15 things we want to see in 'WWE 2K19'

Last week, it was announced that "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles will be the coverboy for "WWE 2K19," which is slated to release on major video game consoles in October. This first announcement will set off a string of revelations about the game over the next three months, which got us thinking - what are some things we would like to see in "WWE 2K19"?

Here is our wish list:

1. Mixed Match Challenge: WWE debuted a new, relatively interactive show exclusively on Facebook Watch this spring, which featured "mixed" tag team bouts (one male and one female superstar) in a single elimination tournament. The winning team allegedly gave a donation to a charity of their choice, which was a valiant cause. But the best thing that came out of the Mixed Match Challenge was the fun combination of men and women from RAW and SmackDown - teams like Finn Balor and Sasha Banks, Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair, Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss, and the eventual winners, The Miz and Asuka. Mixed tag has not been an option in WWE video games for years (likely due to the implications of men inflicting potential violence on women). Of course, as on WWE television, this mode could force teams to tag out so that only same-gender fighting could occur, but the inclusion of this new mode would certainly be a breath of fresh air into what feels, at times, like a stagnant formula.
2. Easier Alternate Attires: Previously, WWE games allowed players to customize superstars' attires in a simple and straight-forward manner. You'd just go into "Edit a Superstar," modify the color of their attire (even picking different colors for boots, kickpads, tights, shirts and accessories, if desired), and save your changes. You could usually save two or three alternate attires, and, although they would basically just be different colorways of the same single outfit, it was really easy to switch between those options. Now, alternate attires take up a Create-a-Wrestler slot and it's not very clear how to actually set the attire as an alternate. Simplify this process and free up our CAW slots, please.
3. Seamless Saving for Tag Teams: Currently, if you want to keep stables and tag teams up-to-date with WWE TV, you've got to create the faction in the "My WWE" section of the main menu, then create it all over again in "WWE Universe" mode, which is a real pain. There should be an option that asks, "Do you want to save this team in 'WWE Universe,' as well?" Simple yes/no. If you want your Universe mode to be a fantasy league of sorts, keep it that way. But give those of us who keep the default roster and the Universe roster current a break and don't make us do the same work twice.
4. More/Better Created Tag Team Entrances: Speaking of tag team creation, it's lame to use the same two or three generic entrances for created teams. I like that they have unique entrances for created teams, but there should be more options for generic "babyface" or "heel" stables to prevent things from getting too repetitive. Not every trio team wants to enter like Evolution.
5. Bring Back "Showcase Mode": One mode that was a bit of an acquired taste over the past few years was "Showcase Mode," which was a linear story mode that recreated classic moments in the WWE history. From the all-Stone Cold Steve Austin mode featured in "WWE 2K16" to the "Hall of Fame" and other miscellaneous storylines featured in several other games, "Showcase Mode" was a fun way for nostalgic fans to be a part of some of their favorite memories. The mode was not present in "2K18," and it would be nice to get it back in the fall.
6. Bring Back "GM Mode"/Superstar Draft: Another mode that we would really love to get back is "GM Mode," which was last used in "WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008." It's been 10 years since players had this mode, which allowed a fantasy draft between SmackDown and RAW. The absence of a "draft" feature makes running a completely customized "Universe" mode a bit of a chore, and bringing it back would help more easily facilitate year-long dream match-ups between legends and the current active roster. WWE TV holds a "Superstar Shake Up" each year, and it's time that the video games allowed fans the same option again.
7. Ditch "MyCareer" Mode: WWE 2K has tried to copy their sister series NBA 2K by utilizing a "MyCareer" mode, which was meant to allow players to create an upstart wrestler and run them through the ranks of the WWE roster, from "jobber" status to headlining Pay-Per-Views. However, unlike the success of this mode in 2K basketball games, the "MyCareer" mode in "WWE 2K18" really, truly sucked. The mode, in general, seemed pretty cookie-cutter, essentially presenting two linear options (good guy/bad guy), restricting nearly all freedom of choice for the players. The worst offender was the dialogue, which was absolutely unbearable. It seemed like it was written by a 4th grader. Honestly. "MyCareer" was rarely touched by us, here at the Underground, and we firmly believe that it's time to either scrap it in favor of other modes or at least have the story written by someone who speaks fluent English.
8. More Coherent Promo System: Another feature that was recently introduced but could really use an overhaul is the Promo system. Both "MyCareer" and "Universe" modes allowed wrestlers to occasionally cut promos on the mic, which sounded like a great idea on paper, but the execution was botched harder than a bad match in NXT. Supposedly, players were to assess the characteristics of the crowd (or something) as they cut their promos, but, unless you Googled how to do this effectively, it was pretty much a guessing game. Here, again, the dialogue was pretty juvenile and surely could have been presented more clearly. It just didn't make much sense and it wasn't intuitive at all. Come on, 2K. Iron this out and come back stronger next year. Cutting promos should be fun, not tedious. (Check out the G.O.A.T. Chris Jericho cutting the first of his classic "List of Jericho" promos here.)
9. Clearer Money in the Bank Cash-in Process: WWE's "Money in the Bank" Pay-Per-View is one of the most exciting shows of the year. The winner of the MITB ladder match gets possession of a briefcase that can be cashed-in for a championship match anytime, anywhere. While this concept exists in "Universe" mode, granting the winner similar privileges, the cash-in process is muddy, at best. We would explain to you how to cash-in the briefcase, but we don't really know. Randomly, the player will be asked if they want to cash-in their briefcase after a championship match, but when can this be done? Only at the end of a PPV? Only at Wrestlemania? Like WWE TV, Mr. and Mrs. Money in the Bank should be able to cash-in at will, with the press of a button - not just at a time that the game deems to be convenient.
10. Additional Match Options for Universe Rivalries: "Universe" mode consists of a rolling calendar that gives players the power to book matches for RAW, SmackDown, NXT, custom/created shows and their associated PPVs. Along the way, superstars can develop rivalry storylines (both singles and tag teams), which is great. But the part that needs to be fixed is that rivalries, as presently constituted, must be head-to-head. For instance, if you are running a rivalry between Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, every match for the duration of the rivalry must be those two wrestlers fighting against each other. Why not give us the option to have Orton fight Jinder Mahal, with Nakamura as a "guest commentator"? It would be fun to have an option to make Randy and Shinsuke be tag team partners for a week, which is not uncommon on television? Or how about Nakamura versus Bobby Rude, with Orton causing a mid-match distraction? Having to pit the rival competitors against each other for 8 straight SmackDowns, only then to make them fight again at the PPV isn't realistic and just doesn't make any sense.
11. More Versatile Commentary: If I have to listen to Michael Cole spout off the same lines he's been using for the past four years one more time, so help me... "And the sound of human flesh on the ground echoes throughout the arena..."
12. Gauntlet Matches: WWE TV has been loving the Gauntlet match lately, having prominent gauntlets run on both RAW and SmackDown. Gauntlet matches typically involve four or more competitors, with two wrestlers starting in the ring. When one superstar pins, submits or is disqualified, another competitor will enter the match, and the process repeats itself until the last fighter is left standing. Seth Rollins recently lasted an hour in a Gauntlet match on RAW, so you would think that this match type would be on 2K's radar for next year. Gauntlet matches have been featured in the past (either as "Gauntlet" or "Slobber Knocker" matches), but if you wanted to do something along these lines in "2K18," you'd have to go into the new "Match Creator" feature, which was an underwhelming addition to the game, at best. Just give us the straight-up Gauntlet match without requiring any additional effort on the part of the gamer.
13. Women's Royal Rumble: With the WWE's crusade for gender equality over the past couple of years, the option to run a Women's Rumble has got to be in "2K19," right? WWE held the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble in January, so failure to introduce this game mode would be a tremendous oversight.
14. Hulk Hogan: It's time to welcome him back to the WWE. Please give us a Hulkster and a Hollywood Hogan so we don't have to create him ourselves. Thank you.
15. Periodic - FREE - Content Updates: "NBA 2K" does it. "MLB The Show" does it. "Madden" does it. Heck, every major sports franchise gives free roster updates. If a player changes his number or gets traded to a different team - even sometimes if a player makes a noticeable change to his appearance - the company will update the character model in the game to keep the content accurate. Such is not the case with wrestling. They do have a "season pass" that will offer (not for free) additional characters that were not included at the time of the release, but if, say, Matt Hardy completely changes his gimmick, as he did this past calendar year, TOO BAD. We're stuck with the "Hardy Boyz" model and we have to rely on some talented CAW perfectionist to create the "Woken" attire. Why doesn't 2K patch the game and allow this content, free of charge?

Oh yeah. To make sure that we are forced into buying the game next year.

-_- (Sad, neutral-faced emoji)

"WWE 2K19" launches on October 9, 2018. Hopefully somebody at 2K is reading this blog and will include solutions to all of our suggestions. That would be WONDERFUL (*Woken Matt Hardy voice*). Pre-order the game to play as Rey Mysterio.

In defense of Wrestlemania

From the top trend on Facebook to ESPN's Twitter feed, pro wrestling headlines have been all over the Internet in the past few days. World Wrestling Entertainment's annual Wrestlemania pay-per-view was held over the weekend, showcasing the top talent in the business on a more global scale than ever before. It's interesting to me that, with wrestling seemingly more popular in terms of fan base and viewership than ever before, the industry maintains its negative connotations and uncool reputation. Call me the devil's advocate, call me a loser, call me whatever you want... but I pro wrestling gets a bit of an unfair rap. Let me explain.

For those of you who aren't aware, I, like most young, American boys in the 1990s, had a decent amount of exposure to pro wrestling during one particular stretch of my childhood - in the midst of what pro wrestling historians call the "Monday Night War." Pro wrestling was a taboo topic back then, just as it is today, in the sense that if you watched it, you didn't really admit it to anybody. Heck, I wasn't supposed to watch it as a kid. Wrestling, along with "The Simpsons," "South Park" and a few other shows, had been banned from my household (and probably for good reason). There are just some shows that parents didn't want their kids watching. I am totally fine with that and don't resent my parents from the restrictions they placed on me and my siblings. But, from time to time when my parents were out for the night, I'd be flipping channels and catch a glimpse of some good, old-fashioned grappling. Violent though it was, there was something so intriguing about it. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking as a kid, but it just seemed cool, and I'd try to sneak in a few minutes of pro wrestling here and there when my channel surfing incidentally lined up with World Championship Wrestling's TV programming.

At one point during the height of the now-defunct WCW's popularity, Karl Malone, one of my favorite Utah Jazz players teamed up with a guy named Diamond Dallas Paige to fight against "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls. The surprising combination of forbidden fighting and my beloved basketball icon proved too good to resist and my brothers and I found ourselves sneakily tuning in to WCW Monday Nitro each week. Eventually - and, to this day, I have no idea how this happened - we convinced our parents to watch the Mailman and DDP feud with Hogan and The Worm as they geared up for a heated confrontation at WCW's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view in the summer of 1996. Believe it or not, it actually turned into a great family bonding experience. We ordered Bash at the Beach and a couple other PPV events over the course of the next several months and even invited some of our extended family to watch with us a couple times. (I'm sure they thought we were absolute morons.) A few months later, WCW hired some former WWE (then "WWF") writers and the storylines got a bit more "mature," I guess you'd say, and my family's short-lived affair came to an end. Honestly, it was a blast while it lasted. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

As a junior at Alta High School, I decided that I wanted to run for band president. As part of my unprecedented campaign (literally, I don't think anyone has ever tried so hard to become band president at any high school), I thought it would be funny to buy a plastic WWE championship belt and make a video portraying me training for the presidency, a la Rocky. I guess the concept kind of caught on and three additional wrestling belts eventually made their way to the sacred confines of the Alta High Band Room. Silly? Yes. But it worked. Again, I'm not ashamed to admit it. My buddies and I took the joke a step further and made a 30-minute mockumentary about a fictional pro wrestling tag team called "The Big Ticket." (In retrospect, I'm sure it was horrible, but we thought it was hilarious.) In 2010, we joined creative forces yet again to make an hour-long "Big Ticket" sequel. (Likely just as horrible, but twice as hilarious.)

As an LDS missionary in Raleigh, North Carolina, I was called to speak Spanish. Contrary to what you may believe or hear, learning a new language is not a total piece of cake. It takes effort. You don't leave the Missionary Training Center completely fluent in the new foreign tongue. Something that helped me tremendously in my learning efforts was speaking with little Hispanic children. They would make fun of me if I didn't speak the language very well, but they were a lot nicer about it than the adults were. I quickly came to realize that little Hispanic kids know a lot about three things in particular: soccer, school and pro wrestling. Thus, I found wrestling to be a pretty easy topic of conversation - something that I knew a little bit about and could use a bit of "Spanglish" in without sounding like an idiot. The kids loved talking about it, which was cool, but it also kept me somewhat up-to-date with which wrestlers were popular, which ones were doing well and, of course, which ones were the bad guys.

Now that I'm seven years removed from my mission, I don't have consistent access to the Rey Mysterio and John Cena fan clubs like I did in North Carolina, but I am savvy enough to spot WWE references in pop culture today. There are nods to pro wrestling (both modern and from the '80s and '90s) all over the place, if you know what to look for. It's somewhat amusing to me. I would incorporate some of the classic catch phrases as I did my college radio shows. In fact, the most popular segment of my show down in Ephraim was called the "KAGE Match" - a blatant nod to pro wrestling. I'm still not sure that any of my listeners understood that. It disappoints me.

Most recently, as I had the glorious privilege of working with Salt Lake Comic Con, I got a chance to meet the immortal Hulk Hogan - to take a picture with him, give him the nWo "wolf" hand gesture and to sit front row at his spotlight panel. It was awesome. I got a little bit of grief for it, but, as a kid who grew up in the '90s, meeting the Hulkster was like meeting one of the coolest guys on the planet. I suppose that today's equivalent might be... Chris Hemsworth or somebody like that? Whatever. It was really cool for me. Hulk still rules!

SO. With all of that context, it's not that I am a pro wrestling addict or something. More like I just know a lot about it. Anyway, I think I've got some valid points and pretty strong arguments for the case I'm about to make, so let me now explain why I don't think that pro wrestling is actually as bad as society purports it to be by listing a few common complaints I hear about the industry and then rebutting them in rather majestic fashion.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is fake."

You know what? It's scripted. Yes. Which is stupid because "Doctor Who" is REAL! Oh wait... No, it's not. Most shows on TV are scripted. This should not come as a shock to anyone. Certainly, to the untrained viewer, like my 10-year-old self back in the day, you bet I thought it was real. Heck, I even prayed that Karl Malone would beat Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach. (Side note: Hogan and Rodman cheated to win. I got really upset and have never prayed for the outcome of a sporting event since.) I'm positive that WWE takes great lengths to ensure that their programming looks and feels real (or unscripted), but... can you blame them? Would you want your favorite TV program to come right out and say, "Hey, everyone, our show isn't real! Look at all these green screens! And here: meet the stunt doubles!" Of course you wouldn't want that! Every show and movie that you watch wants to look real, even though it is clearly fictional. Yes, pro wrestling is scripted. But so is everything else.

Furthermore, those steel chairs can't dent themselves, now, can they? I submit to you that they cannot. There is no denying that these guys (and chicks) that put their bodies on the line each time they step in the ring are a rare, freaky combination of incredibly athletic and certifiably crazy. No stunt doubles, no CGI, no wires. You can pull all the punches and kicks you want, but there is some stuff you just can't fake.

If you've been paying attention to the top Facebook trends in the past week and a half or so, you'll have seen that Rey Mysterio Jr., the first guy I ever remember watching in the squared circle, recently killed a guy during one of his matches. Literally. The guy passed away. Of course, this was an accident, an unintended consequence of a move likely gone wrong, but I dare you to go find that guy's mom and tell him that pro wrestling is fake. I dare you.

On the other hand, you've got UFC and MMA, which is real. Have you ever watched UFC or MMA? That stuff is brutal! I can barely bring myself to watch the highlights from time to time. Thank heaven pro wrestling isn't real! The number of injuries, broken bones and in-ring deaths would multiply considerably and that entire industry would get shut down in a heartbeat.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is too violent."

Going back to a point I brought up in my exposition, I know why my parents didn't want me to watch pro wrestling. I understand why I stopped watching "Power Rangers" and couldn't play any of the "Mortal Kombat" video games. Violence is not the answer to a vast majority of life's problems. The worst thing about wrestling is that it teaches young viewers that the best way to resolve a problem or to take out your frustration is by beating the tar out of your enemies. That's not good.

But at least they're not out there shooting each other with guns or chopping each other's heads off.

Take a look at some of the popular network dramas on TV today. Shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investiagtion," "Law & Order" and "Criminal Minds" are all about gruesome depictions of violence and the aftermath of crimes like murder, rape and domestic abuse. I stopped watching "The Walking Dead" after two and a half seasons because it got to the point where I figured I had seen enough zombies get their skulls split in two by machetes. There are other programs like "Game of Thrones," "Dexter," "Hannibal" and a host of others that I don't dare venture into because I'm afraid they'll be too intense for me. On the other hand, do you know what "WWE Raw" is rated? TV-PG. I was a WCW fan and never got into the WWF "Attitude Era" with the Rock, the Undertaker and D-Generation X, but today's pro wrestling is incredibly mild by comparison. Wrestlers rarely get busted open these days, so blood is at an all-time low. Male and female wrestlers cannot compete against each other, due to the company's stance on violence against women. Long gone are the profanity-laden tyrades of villains like the bird-flipping "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Vince McMahon and company understand that their fan base consists of, largely, 35-year-old guys and 8-year-old kids, and, following the deaths of superstars like Eddie Guerrero and "The Rabid Wolverine" Chris Benoit, they've made appropriate adjustments to the nature of their entertainment to keep the show as family-friendly as possible. I'd go so far as to say that WWE programming is substantially tamer than your average weeknight TV drama.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is for losers."

This is probably the main complaint I heard as an employee of Salt Lake Comic Con. Wrestling has been included in a couple of the conventions in the last year and a half, including appearances by Hulk Hogan and "divas" Maryse and Kelly Kelly. Most controversially, at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, a local, independent wrestling group brought in a ring and hosted occasional matches in the middle of the vendor floor.

People hated that ring for a couple reasons: 1) it was big, 2) it was loud, and 3) it was pro wrestling. I found these complaints somewhat humorous for a couple reasons. First of all, as with anything, if you don't like it, don't watch it. But secondly - and mainly - for a group of people who pride themselves on being all-inclusive of people of any interest or "fandom," as they call it, it was funny to hear the comic con attendees be so judgmental of those who like pro wrestling. So... apparently it's ok for a dude to like "My Little Pony" but not Hulk Hogan? Wow. (Side note: I have never been more ridiculed in my life for being a sports fan than I was as a comic con employee, which I found to be very strange.)

One thing I learned at comic con was that lots of different people like lots of different things - and that's totally ok. Some people like Marvel and some people like DC. Some people like both and some like neither of the two. It's fine! It doesn't matter what other people like! Just be yourself and like what makes you happy. Whether that's aliens or vampires or sweaty guys throwing each other around a wrestling ring, it's totally fine to be a fan of anything in the world... As long as it's not, you know, committing crimes in the real world or going against your religion or whatnot...

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I'll stop there, I think. If you made it this far into the blog, I offer you a hearty congratulations. I'm not here to sway your opinion one way or the other. I'm not here saying I freaking love the WWE and watch every second of their programming (because I don't). I have just always found it interesting that we put such a negative label on something that, by the entertainment standards of the day, is actually not all that violent, profane or out-of-the-ordinary. I'm just simply here to ask, "Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you, brother?" Hopefully your response will be a little more open-minded and less judgmental than it has been in the past.

And if you subscribed to the WWE Network for $9.99 to watch Wrestlemania last night, your secret is safe with me.