Top 10 Desires for WWE 2K18

So I have been a fan of WWE for a long time, and one of the most integral factors of me getting into wrestling was actually the video games.  I started out with WWE Smackdown VS RAW and never looked back, I became so immersed in the games that I have owned every single WWE game since WWE Smackdown VS RAW.  However, the quality of the games seem to stagnate every once in a while, especially with the THQ/2K acquisition and 2K just beginning to get acclimated with the format of these games.  While WWE 2K17 was a big success, it was more or less very similar to it's predecessor, WWE 2K16.  Here are the Top 10 things that I personally am hoping for in WWE 2K18.

#10 - The Draft

So this is a very basic thing that is pretty much on everyone's wish list.  The WWE Brand Extension happened in July of 2016, and WWE 2K17 released in October of 2016 without the Brand Extension. This has made the game pretty much obsolete from day one and is an extremely unfortunate circumstance for the game.  The Draft ranks so low on my list strictly because it is most certainly something that 2K will put into the next game going forward in order to keep the game up to date with the current WWE product.

#9 - More/Missing Match Types

Buried Alive Match from WWE Smackdown VS RAW 2008

In years' past, there have been a plethora of match types that we haven't seen in recent installments. Matches like the Inferno Match, 60-Minute Ironman Match, Buried Alive Match, Parking Lot Brawl, Bar Brawl, Gauntlet, Flag Match, Punjabi Prison, Casket Match, Stretcher Match, 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, First Blood Match, I Quit Match, Triangle Tag Team Match, Special Referee Match, and the list goes on with either fallen match types or match types that we have never seen in video game form.  It would be awesome if just a few of these matches mentioned made it into the cut of WWE 2K18.

#8 - MyCareer Overhaul

So MyCareer was an awesome integration into WWE 2K16 by 2K, as it is something that company does very well with it's games.  However, it was much better in 2K16 than 2K17.  I actually go back and play MyCareer in 2K16 because 2K17 bores me to tears.  No Hall of Fame Mode, the career is slow as a slug, the lack of voice acting, and the title advancement opportunities are almost non-existent.  I am still extremely partial to the Career modes in WWE Smackdown VS RAW, 2006, and 2007 in which you had to climb your way through title matches and fought through feuds along the way.  Maybe an integration of those mechanics could do MyCareer some good.

#7 - Weight Detection

Apparently, according to WWE 2K17 physics, John Cena can lift Andre the Giant and the Big Show for a double Attitude Adjustment, AJ Styles can give the Undertaker a Styles Clash, and Bayley can give Nia Jax the Bayley to Belly with ease.  I realize that these are finishers, and superstars should be able to pull of their finishers, but in situations where the superstar cannot thesibly lift the other for their finisher, maybe a more innovative way to either pull off the finisher or go for a different route with ending the match should be implemented. 

#6 - Stages

Backlash Arena from WWE Smackdown VS RAW 2011

Wouldn't it be awesome to play at your very first Pay-Per-View event you attended? Or just take a trip back in time to recreate some of the most iconic matches in WWE History?  The implementation of every stage in the history of WWE programming would be amazing.  A long shot and a lot of work, but amazing.  Going back and seeing Judgement Day and Badd Blood in their former glory would be awesome for a diehard old school wrestling fan like me.

#5 - More Superstars

Owen Hart

2K has done an awesome job with filling the roster of the modern games with stars from past and present, but there is still room for improvement. 

Owen Hart, Jimmy Hart, Chyna, Marty Janetty, Bob Backlund, 1-2-3 Kid (at least as an alt attire for X-Pac), Junkyard Dog, Sgt. Slaughter, William Regal, Iron Shiek, Rick Martel, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, just to name a few are stars that either have never appeared in a WWE game or are long overdue for an appearance on the modern stage.  I think it would be awesome to have some of these names in 2K18 to recreate some classic matches in WWE History.

#4 - Commentary Overhaul

Smackdown Live Commentary Team
(Left to Right: JBL, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga)

How many times do we have to hear the same recycled lines from Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, and JBL? I mean honestly, a lot of those lines have been re-used for 3 games now! It's time for a change at the announce table, and while I miss Lawler, he needs to be taken out of the games in order to update things.  Hopefully, with the draft implementation, we can have accurate commentary teams including Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves (and hopefully without David Otunga.)

#3 - Optimization

WWE 2K17 Game Footage

Between the atrocious loading times and fair amount of glitches for 2K17, there needs to be much more optimization put into 2K18.  The loading times, the audio glitches, the entrance audio cuts, the physics bugs, the false registration, the referee bugs, just to name a few are a lot of things that bog down 2K17, and those are definitely things that we do not need in 2K18.

#2 - GM Mode Return

General Manager Mode Draft from WWE Smackdown VS RAW 2006

Oh my god I miss this mode so much.  It enveloped so much of my childhood it is unreal.  With the draft most certainly making a return to the game, it is hopeful that this game mode, a game mode in which fans have been clamoring for for years now, makes a return better than ever before.  Nothing is confirmed yet, but the fans always have hope.  If Crash Bandicoot can get a reboot after 5 years of being dormant in the video game world, we can get a new General Manager Mode!

#1 - Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle WWE 2K18 Fantasy Cover
Courtesy of the Four3Four

It happened with Goldberg, and it can happen with Kurt Angle.  This man is a legend in the wrestling industry, and bringing him back for one final run in WWE before he retires would be the ultimate sendoff for this man not only for what he has done for WWE, but what he has done for wrestling as a whole.  It can all happen with WWE 2K18.

Is there anything that I missed that you would really like to see in WWE 2K18? Let me know in the comments!