WWE Monday Night Raw celebrated its 30th birthday on January 23, and 2K rightfully assumed it would be a good time to preview the Showcase mode for its upcoming WWE 2K23 game. RVD, Batista, and The Undertaker are some of the names whose iconic battles with John Cena, over his storied 20-year career, will be featured in the mode.
That’s right, John Cena is the cover athlete for the latest installment of 2K’s wrestling franchise. The news was announced earlier in the day with a live-action trailer and was followed up with another one during Monday Night Raw, teasing the Showcase mode.
Apart from offering a few glimpses of the new WWE 2K23, the trailer also shows a major change for the franchise. The 2K Showcase usually highlights the career of the cover athlete, featuring some of their biggest matches, and putting the player in their shoes. However, this year’s edition of the mode has a little twist to it.
Conquering John Cena in the ring is an honor not a lot of people have had, and for the man who lives by the mantra "Never Give Up", it would be disrespectful on 2K’s side to relieve his defeats. That’s why this showcase mode forces players to step in the shoes of his opponents, and get a better grasp of what beating John Cena really means.
With the entire mode being narrated by the man himself, not only does this provide a more immersive experience for the user, but it also properly relives some of the biggest WWE rivalries.
So far the list of confirmed John Cena Showcase matches for WWE 2K23 includes:
- John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - SmackDown 2002 (John Cena Debut)
- John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 2006
- John Cena vs. Batista - SummerSlam 2008
- John Cena vs. The Rock - WrestleMania 28
- John Cena vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 34
- John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - SummerSlam 2021
Apart from the general gameplay improvements, including the ones to the WWE 2K23's MyGM mode, the new installment of the game will provide users with a new game mode called WarGames and a major expansion to the roster of playable characters. Some of these include Batista, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam (RVD), The Undertaker, and The Rock, with many more likely to follow suit. With the possibility of expanding upon his rivalries with Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, here is what John Cena had to say about the game’s adaptation of his career:
It is a pleasure to tell the story of my career through the WWE 2K23 Showcase. 2K has done a fantastic job capturing and invigorating the WWE 2K franchise through this concept, and I am honored to grace the cover of WWE 2K23.
WWE 2K23 is scheduled to release on March 17 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
