WWE 2K26 is right around the corner, so as we set our sights on the future I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to look back on WWE 2K25 and discuss 5 things I liked about 2K25 and how I would personally improve upon them going into this year’s game, even if I enjoyed them.
To play along at home let me know in the comments below 5 things you enjoyed about WWE 2K25 and how you would improve on them for WWE 2K26, it doesn’t have to be your top 5 favourite things but things you think framed your experience in the game.
Backstage Environments
One of my favourite things in WWE 2K25 was the addition of the NXT Parking Lot and the WWE archives backstage brawl areas which took me right back to my childhood. Both areas reminded me of the original SmackDown games where I could beat the living hell out of anyone and everyone with anything I could get my hands on.
Of the two new areas the WWE archives is hands down my favourite area to compete in with weapons galore, Easter eggs from superstars and moments passed and jaw dropping high points to throw your foe from, which believe me I’ve done time and time and time again. Sure it might not be something you see on WWE TV but it’s all out fun with countless ways to beat up your opponent with pretty much any weapon at your disposal. It’s simulation and arcade fun done right with hints of realistic action meshed with balls to the wall fun you might see on a Saturday morning cartoon. No matter where you venture in the WWE archives, there is something to pick up or look at making the environment feel alive which is where my first improvement or suggestion rather comes in for WWE 2K26.
Having the addition of the WWE archives area whilst awesome did make the WWE backstage area seem just a tad lacking with not as much to do compared to its counterpart. Sure it could be because the backstage area has been in for quite some time now, but it feels like there is so much empty space compared to the archives.
Now yes of course the archives would realistically have more items and easter eggs being a trove of WWE treasures of the past, but even just adding more trash cans, a wwe superstar cutout or even maybe a seating area or catering section would make the backstage environment feel more lived in and alive. Yes I would love some interactable environment pieces here and there but just less empty space would do just as good of a job for me personally. I wouldn’t even mind if the backstage area was made a little smaller or more confined so you can bounce your opponent off the walls as you make your way to maybe the ring or the parking lot, somewhat similar to previous 2K backstage areas. As the saying goes less is more and if you think about it, WWE backstage areas on TV aren’t huge big open spaces, they are claustrophobic hallways of clutter and boxes.
I feel like the NXT parking lot is a good example of this, it’s not huge but there are fun elements to play and interact with like the glass pane diving spot and surrounding areas. It’s big enough that it feels like there is plenty to do but not big enough to have countless empty spaces. It also helps that we’ve seen the NXT parking lot time and again on WWE TV, so when you do play in the area you can think to yourselves hey remember when so and so was ambushed here, maybe I’ll recreate that myself or put my own spin on it. Which comes to another improvement I would like to see in WWE 2K26.
I would love to see maybe one or two more environments we see on WWE TV added in this year’s game. Whilst I would love something on the scale of the archives, it doesn’t have to be so grand that it seems out of the realm of possibility. I would be super happy seeing lets say NXT have its own backstage area with superstar locker rooms and Ava’s office. NXT’s backstage areas especially are almost characters within themselves on WWE TV compared to their main roster countparts, with areas on NXT TV hosting memorable moments and brawls that spring to memory every time they appear on TV. Think about it, how many times have the women of NXT brawled in that small locker room to set up a feud? Put that in WWE 2K26 and you can recreate some of those moments yourself.
If not how about something connected to the main roster, maybe some backstage area that leads to gorilla. In the Triple H era, the gorilla area appears time and again so why not have the option to face off there. Imagine being able to bounce your opponent’s head off the screens or table in front of Triple H and William Regal as they attempt to bring the show together. You could even add this as an alternate backstage area for SmackDown and use the original for RAW or vice versa. The original backstage area still stands up, it just doesn’t have as many fun elements as those that have come after.
For my next pick we’re going into some rather uncharted territory here on the channel….MyFaction.
MyFaction
Believe it or not in WWE 2K25 I actually became really invested in MyFaction and if I’m honest I’m not sure what it was about this year’s version, how I became quite frankly a tad addicted or even why I’m addicted but hey here we are.
I know the mode isn’t for everyone and it does come with its fair share of uphill battles, but since release I’ve returned to the mode pretty much daily to complete live events and challenges and I’ve even collected my fair share of personna cards…. all while I may add without spending a single penny.
Over the years I’ve dabbled in MyFaction after release, opening a pack here and there, but in past years the mode just hasn’t stuck with me for some reason or another. This year however MyFaction has really drawn me in through the entire 2K25 run, as I try to collect as many cards as I possibly can, just in case I need them to complete events or unlock personna cards. Especially female superstar cards, which is where my first improvement for MyFaction comes in.
Sure, this year we’ve had some pretty awesome additions with the likes of the current day Alexa Bliss and Retro Trish Stratus as examples but the men have had far more personas compared to the women. The male superstars have had additions like Broken Dreams Drew McIntyre, TNA AJ Styles and countless variations of John Cena and Roman Reigns just to name a few. Are they awesome, hell yeah but I still want more for the women.f
In WWE 2K26 I would love to see more Women’s Personna cards and not just recycled personna’s from previous games even though I want to see those return too. As some suggestions I would love to see maybe an attitude era version of Lita from her team Extreme Days, how about a Twin Magic version of Nikki Bella and maybe even Brie if she returns in 2K26 or even a bald Molly Holly post WrestleMania.
I do understand that when it comes to things like entrance themes, 2K can run into some obstacles with licenses and what not, so I wouldn’t even object if it was just bonus models for the women that give me something else to play with just please give me more.
Personna cards are a great way to bring in old entrances and gimmicks that don’t fit in with a showcase theme or story mode and give fans a reason to return to MyFaction just so they can earn MyFaction points to spend. Which also leads me into another improvement I would like to see for MyFaction, easier ways to earn MyFaction points.
Sure I completely understand that part of the mode is grinding to earn points to purchase packs and keep returning to the mode day after day, but I would love more ways to earn currency instead of having to play in online matches and short weekly towers. For me specifically I found players in online matches really frustrating, spamming strikes to instantly stun and hit a finisher completely sucking the fun out of playing online. I get that it’s a player problem more than anything but I just wish something could be done to prevent cheesy players spamming their way to top rewards instead of playing fair and playing for fun.
If you can’t accumulate MyFaction points it becomes harder and harder to complete later live events and open packs. You either have to replay previous World Tour matches over and over to get a decent amount of MFP and hope you get lucky when you do finally have enough to open a pack.
World tour in WWE 2K25 is such a great way to have fun and earn currency so I would love to see 2K improve and expand upon this section of the mode and I wouldn’t be opposed to stretching the tour out with new areas only becoming available even lets say monthly. World tour provides not only tokens and MyFaction points but even personna cards giving fans even more reason to return time and again to upgrade their arsenal and progress in their MyFaction journey. You also don’t need to complete tasks to finish the matches in world tour unlike other MyFaction matches so you can play anyway you want.
Multiple Era Versions of Superstars
Another of my favourite things in WWE 2K25 was having different generation models of superstars, like modern day Alundra and Classic Alundra. I hate to repeat myself but in recent years there have been multiple games with multiple era versions of superstars like John Cena and the Undertaker so let’s have more for the women.
With the Women having their own Rumble, now more than ever we see women of the past returning with a fresh take on their classic look. For Alundra she took her SummerSlam 1994 attire and moulded it to suit her almost 25 years later at Evolution. 2K took this version of Alundra allowing her to face off against the women of today, creating dream matches. Like Alundra, Trish Stratus also has both a modern and classic version of herself in WWE 2K25, letting you recreate moments from both Trish’s past and present. So if there was one improvement I would make for WWE 2K26 it would be to include more alternate era versions of women to capture both their past and present.
Thanks to MyFaction we’re already on the way to making this happen but I would love to see more iterations of this at launch via maybe the Island or MyRise like Alundra. Only in recent years have we had more classic Women’s Legends like Sherri and Bull Nakano in the game so unless you had creations of classic Women’s wrestlers it was kind of difficult to recreate your favourite moments with small pools representing specific eras.
Like I said previously, I would like to see maybe an attitude era Lita to coincide with Lita’s more current day model. MyRise and The Island often feature moments with a twist on superstars from the past so why not have someone like Super Stacy or maybe even just have current Day Stacy from the Hall of Fame arrive on the Island or in MyRise with a score to settle. We already have debut era versions of the Horsewomen, Tamina, Bianca and Rhea so why not have say pink hair Riott Squad Liv or FCW Naomi and please god have AJ Lee in WWE 2K26.
The Island
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I quite enjoyed my time playing the Island and exploring its outrageous and over the top themed areas with easter eggs and superstar style shops. Going into the mode I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to feel but I tuned out the noise, I took my time and didn’t rush and just let myself breathe in the mode with its quirky elements, environments and quests.
Because it’s the first iteration of the Island, I’m sure going forward there will be several updates to the mode to make it more fleshed out and polished. One of the areas I think the mode could most improve upon is the Character dialogue sections.
I personally really enjoyed a lot of the stories and dialogue of the quests, but unfortunately a lot of the magic is lost with the static superstar screens displayed during conversations. By no means does every line need to be voiced by a WWE Superstar or someone standing in for your custom star, so I feel the issue lies with the static superstar renders on a generic background.
Having the in-game models for the speaking superstars on screen in real time with the dialogue displayed in a box, in my opinion would look far more appealing and seem less static. There are countless CAW shows within the community who do this for their shows and I don’t have an issue with it whatsoever when I watch.
One of my favourite elements of the mode was the addition of new superstar pieces from events and moments passed that were available to earn as rewards or buy in the many WWE Superstar shops on the Island. Being able to earn historic Superstar attire pieces from Naomi and Trish’s WrestleMania wardrobe especially was such a nice touch on top of the regular rewards throughout the mode. WWE Superstars often sport one off pieces that realistically wouldn’t make sense as their base game attire so what better way to include them in the game than as a reward. Just think how much better Becky’s WWE 2K23 attire would have gone down if it had been an alternate model instead of the base game.
So my next improvement suggestion would be to quite simply add more superstar attire pieces, superstar casual pieces and more seasonal items both wacky and a tad more on the normal side. The Holiday items were a nice touch towards the end of last year and helped recreate retro Santa’s battle royale matches as seen on WWE TV. The Island made a great start on this so why not bring more to the game in 2K26 and if possible please make them a tad cheaper.
Like MyFaction I would love to see even more ways to earn currency to spend on rewards and updates aside from online matches and real world money. There were so many cool items that I just simply couldn’t afford and because I was busy with other modes in WWE 2K25 I didn’t really have the time either. Adding some sort of weekly tower into The Island like MyFaction could be a neat feature or maybe some superstar offline ranking quest to help you earn more currency.
I also wouldn’t be opposed to The Island having more unlockable superstars like Nikki Bella and Goldberg. Now I know that won’t be to everyone’s taste but I enjoyed not having it given to me straight on a platter and having to earn it. The superstars also came with exclusive missions, new areas and a new arena which for me is more fulfilling than an instant unlock. Maybe meet somewhere in the middle not having to pay for the quests but just progressing in the mode itself. Who knows? I could be a great way to add in superstars who return or debut in WWE post 2K26 launch.
The many island shops also allowed 2K to collaborate with brands such as Nike, Mitchell & Ness and whilst I didn’t really use those specific items it would be cool to see more collabs as part of the island. Now that WWE is partnered with Neflix maybe we could see some costumes and t-shirts from some of our favourite shows like Stranger Things, Squid Games and a personal Favourite of mine Alice in Borderland. I would even go an extra mile and say I would love to see a recreation of the Stranger Things RAW arena from earlier this month.
As I said I ejoyed my time with the Island story, especially in its closing moments and the epic encounter against Roman Reigns. Sure I like when WWE 2K is serious and inline with what I see on TV, but as a major nerd I also like when 2K leans into the crazy and gives us a super villain Roman with a high tech intergalactic celestial glove. Seeing Paul Heyman stand tall above the Roman arena literally looked like something out of a twisted modern day colosseum, making the match feel grand and epic before Roman started his tom foolery.
I know the crazy isn’t to everyone’s taste but having the likes of Universe Mode, Exhibition and GM Mode is where I can dabble in realism. Having modes like The Island and even portions of the story mode allows players to venture off into something outrageous which is totally fine by me. Like MyRise the Island doesn’t have to exclusively be realistic so throw in some shenanigans to spice things up, like the Wyatt Sicks update for example. The Wyatt Sicks quests were fun to play and I only wish 2K had dove in a little deeper to spend more time in that messed up world , oh yeah and let me use those elements in exhibition.
So another improvement I would love to see is having the option to use the Island arenas and areas in Exhibition. The Island exclusive arenas include a mix of some WWE classics as well as totally out of this world creations each with their own distinctive theme, so it’s a huge shame there isn’t a way to unlock them outside of the mode. The classic WWE arenas speak for themselves as to why they should be unlockable but damn it do I want some of the Island originals.
You could make your very own Lucha promotion with the temple of the ancestors arena or maybe a Halloween Bash extravaganza with the Deadlands. The possibilities as they say are endless.
Create a Superstar Updates
Last and certainly by no means least, one thing I enjoyed in WWE 2K25 is that we finally have more Women’s Hairstyles as well as the option to use DLC attires and parts for both the men and women and damn I want more of that in WWE 2K26.
Starting out with the hairstyles, For years we have wanted more hairstyles in the WWE 2K series and WWE 2K25 delivered with roughly 40 added into the creation suite with 20 hairstyles for masculine frames and 20 for feminine frames. Sure some of those may have been connected to purchasables behind the island but having so many hairstyles at once added into the game was a huge step forward. I don’t know if we would see another additional 40 added into WWE 2K26 but I certainly can hope and I especially have my fingers crossed for more hair textures and different ethnicity styles.
Having new interpretations and iterations of styles such as braids, afros, curls etc would go a huge way to helping players create the person they see in the mirror or those around them, so I’m really hoping for more in this year’s game.
One neat feature I appreciated in WWE 2K25 was that not only did the women receive new hairstyles but also DLC pieces that were allocated to the male superstars. With WWE 2K25 moving to intergender matches I would love to see WWE 2K26 maybe drop some of the creation limitations because more often than not sometimes your superstar isn’t able to apply a certain jacket or headpiece because of the gender tag. Removing the limitation would mean everyone has access to any and every attire piece but you could still keep the creation tag to filter through masculine and feminine frame pieces to help find a certain item quicker. It’s quite the long shot but the process would allow female superstars specifically to use a hell of a lot more items that quite frankly look like they could and would wear anyway.
So those are 5 things I enjoyed in WWE 2K25 that I think could still be improved upon, let me know in the comments below what you enjoyed but would still like to see updated or enhanced.
The heavy hitting news for WWE 2K26 could come at any moment now so be sure to stay tuned so you don’t miss out on any of our coverage. Until Next Time I’ve been the Revelleution, get in the drivers seat it’s time to get on the road to WWE 2K26.
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