The [Official] Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 Thread

[Y 2 Jake]

US, March 29, 2007 - THQ is expanding its wrestling horizons. Expected to formally announce WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 tomorrow, the Southern California-based publisher has confirmed with IGN that the series will be playable on more platforms than ever.

In addition to the PlayStation 2, Sony PSP, and Xbox 360 systems on which it has already appeared, the next iteration of SmackDown will also debut on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS this fall.

In years previous, Nintendo had typically received original GameCube and Game Boy-specific WWE titles instead of the SmackDown franchise, while the Xbox console had the same type of arrangement until 2006 (when SVR moved over). A PlayStation 3 version of last year's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 was in development at some point, but was ultimately cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.

"We are extremely pleased with the success of the SmackDown vs. Raw franchise and its continued growth to a widespread audience, particularly in our European markets," said Bob Aniello, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "With the addition of fresh, innovative game play on the Wii, the tremendous capabilities of the PlayStation 3 system and unique handheld experiences for Nintendo DS and wireless devices, gamers can now truly live the life of a WWE Superstar and choose from numerous ways to play."

In addition to confirmation that the game is coming, THQ has also revealed the first few gameplay details. At the top of the feature list is the inclusion of eight "Superstar Fighting Styles" that differentiate wrestlers from one another. Another key addition is the new "Struggle Submission System" that gives users analog grappling control and the ability to adjust how much pressure their holds have.

The inclusion of ECW arenas, weapons, and superstars have also been verified, as have new rosters, more environmental hotspots, a combined Season and General Manager mode, and touch screen control for the DS version.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

US, March 29, 2007 - With today's announcement that SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 is hitting just about every platform known to man, we wanted to know more about it. To find out, we sat down to speak with THQ Creative Manager Cory Ledesma just before he headed out on a plane to Detroit for WrestleMania 23. Here's how it went down...

IGN: Last year was the first season where you were developing SmackDown for a platform other than a PlayStation system. What did you take from that experience and how are you going to apply that to 2008?

Cory Ledesma: We learned a whole lot about our fan base on the Xbox 360, for one, and we also learned that we want to utilize a lot of a console's specific features. So going forward, that's going to be our emphasis from now on -- getting to know our base on each platform, understanding what they want to see in the game, and fully utilizing that console's strengths to the best of our ability.

IGN: SmackDown '07 scored pretty well with reviewers but it also received a lot more criticism than the previous version did. Going into this year's game, how serious were you about addressing a lot of the concerns from the press and consumers?

Ledesma: Whenever we get criticism we take it in stride. If there's a collective voice out there, we're going to put the things that the fans and the media have been vocal about at the top of our priority list. We pride ourselves on that -- listening to the people who show concern so we can give them the best game.

This year, just like every year, we researched the reviews of the game, listened to what the fans were saying on the boards, and went ahead and created our giant "wish list" based on that. Things that were hit on last year were examples like the AI for tag team matches -- that's something we really wanted to improve upon this year; the animation quality was talked about a lot; collision and clipping came up... we went ahead and listened to those things, put them as our top priorities and, right now, feel confident that we're going to address them well this year.

IGN: Personally, my biggest issue with the game was how dated it felt. Though I still liked it quite a bit, the animations and AI, like you said, felt old. Since you're specifically tackling those problems this year, what are you doing in those areas?

Ledesma: Well you're definitely going to see a big improvement with the AI. There was a partial problem with the match types since most of them were untouched compared to previous years, and therefore, the AI found in those match types was pretty much the same. Improving the AI that goes along with our existing match types (especially the tag match) is something we're really working on. We want to make a smarter AI, a more supportive AI, and an AI that's aware of what's happening in the ring -- we want it to know what you're doing and what's going on besides the player's actions. We stressed very heavily to Yuke's that this is something we had to work on for this year.

As far as animation goes, it's our overall franchise objective to significantly improve our system. What it means when we put something down as our "franchise objective," is that there is no higher priority. Of course, it doesn't mean that we're going to be able to fix everything in the first year -- because it could take a couple of years to get everything in there -- but we are putting a lot of resources behind getting this done as soon as possible.

What does that mean we'll be fixing? The blending you see between the moves... that will be better. The general movement in and outside the ring -- the walking, the running, the climbing -- you'll see an improvement in those areas' quality as well. Collision problems that happen during certain "up close" moves, we're focusing on those too and a bunch of other things.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

In other words, we want to get rid of the older, robotic-looking things. We want to improve our visual quality.

Also, there's a second side to our big franchise objective and that's differentiating the game's characters. So, for example, when you play as Kane and you're walking around the ring, we want you to feel like you're moving a little bit slower and more lumbering than you would as Rey Mysterio. Rey should be able to hop around the ring, be very quick, and have all his animations tie into that kind of style and into the gameplay. We want these guys to feel like they would in real life.

IGN: Just so that we're clear: are your "improved" animations just enhanced versions of your older animation sets or are you actually going back and redoing them?

Ledesma: We're completely redoing animations. The problem with trying to rework and improve an older animation set is that you'll never be able to get a better quality than you already have even if you add more frames to it. Adding those extra frames is really just making the move take longer to perform and that slows down gameplay.

We're recapturing animations for all the improvements I just talked about. We'll have new animations for the base navigational stuff, for instance, and that's actually important. It's important because those are the animations that players are going to see 80-90% of the time. Running around, getting in and out of the ring, picking up weapons, these are the things you see the most of. Expect brand new animations for all of those.

We also want a more realistic approach to our animation in general with smart blending. If you're going from a walk to a run, it should be a gradual transition between the two; if you go from picking up a weapon to standing up, there shouldn't be a pop -- it should look real. Those are just some of the subtleties you'll notice that give the game a smoother look overall.

IGN: You talked a bit about the wrestlers having different fighting styles. How will these styles affect gameplay and the typical flow of a match?

Ledesma: Jeremy, let me tell you: this is by far our favorite new feature this year. Personally, I'm really excited about it. The reason being is that it changes the landscape of how everyone is going to play the game.

When you pick up SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, you're just trying to learn how to win the match. "How am I going to pin my opponent, submit him, knock him out... whatever." Because of 2008's new fighting styles, though, you'll actually be learning how to play that particular wrestler and his technique. Each one offers specific strategies and abilities that other wrestlers won't have.

It's almost like a fighting game in a way; if you play Soulcalibur, they have different weapons, different animations and different moves. We're taking that approach. We want players to have exclusive abilities and tactics that let them play differently based on personal preference and the wrestler they choose. You will have to learn how each fighting style works and, depending on the match type you're playing, you'll have to discover which ones are advantageous in certain matches and which ones aren't. Superstars aren't going to have the exact same abilities, moves, or animations in SmackDown vs. Raw 2008.

IGN: What are some examples of the fighting styles and how they work?

Ledesma: We're going to have eight fighting styles overall. We're going to have a hardcore and a high-flyer fighting style. The hardcore guys, obviously, are going to play well with weapons and hardcore match types that involve props or the bending of rules (no DQ and stuff like that). The high-flyer is going to have more aerial maneuvers than anybody. They'll be able to use the ring in new ways by launching themselves off the ropes or other areas around the ring that competing styles can't.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

We're also going to have submission artists. They'll be proficient in the holds and have special abilities relating to that. We've got powerhouse guys who are essentially brutes. Think Batista or Triple H and you know that type -- they'll have some really forceful abilities. Our fifth fighting style is a brawler and he'll be proficient in striking, and you can expect special moves for that style related to those strikes.

There's also the showman. He's a cocky, arrogant wrestler who taunts his opponents and plays to the crowd. His whole goal is to lower his foe's momentum and morale in different ways -- a Shawn Michaels type, a Randy Orton type... even the Undertaker is a showman in his own way.

IGN: Wait a second. What happens when you have a guy who is a mix of styles? You just mentioned the Undertaker, for example. He's a showman sure, but he's also a powerhouse and depending on his opponent, even busts out the MMA submission skills. What do you in those cases?

Ledesma: Don't worry. Each superstar has two fighting styles: a primary and a secondary. You can be a Dirty Showman, for example, or you can be a powerhouse brawler or a technical submission artist. You can combine any of the fighting styles and have all their abilities. The catch is that you'll only have the special move for your primary style, not the secondary.

We totally realized that not everyone fits into a single category. Ric Flair isn't just a submission artist; he's also a very dirty superstar. These combinations multiply what you can do.

IGN: On the subject of submissions, there's also a new submission system. Can you talk a little about that?

Ledesma: We're implementing a new "Struggle Submission System." Last year we wanted to give players improved controls with the analog sticks and this just the next step. We really want to get rid of the button mashing meters that we have because those are really dated. We're getting pretty tired of those, honestly. But now that we have our "Ultimate Control" theme going, we can apply that to submissions.

What's that mean for this year? It means that submissions are now controlled with the analog sticks. You can decide as an offensive player how much pressure you want to apply when you put an opponent in a hold. The more you push the stick in a particular direction, the more force you're putting behind that particular move.

Say, for example, that we have the Crippler Crossface applied to someone. As you add the pressure with the analog stick, you'll see your character pull back harder on the opponent in real time. That's an example of our new animation and how it applies to gameplay too. What's really great about it, though, is that you can also be defensive with this system and power out of a submission hold using the same analog mechanic. It makes the whole thing more of a cat and mouse game. We're trying to introduce a system where players always have control -- we don't want anyone sitting around waiting until their next opportunity. Adding a real strategy, a true "back and forth," is cool too.

IGN: Do the fighting styles alter how someone will escape a submission? Bobby Lashley powering out of a Masterlock is a whole lot different than Chavo.

Ledesma: There is some level of detail there, but it's not necessarily tied to your style but more your attributes. The submission artist and technician will have advantages in submission moves, of course, but how you escape will mostly be tied into your numbers.

IGN: Will these mechanics be universal across all platforms?

Ledesma: They will be. The only platform I'm going to exclude is the DS version. It's a completely different style of game but we're not disclosing much more than that. It will keep the same name and use the touch screen, but won't be "a traditional wrestling title." We'll reveal more about that in the future.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

IGN: When you say it isn't traditional, you don't mean it's going to be like Crush Hour do you?

Ledesma: [laughs] No, it's definitely not like Crush Hour.

IGN: You've already talked about some major adjustments this year, have you made any improvements to the modes?

Ledesma:Yes! We've combined our General Manager Mode and Season Mode into what we're calling "WWE 24/7." The general theme is that you're living the life of a WWE superstar who wants to become a legend.

24/7 is different from past years in that, in previous years, your whole goal was to win a title at WrestleMania. This year we're talking a broader approach where you'll have to meet a long list of objectives to be considered a legend. If you start out with The Undertaker, maybe that question will take you six months; start out with a created wrestler and it may take you three years. Obviously, it depends on how successful you are and how well you play.

IGN: Is 24/7 keeping the same theme as past SmackDowns? Where you start off on Raw or SmackDown to begin with and work your way through those shows, or are you taking a Day of Reckoning approach and starting in OVW or something similar?

Ledesma:We're not going to talk much about it yet -- that's for later in the year. The only thing I can tell you is that you will start out on the SmackDown or Raw shows and become a superstar for those promotions. Of course, you can still switch shows like you could in previous years.

Oh, and there will be some specific created superstar paths, but again, we're not detailing how all that is going to work yet.

IGN: How important is online support this year?

Ledesma: It's very important. It's a must-have on next-generation platforms. We did some data-mining and found out that our online player community wasn't as big as we thought it was, so we're looking to grow that out with better features. How the match plays, its quality and framerate, the interface -- these are things we're definitely addressing.

As for what features we'll be incorporating this year, we can't say yet.

IGN: Can you talk about any differences between the versions? How will the PS3 and 360 editions differ from Wii, etc?

Ledesma: I can't speak about that stuff yet. We'll be revealing that in the future. Just remember what I said earlier, though -- that we're looking to play to the strengths of our platforms.

IGN: Midway is bringing out its TNA game at some point in the future. With that on the horizon, how has having your first real competition since Legends of Wrestling changes your philosophy when it comes to building your new game?

Ledesma: We welcome all competition in the genre, honestly. But as far as how it affects us, we're just trying to make the highest quality product that we can. Getting the true feeling of the WWE into SmackDown has always been our focus and that hasn't changed. It will be interesting to see what Midway does with TNA, though.

IGN: What sort of presentational improvements have you made?

Ledesma: One of our big additions this year is that ECW has a big presence. We're treating it as an equal brand with the SmackDown and Raw brands and having that in the game is the largest presentational improvement...

IGN: Then I have to ask: if ECW is equal to Raw and SmackDown, why isn't in the title?

Ledesma: [Laughs] Because SmackDown vs. Raw vs. ECW is kind of a long title. But seriously, it's a brand name that people recognize at this point and it's a household name.

IGN: Any parting words for the SmackDown fans who still have more than half a year to wait for SVR 2008?

Ledesma: Certainly. I want them to know that we're doing a lot of research this year to find out what the fans want. We're doing focus testing, dealing with research groups -- we're trying to get their opinions on what they think about our current feature sets and what they'd like to see. We're also doing the data-mining in titles we've already released so we can see what and how the fans are playing. We're taking all this info, putting it together with reviews and message board feedback, and we're trying to get it to become as close to what the fans want as possible.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

US, March 30, 2007 - Even if they won't change the Smackdown vs. Raw name, ECW is going to be big in 2008.

In front of a ballroom full of gaming journalists and PR types, THQ unveiled the first in-game footage from Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, but even before the gameplay movies rolled, the static logo blasted across a Titantron-looking big screen and several widescreen TVs let the room know this year would be different.

A purple splash had soiled the familiar Smackdown vs. Raw logo. It said "ECW INVASION."

"ECW is completely invading our franchise," said THQ Creative Manager Cory Ledesma. "It's going to be just as equal to Raw and Smackdown as far as superstars, arenas, attacks you'll have in season mode, you'll have exclusive weapons, exclusive match types - ECW is going to be completely integrated into the franchise."

That's hardcore, but don't think that the innovators of violence were the main thrust of Friday's event. While at the podium, Ledesma spoke about the new Struggle Submission System, superstar fighting styles and got into the brand new WWE 24/7 mode - a combination of the franchise's season and general manager modes.

Remember last year when your goal in season mode was to make it to Wrestlemania? THQ is setting the bar higher this year. A lot higher.

"Ultimately, the goal is to become a legend," Ledesma said. "This process of becoming a legend could take quite awhile."

Pick Undertaker for your WWE 24/7 character? He's pretty popular already, you might be able to knock out his set of preset, unannounced goals in about six in-game months and make your way into the WWE Hall of Fame. Create a character? You could be looking at three years of WWE ladder climbing.

"Really what we wanted to accomplish here was let the user live the life of a WWE superstar," Ledesma said of the mode that will have players training their characters, coping with injuries and managing their brand. "This year it's all about being a legend."

A few of the sweet minutes we got to see of in-game footage dealt with the different types of fighting styles. Raw vs. Smackdown 2008 characters will have two of eight fighting styles - hardcore, high flier, submission artist, powerhouse, brawler, showman, dirty and technician - that will each have their own benefits and drawbacks when characters enter the ring.

For instance, THQ popped a match between Randy Orton and Kane on the auditorium's screens to showcase Orton's dirty fighting style. Kane went to put a beat down Orton, but the devious heel jumped behind the ref, grabbed the WWE employee's arms and used him as a human shield. After a bit of squirming on the ref's part, Orton threw the official into Kane. It knocked the ref out, and the big man down. Orton's dirty demo didn't end there. In another clip, the cowboy's kid placed a chair under the fallen Undertaker's head, grabbed another steel seat and slammed it down to make a noggin sandwich out of the Phenom.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The virtual Bobby Lashley was also trotted out by THQ to display some of the neat features for powerhouses. Pinned by Rey Mysterio, Lashley let the little man get a two-count before tossing the high flyer off his chest and across the ring. If a powerhouse stores a special, they'll be able to use it to kick out of any pin.

Using the ring as a weapon will also be up the sleeves of the Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 powerhouses. A demo showed Kane carrying Orton around the ring and slamming him into the corners, and a similar video had Lashley powerbombing Orton onto a portion of steel steps that had made it into the ring.

Ledesma said the theme of Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 is "How will you play." Fighting styles will help you find the character that fits your persona while 24/7 mode will give you the RPG-like tools you need to shape the WWE, but developers wanted to take the experience even deeper.

The new Struggle Submission System will play like a cat-and-mouse game, Ledesma said. Rather than have both players sit there while an animation of a figure-four leglock begins, the new system will have both players managing how their character acts during the battle. Using the analog stick, the player performing the move can move the joystick ever-so slightly to add just a little bit of pressure but make a long hold or wrench back on the stick to make the pressure go through the roof during a short hold. Meanwhile, the opponent in the hold can leave his or her stick alone and offer no resistance to the hold or work it to one side and try to power out of the lock.

"These choices are now up to you," Ledesma said.

In a video shown today, Triple H had whipping boy Orton in an abdominal stretch. The Game gave it his all and leaned back to contort Orton's body, but Orton took a shot and powered out to send Hunter flying. Triple H caught up to the kid again, put him in the same hold and Orton tapped.

Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 has shipped 3.6 million copies since it's release last year. With a fan base like that, it's doubtful THQ had to try hard to build excitement for 2008, but with the robust features described today - did I mention more than 50 match types, all the create modes you love, three different commentary teams and more than 50 superstars? - chances are the company just set its fanbase into world wrestling overdrive.

Lace up your boots, Hulkamaniacs. Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 heads to the ring this fall.

 

[SKT666]

YESSS !!!!! EC Dub EC Dub EC Dub

 

[Shadowmancer]

Yeah its supposed to have ECW invasion over the Smackdown Vs RAW title. it does sound interesting.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's the only game that I aways buy each year. I cant wait to see what MVP, Sabu & Sandman look like in it. I've got a PS3 but no games yet. I think this will be the first one I buy.

 

[Downward Spiral]

This year's game was a disappointment and I can't say I really am looking forward to buying this game (if I even do) because it doesn't seem remarkably different from the last two. The ECW 'elements' will probably amount to more wrestlers and maybe one storyline but I think that's about it. If they use ECW to try and sell it, I'm really not going to want to spend much money on it. I am always for having a lot of wrestlers and I hope we get to use a lot of 'classic' wrestlers as well in the game other than just the legends. If Jericho isn't in it, I'm not buying it, because he's a guy the WWE must have in their games and if he's not, people won't buy it. I think the WWE and THQ are running out of ideas for their games so it will be interesting to see what they do with 08.

 

[wweman1]

sounds awesome i wonder which new superstars will be on there and what new weapons there will be because svr07 had basically the same weapons as 06 they need items such as thumbtacks fire steel chains brass knuckles etc what do u rekon

 

[Shining Wizard]

WOW, just wow can describe this game. For starters, they are merging GM Mode and Story mode and adding in a new motive which makes things more interesting to say the least. Your main objective is to become a legend. Hopefully they do this right and let you get more titles than just World. Also I wonder how you achieve the level of a legend. The new wrestling style makes the game more realistic and in depth. For example, if your Mysterio you can actually wrestle with his style. This basically puts an end to almost every wrestler having a smiliar move set like in the past versions. I just hope they add in more necassary things. The environment hot spots in '07 were good but they didnt work out that good in matches like HIAC. I want to be able to throw my opponent off the HIAC and onto the announce table. Stuff like that. A good add in would be that it would allow you to update roster and etc. by connecting to Xbox Live.

 

[justinsayne]

WOW, just wow can describe this game. For starters, they are merging GM Mode and Story mode and adding in a new motive which makes things more interesting to say the least. Your main objective is to become a legend. Hopefully they do this right and let you get more titles than just World. Also I wonder how you achieve the level of a legend. The new wrestling style makes the game more realistic and in depth. For example, if your Mysterio you can actually wrestle with his style. This basically puts an end to almost every wrestler having a smiliar move set like in the past versions. I just hope they add in more necassary things. The environment hot spots in '07 were good but they didnt work out that good in matches like HIAC. I want to be able to throw my opponent off the HIAC and onto the announce table. Stuff like that. A good add in would be that it would allow you to update roster and etc. by connecting to Xbox Live.

you can throw people off the cell through the announce table, I just did it earlier tonight with Taker, I got Kane in the chokeslam, then walked over to the edge of the cell, and choked slamed if off, he then went through the announce table, I didn't know it was going to work out that way so I was pleasently suprised, of couse it kind of pissed me off when I was trying to climb down the cell and instead of climbing down Taker decided to jump off, and go splat, that I found kinda annoying, because by the time I was able to recover, Kane was back on his feet

I think a good add on would to be able to take the created wrestlers from the previous game and be able to trnsport them to the new game, I get sick of having to create my wrestler over again and start from scratch everytime I get a new game

 

[Shining Wizard]

I never knew you could do that. I knew you could throw them off but never did I know you could do all that. Anyway another thing that would be good is if you do an elbow off the top of the HIAC and hit the opponent while he is on the announce table. Not sure if you can do that as well. Another thing the game needs is more matches. Last year, the only new match that I could think of is MITB. Punjabi Prison match would be an awesome delight. Speaking of MITB, make it so you can choose how much people you want in it. Like this year at Mania they had a 8 man ladder MITB.

 

[justinsayne]

I never knew you could do that. I knew you could throw them off but never did I know you could do all that. Anyway another thing that would be good is if you do an elbow off the top of the HIAC and hit the opponent while he is on the announce table. Not sure if you can do that as well. Another thing the game needs is more matches. Last year, the only new match that I could think of is MITB. Punjabi Prison match would be an awesome delight. Speaking of MITB, make it so you can choose how much people you want in it. Like this year at Mania they had a 8 man ladder MITB.

I'd like to see a create-a-match option in there, I think that would be sweet, I don't know how it would work though, and I don't know if you can do this on the X-Box version or not but I like to be able to create my own soundtrack for the game, download songs from my own CDs onto my X-box, so I could listwen to the songs I want to here instead of the shit the put in the game, those songs get annoying after awhile, they should also make the Cell bigger so you can do more shit inside of it like grab weopons from under the ring and stuff like that

 

[LilNaitch2009]

I totally agree with that. With the recent trend of keeping wrestlers inside the Cell and using a boatload of weapons instead of escaping and climbing to the top, we need to be able to do the same thing in this game. I'd love to be able to pull out a table or a barb-wire wrapped steel chair like Triple H and Batista used in their match at Vengeance '05. Another nice touch might be the opportunity to remove the turnbuckle completely and use the rope to choke someone a la Royal Rumble '07. But maybe I'm just dreaming now. I'm sure something like that would be fairly difficult to animate. However, I'd like to see the Cell be considerably wider around the ring and use the updated design that was showcased at Unforgiven '06. There should also be a mini-game to get the door to the Cell open, I just hate being able to give two stiff kicks and knock the damn thing open.

 

[lostsoulforever]

I don't know if it would make the game too big, but I'd love it if they came up with different potential storylines for EVERY superstar. That's probably asking too much, but I always feel like there isn't enough different stories for different characters. (mind you, i haven't bought 2007).

 

[the_marine]

Ive always wanted to see a "Create-a-Titantron" option, it would fit in perfectly with the "Create A PPV" option, instead of using the entrance sets that are used in WWE PPV's. Its pointless having a custom named PPV, but the titantron saying Backalsh or Saturday Night's Main Event...

Another cool thing would be Arena Select, like they have with football games (except thats with stadiums) and you could choose where you want your event to take place.

Ive read that they are doing updates with rosters etc through xbox live. Hopefully this is true, it would be awesome.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

On WWF Attitude you could create an arena. I think it would be a good option. Just let you be able to add different PPV signs to different stages, change rope colours etc.

 

[Luther_Hull]

Improvements for SDvR 2008:

Create an arena, or at least create a ring, choosing ring aprons, canvas, turnbuckles and ropes.

Import video and music for custome entrances, makes CAWs more realistic.

Create a title, having a created title as just like a normal title and none of this online title mumbo jumbo.

Any CAWS online, I mean ones where you've put icons on them.

Ged rid of the ladder match glitch.

Add another interactive area near the titantron, hell, make the titantron interactive, so you can jump off it and throw people off it.

I'm sure I'll be able to think of more.

 

[3nigma]

There is a rumor that the game will only have 20 superstars on the roster, and that different systems may have a mix of different wrestlers. I found that this was confirmed for 1 system:

Superstars

Batista
Chris Benoit
Elijah Burke
John Cena
Marcus Cor Von
Edge
Ric Flair
Chavo Guerrero
Kane
Bobby Lashley
Chris Masters
Shawn Michaels
Rey Mysterio
Randy Orton
Snitsky
Triple H
Umaga
The Undertaker
Ashley Massaro

 

[Shadowmancer]

That rosteris absolutly crap. They need to have almost all of the Male wrestlers on the Roster in the Game. With only a few Female Wrestlers, but they need more than 20 people 19 really, I don't count Ashley as a Wrestler.

 

[Luther_Hull]

I wouldn't worry about the roster, they didn't announce the full roster last year until about 2 weeks before the release.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Go on ign.co Luther. They should have the roster by about August. 50 wrestlers doesn't seem like a lot. But I think it's just fine. I find I only use the same wrestlers each time.