Pro Wrestling Video Games on NES

Though the true golden age of pro wrestling video games wouldn’t hit until the late 90s, the NES managed to put out small, yet commendable group of wrestling games starting in the late 80s…

Tecmo World Wrestling (1990, Tecmo)

Tecmo was well-known in the NES era for their sports games. Who didn’t play Tecmo Bowl growing up? Well, in 1990 they decided to threw their hat in the squared cirlce with Tecmo World Wrestling and it’s the finest pro wrestling game available on NES. Even the box art is cool as we get to look at Ricky Steamboat putting a headlock on Road Warrior Animal. Okay, it’s not really supposed to be them but we all know that it is.

The game had a great cartoon style to it and the announcer was more entertaining than anything else as his commentary text popped up at the bottom with such colorful statements as “The pile driver! It’s doomsday for the skull”.

Akira Dragon (he’s on the box art) is the character I most liked to use. There was nothing more satisfying than using his patented german suplex for the win. Of course, as you went along, the opponents got tougher and I never could beat the darn game. But I sure gave it my best by using the old standy trick of trying to get my opponent counted out!

While I had been renting the game for years, I never actually owned it until 1993 when a local movie rental store called Video World was starting to sell their NES stock to make room for even more Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games.

WWF Wrestlemania (1988, Acclaim)

Wrestlemania was the very first wrestling game I played on the NES, so I have a real soft spot for it. I rented this game and Friday the 13th a lot from Rose’s about the time of the game’s release. The game was actually pretty had to control, for me anyway, I but still loved it just because it was the WWF.

My favorites to use were Hulk Hogan (of course) and Bam Bam Bigelow. And that opening theme is like crack on a stick.

Pro Wrestling (1987, Nintendo)

One of the early simply titled games from Nintendo themselves as a part of their “Sports Series”. The characters are colorful in look and name: Kin Corn Karn, King Slender, The Amazon, Starman (my personal favorite), etc. I bought this one back in the late 90s as one of the local gaming stores had tons of used NES games for really cheap. I can’t remember if it was a challenging game when I was little, but it sure kicked my butt the second time around.

Tecmo World Wrestling is pretty much an updated version of the game, and as in that game, each opponent gets incredibly more difficult to beat.

WCW Wrestling (1990, FCI)

I absolutely loved this game. To me, at the time, WCW was the lesser known lesser seen but edgier wrestling promotion when compared to the WWF and I liked that. Ric Flair and the Horsemen scared me and so did the Road Warriors. There was a sense of danger to WCW in my little mind!

The game is based on the 1989 Japan title called Super Star Pro Wrestling and the graphics are pretty horrible (by ’89, the NES/Famicom could’ve done so much better), but I still had a blast as Sting putting people in the Scorpion Deathlock.

WWF Wrestlemania Challenge (1990, LJN)

The first time I played this was at my cousins’ house over Christmas 1990 break. I fell in love with it because the graphics were amazing to me at the time and I loved the roster. Rick Rude?! Macho King?! ULTIMATE FRICKIN’ WARRIOR ?! And of course, there was even “Yourself”, who I often to took championship glory. The countout cheat was well in effect on this game.

The Expendables will be priceless

Sylvester Stallone. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mickey Rourke. Jason Statham. Jet Li. Dolph Lundgren. Eric Roberts. Prepare to be AWESOME’d.

News of Arnie’s involvement.

If you don’t know about this movie, it’s written/directed by Sly and is from Nu Image/Millennium Films (the same people that gave us Rambo) and supposedly will be released in 2010. Sly leads a group of mercenaries who are “expendable” and do the tough jobs no one can or will do. They head into some third world country to save people and blow stuff up.

I started the original Wiki page, but apparently it wasn’t good enough and some Wikifreak deleted it.

FUN FACT: Van Damme was personally offered a role by Sly but turned it down. WTF was he thinking ?!

You got ‘GO’ with Cheerios

Soooo… Let me get this straight. These two little brats charge into someone else’s castle, discriminate because it’s a giant that lives there, eat his balanced breakfast (which gives the boy enough strength to throw furniture at the giant), they then run out and slam the door in the giant’s face which causes it to break.

Where’s the justice? Why are kids always picking on other people in cereal commercials and denying them the breakfast that is rightfully theirs?

Batman’s Secret Code Bike Alarm

“Bicycle theft is serious business!”

Obviously, feeling he has the everyday drug dealings and psychotic killings in Gotham well under control, Batman has turned his attention to the one crime he’s neglected all these years: bicycle theft!

You thought your bike was safe simply by chaining it up at school, the 7-11 or down at the library? WRONG! YOU don’t have The Official Batman Secret Code Bike Alarm (and Sonic Weapons Center)!

But here’s my problem with this: it’s a kiddie bike with a big goofy BATMAN ALARM on the handlebar. Even if the thing did work and go off if someone touched the bike, who would care? Most people assume when car alarms go off it’s just someone getting into their own car right next to the beeping car or that someone accidentally hit the alarm button on their car keys.

So, if you saw a kid screwing around with a  Batman bike, riding it down the street while some beeps are going off, wouldn’t you just assume that kid owned the bike and was just being annoying by blasting a siren? Especially considering there are “Sonic Ray”, “Buzz Bomb”, “Machine Gun” and “Lazer Blaster” sounds (which Batman would not approve of, he hates guns)?

I guarantee you the batteries are easy to rip out anyway.

WWE No Way Out 2009 Predictions

The Road to Wrestlemania began at Royal Rumble, so we’re well on our way. How we’re getting there, I have no idea! NWO is rapidly becoming a two-match show these days (the Chamber matches), I’m really not excited about the rest of the card.

Bold is the predicted winner.

WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy vs. The Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Big Show vs. Vladimir Kozlov

Out of the two EC matches, this is the most stacked. ANYONE could walk out of this with the championship going by the recent booking (all but Vlad would actually be credible though). I’m really hoping Edge pulls through and I’m going to predict he will, despite the odds being against him. We know he’s doomed at WM one way or another and his title reigns are always so short, so why not give him a win at NWO.

***

World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match
John Cena (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Mike Knox

On paper, this is pretty much a cakewalk for Cena. No one here is really credible enough to get the win. *IF* a title change was to take place, Jericho would be the obvious choice, but he’s been downplayed so much in favor of Orton, even he would be a dark horse pick. Part of me wants to say Cena will lose, just because it looks so obvious he is going to win, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

***

No Holds Barred Match
Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon

Hm… A swerve is coming, but which? Does Steph join Legacy or does Shane? Hopefully, we’ll know on Sunday. I’m going to say Steph turns on Shane and helps Orton win.

***

Shawn Michaels vs. JBL

So if JBL wins, he owns the Shawn Michaels “brand”. If HBK wins, he gets all the money JBL owes him and finds himself unemployed (presumably, WWE will immediately re-sign him). Easy, HBK wins because no one wants to see this go to WM and winning a match where you own someone’s image and likeness is a pretty final blowoff match.

***

ECW Championship Match
Jack Swagger (c) vs. Finlay

Swagger picks up the W after a hard fought match. Christian will probably get involved somehow, but Swagger still prevails.