Best New Match Types, Ranked

WWE 2K25 is the latest entry in the WWE 2K series, a series of games that allow the player to live out the on-screen WWE experience. Whether it’s forming dream match-ups or creating a custom wrestler to take the WWE by storm, WWE 2K25 is a great way to live out the WWE fantasy.

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Match types are a crucial element of great wrestling games — and wrestling as a whole. From one-off gimmick matches to staple stipulations, WWE 2K25 ensures the player experiences a wide range of match types, featuring fan favorites as well as brand-new types that offer new and unique experiences.

5

Intergender Matches

A Unique Feature, But Still Using The Same Match Types

Wrestling is no stranger to intergender competition. Many indie promotions offer a fluid roster without gender divisions, allowing incredibly varied matchups between all the talent available. Despite the normality of intergender matches in the indie scene, major promotions don’t often feature many instances of pure intergender wrestling.

WWE 2K25 breaks the mold in wrestling games, allowing for intergender matches. These matchups can take place in all modes, including in the MyRise mode, itself featuring intergender Unity Tag Team belts. Intergender matches allow for stylistically and visually varied matches that can be a fun change of pace. This match type ranks the lowest on the list, not because of the content, but simply because intergender match types don’t offer any new stipulations or gimmicks.

4

Special Guest Referee Extensions

Special Guest Referee In 30 Different Match Types

Special Guest referee is a stipulation WWE often uses on TV, wherein a wrestler, often related to the feud at hand, fills in as the referee for the match. As such, WWE 2K24 added special guest referee as a match type, but only for standard 1 on 1 matches. These matches, much like their TV counterparts, can have the special guest referee aid one wrestler, refuse to count pins, or get entirely physically involved, at risk of being replaced.

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WWE 2K25 features new variations upon the special guest referee mode, logically expanding upon its first iteration. Special guest referees can now be used in 30 different match types, meaning there are plenty of new options for special guest referee matches. This is a welcome addition, although the match type ranks where it does because it isn’t wholly new; rather, there are new variations upon it.

3

New Brawl Match Locations

Brawl In The WWE Archives And The NXT Parking Lot

Brawl is a mode featured in many WWE games, under many names, and is inspired by the many backstage brawl segments that happen on WWE TV. The match is a knockout-only stipulation in which there are no rules or referee, and the entire match takes place away from the ring in a unique area. In prior entries, Brawls have mostly taken place in generic backstage areas that feature a series of climbable/destructible props for a degree of variation in encounters.

WWE 2K25 added two new Brawl match types. These are the NXT Parking Lot and WWE Archives. The latter is the most unique of the two, taking place among a series of WWE props and iconography from years past, providing plenty of Easter eggs and variance in visuals. Players can fight around the infamous throne of Triple H and the Smackdown Fist, as well as use various weapons from WWE history. The new types of Brawl are fun and unique in aesthetics, but not wholly unique in mechanics, placing them here on the list.

2

Bloodline Rules Match

A WrestleMania 40 Inspired No DQ Match

WrestleMania 40 was a historic event for WWE, mainly because of the main event, which saw Cody Rhodes finally defeat Roman Reigns. One defining characteristic of this match was the many run-ins and interferences. In true Bloodline fashion, the match saw Bloodline members interfering in the hopes of thwarting Cody Rhodes, all of which were met with counter-interference from allies of Rhodes.

The Bloodline Rules match is a new addition to WWE 2K25 that attempts to replicate the crazy and frenzied pace of the WM 40 main event. Players are given three interferences that see one of many wrestlers run-in to aid them; their opponent can also use three interferences. This means that the singles match ultimately devolves into a massive brawl, with both allied and enemy NPCs aiming to interfere in the proceedings. The run-ins make the Bloodline Rules match a unique experience, despite it initially beginning as a standard no-DQ stipulation.

1

Underground Match

Submission Or KO Only In A Unique Ring

The Underground Match is from an ill-fated idea to host RAW Underground, an unsuccessful attempt at a grittier and more brutal version of WWE TV. The show took on a fight-club atmosphere, set in a ring with no ropes, inspired by MMA competition as well as likely taking a degree of inspiration from Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, a GCW indie show with a similar format.

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WWE 2K25 opted to include the Underground match type, offering a visually unique match type with a completely different feel. The match has no ropes, and the ring is surrounded by rabid and frenzied onlookers. It can only be won by submission, knockout, or disqualification. Much like in brawls, players can enter a “Danger” state after taking damage, at which point a signature or finisher will render them unconscious. This match type tops the list due to the visual distinction from anything else in WWE 2K25, offering a wholly new experience.

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Released

March 14, 2025

OpenCritic Rating

Strong