The highly anticipated release of WWE 2K25 on March 14 is almost here and if you’re looking forward to getting your hands on it, you may be wondering what type of matches you have to look forward to when you do. The good news is that there are a lot of them, ensuring there’s something for nearly anyone looking to crack skulls and wrench arms in the squared circle. Here are all the match types you can try when you play WWE 2K25.
The Old Classics
(Normal Rules; Tag Team)
Kicking things off are the most obvious inclusion in any wrestling games, standard rules matches. Illegal moves are illegal (in theory) and leaving the ring risks disqualification. Pin or submit your opponent to get the win. This includes both normal rules individual matches, with between two and eight competitors vying for the win, or tag team matches with teams of wrestlers numbering between two and four each.
With tag team matches you can choose between standard “one in per team” rules with tagging, or tornado matches, where everyone is in the ring at once. You can also opt for fair numbers or mismatches with one-vs.-two, one-vs.-two tornado, one-vs.-three and two-vs.-three all available.
The Full Ring Chaos
(Royal Rumble; Battle Royal)
One of the most famous formats in all of wrestling, the Royal Rumble sees a large number of wrestlers (10, 20, or 30 in 2K25) all throwing down in a chaotic ring. While two wrestlers begin the bout inside the ropes, new entrants come out at a steady clip to join the fray, all working to eliminate each other by tossing an opponent out of the ring and making their feet touch ground. The last man or woman standing etches their name in history as a Royal Rumble Champion.
If you’d rather get right to the mid-match chaos of a ring so loaded with wrestlers you can’t turn around without hitting an opponent with a fist or kick there’s Battle Royal matches. While limited in size, relatively speaking, to just four to eight wrestlers, everyone starts the match in the ring and ready to rumble to put you right into the most hectic fun possible.
The Endurance Challenges
(Gauntlet Match; Gauntlet Turmoil; Gauntlet Eliminator; Elimination Chamber)
The Gauntlet is a popular format where wrestlers attempt to win a series of matches to be declared champion. Under traditional Gauntlet rules this takes place in the form of a series of matches where the winner stays in and a new entrant comes out after each elimination. If that sounds a little too easy for you, particularly for wrestlers in the late positions, there’s the Gauntlet Eliminator format for you to tackle, wherein all but one starting wrestler constitute a team. This means if any of the other wrestlers eliminates the main wrestler, the whole team wins.
If you want a little battle royal madness in your gauntlet there’s the Gauntlet Eliminator format, where new wrestlers enter over the course of the match meaning multiple wrestlers in the ring at once is possible. Finally, to take that to its logically over-the-top extreme, there’s an Elimination Chamber match with all the fun of a Gauntlet Eliminator and the added perk of enclosing all the competitors in a cage, with late entrants waiting to be released into the action over the course of the match.
The Bloody Good Fun
(Extreme Rules; No Holds Barred)
For wrestling fans of a certain era, the WWE will always bring to mind thoughts of brutal, bloody brawls carried out by wrestlers as famous for their ability to withstand punishment as dish it out. For fans of this style there are the more extreme match options which allow you to do away with pesky bothers like rules.
In Extreme Rules and No Hold Barred matches, your wrestlers are free to lean into their most brutal urges, from illegal blows to damaging weapon attacks. While No Holds Barred only allows for a direct head-to-head match, Extreme Rules expands your options for mayhem with the addition of three-, four- and five-way matches, or even a little team action with a two-on-two tussle.
The Special Finishing Stipulations
(Last Man Standing; Submission Match)
One fun way to ramp up the difficulty in a match is to limit your pathways to victory, and that’s where these special stipulation matches come in handy. In a Last Man Standing bout the name of the game is inflicting punishment on your opponent to get the win. There are no pins and no submissions, the only way to win is to knock your foe down and keep knocking them down until they physically cannot get back up again.
If you prefer the more technical route to victory, then perhaps a Submission Match is more to your style. Rather than trying to batter your opponent until you can secure the pin, the only way to get your hand raised is to put your enemy into a submission hold they cannot bear. Force them to tap and you’ve got another win on your record.
The Caged Carnage
(Steel Cage Match; Hell in a Cell)
Cage matches have provided some of the most iconic bouts in the history of professional wrestling, and WWE 2K25 provides you with two options for getting down without an escape. While the cage around the ring leaves wrestlers with nowhere to run as they pummel and pound each other, there is the option to make escaping the cage your path to victory.
If the visual spectacle of steel bars isn’t quite enough for you then you can take it to the next level with an iconic Hell in a Cell match. Combine the close quarters and dangerous metal borders of a steel cage match with the anything goes approach of an extreme rules match and you have the makings for a savage squabble for two to six wrestlers, working in individual or tag team formats.
Leave The Ring Behind
(Underground Match; Falls Count Anywhere; Backstage Brawl)
If you find yourself growing bored of all that time inside the ropes then why not take them out of the equation altogether? For the simplest approach, try out an Underground Match, where the ropes are done away with. While you can still bash your opponent off a ring post you can also toss them clean off the fighting surface altogether.
Don’t want to stop there? Opt for Falls Count Anywhere where there are no count outs and you don’t need canvas beneath you to lock on a match-winning hold or go for the pin. If that’s still a bit too familiar, move your bout backstage and smash and bash your way around the bowels of the arena for some classic WWE backstage bedlam.
Tables And Ladders And Chairs, Oh My!
(Ladder Match; Table Match; Tables, Ladders and Chairs)
Bringing in outside props as a key rule component is a surefire way to get the crowd going in wrestling and the Ladder Match has become an iconic style accordingly. With a prize hanging over the middle of the ring, the only way to win a ladder match is to position a ladder underneath it, climb up and take it down, all while hoping your opponent doesn’t take the ladder out from under you. If a more violent final act is your preference then a tables match is your Huckleberry, with the win going to the first wrestler to put an opponent through a table.
For maximum prop-related chaos, however, it’s time for some TLC. While the endgame of a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match is the same as a Ladder Match — capturing the prize above the ring — the addition of a generous sampling of tables to slam through and chairs to slam with makes it maximally violent before you do.
The “Throw ‘Em In” Matches
(Casket Match; Ambulance Match)
Former Pride and UFC star, and wrestling star beater, Mirko Cro Cop’s leg kicks were lovingly referred to with “right leg hospital, left leg cemetery” for where they’d send opponents, and whichever way you slice it, there’s a special stipulation available for his vanquished foes. In both a casket match and an ambulance match your goal is a simple one: beat your opponent badly enough that they can’t stop you from closing them inside your target. As the names imply, your goal can be either sealing an opponent in a casket or sending them off to the hospital for some much-needed medical attention, just as long as you shut them down and shut them in.
Special Guest Referee Matches
In nearly any other sports game the thought of playing as an official would hardly be something to get anyone’s fingers itching for the sticks, but in the sports entertainment world of wrestling? Now that’s a good time waiting to happen. One of WWE 2K25’s new modes, Guest Referee Matches put you in control of the pinstripes, complete with the option to be above board or, in the fine tradition of WWE guest referees, to put your finger on the scale. Whether you’re messing with the turnbuckles, giving a slow count or actively interfering, taking a run as guest referee while two friends battle it out is a recipe for a good time.
All The Rest
(Bloodline Rules; WarGames; Tournaments)
Rounding out the many, many game modes on offer you may want to try your hand at running a tournament with a series of matches to declare a champion, or perhaps take a page out of WrestleMania XL and host a Bloodline Rules match where interference from your team is not just legal, but encouraged. In WarGames, teams of wrestlers enter in a staggered format with the match only truly underway once the last wrestler is in the ring and ready to throw down.
Whatever your fancy in the ring, the team behind WWE 2K25 have done their best to ensure there’s something for you. What mode are you most looking forward to playing?
Published: Mar 11, 2025 11:27 am