane, Jeff Hardy
The red brand finally got its own game after the Smackdown! series became so successful, although this cover is rather ugly.
WWE WrestleMania X8 – Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Rob Van Dam
Now the World Wildlife Fund has successfully forced the WWF to become WWE, Hulk Hogan returns following the WCW buyout, although Stone Cold is still the face that runs the place.
WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth – Triple H, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Booker T
Despite the game still being named after his catchphrase, The Rock is nowhere to be seen on this cover and Triple H finally gets to be the main attraction.
WWE Raw 2 – Goldberg, Triple H, Scott Steiner
For Raw’s only sequel game, we have two big WCW names who joined WWE after it went under, and Steiner being there seems hilarious in hindsight.
WWE WrestleMania XIX – Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock
No surprises here as Kurt Angle faced Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 19, and Stone Cold faced The Rock in his last ever match (until WrestleMania 38).
WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain – Brock Lesnar
With no more catchphrases from The Rock to name their games after, the Smackdown! series’ final game features the next big thing Brock Lesnar on the cover instea
WWE Day of Reckoning – Trish Stratus, Triple H, Randy Orton
Trish Stratus takes up the most real estate on this cover after a good few years of revolutionizing women’s wrestling, but Triple H is always lurking nearby.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw – Vince McMahon
The first in what would become a beloved series, the first game features a disturbingly close-up image of WWE’s then-owner.
WWE WrestleMania 21 – No one
For some strange reason, no wrestlers feature on this game’s cover, it’s just the WrestleMania 21 logo and tagline – which might explain why it didn’t do very well.
WWE Day of Reckoning 2 – Stacy Keibler, John Cena, Triple H
Day of Reckoning’s sequel also gave a women’s wrestler center stage, but once again there’s no way to escape Triple H.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006 – John Cena, Batista
We can finally settle into a pretty consistent run of annual video game releases, and this time the cover features the top stars of the two title brands.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007 – Triple H, John Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio, Torrie Wilson
Triple H has once again taken over for this cover, not being locked to either brand like the red and blue coloring for the other wrestlers suggests.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 – The Undertaker, John Cena, Bobby Lashley
This year ECW joins the roster, although the less said about WWE’s revival of the once-loved brand the better.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 – Triple H, Shawn Michaels
D-Generation X has taken over for this one, because Triple H just can’t let go.
WWE Legends of WrestleMania – Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock
Celebrating the legendary matches of the past, these four stars were the obvious choices, although it’s nice that Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan got on there too.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 – John Cena, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge, Rey Mysterio
We are well and truly in the Cena era by 2010, and this cover makes that clear by giving him the most prominent spot on the cover.
2010s WWE cover stars
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 – John Cena, Big Show, The Miz
John Cena is still the biggest name by 2011, and this cover also proves wrong all the people who thought WrestleMania 2000 was Big Show’s only cover.
WWE All Stars – Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Orton, Randy Savage, Rey Mysterio, The Rock, Kofi Kingston
This was a more cartoonish WWE game, and the cover used an old vs new take for the cover using 3D renders instead of real photos of the wrestlers.
WWE ‘12 – Randy Orton
We finally enter the era of the WWE games having just one central cover star, which coincides with a big unbroken run of annual releases, with Randy Orton getting the featured spot he’d deserved for many years by this point.
WWE ‘13 – CM Punk
There was no question about who the cover star should be for this game, CM Punk had been champion for a year and was at the height of his popularity.
WWE 2K14 – The Rock (and Daniel Bryan)
2K’s first game in the series is unique in that it had a reversible cover. The Rock was the main star of the show, but the true people’s champion Daniel Bryan was on the other side.
WWE 2K15 – John Cena
2014/15 were arguably the last years of the John Cena era in WWE, so this was a nice way to send him off into his part-time run.
WWE 2K16 – Stone Cold Steve Austin
With the numbers lining up for Austin’s 3:16 catchphrase, putting the legend on the cover was a no-brainer.
WWE 2K17 – Brock Lesnar
Brock was far from the rookie he was in 2003 by this point, now the all-conquering beast that held multiple world titles hostage for years at a time.
WWE 2K18 – Seth Rollins
By 2017 Seth Rollins was a big babyface who everyone loved to see wrestle – no different to today really – so putting on the cover was an easy decision.
WWE 2K19 – AJ Styles
For a man many thought would never join WWE – much less be allowed to succeed there – Styles getting to be the cover star of a WWE video game was quite an incredible feat.
WWE 2K20 – Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch
Roman Reigns had been pushed as the face of the company for years by this point – albeit against the fans’ wishes – so him being on a cover was no surprise. However, by this point “The Man” Becky Lynch’s popularity had become undeniable, so she had to be there.
2020s WWE cover stars
WWE 2K Battlegrounds – 12 wrestlers
Our nice neat streak of annual releases is finally broken. While the team at 2K reworked the main series of games following 2K20’s critical panning, 2K Battlegrounds was released as a smaller arcadey game to tide fans over, featuring men and women from the past and present on its cover.
WWE 2K22 – Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio may have been an unexpected choice for this game, but a welcome one. Mysterio has long been a beloved figure in wrestling, so this was a nice tribute to a man who seems to be in the twilight of his full-time career.
WWE 2K23 – John Cena
2K couldn’t resist going to the John Cena well again for 2023’s game. This time the various editions of the game depicted different eras of Cena’s long WWE career.
WWE 2K24 – Cody Rhodes, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley
For this year’s game, 2K used the different editions to showcase different superstars. While Cody Rhodes features as the main cover star on the standard edition, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley stand proud on the deluxe edition cover as the modern icons of women’s wrestling.
