It’s that time of the year folks. WrestleMania! The most prominent year where the major wrestling storylines collide, celebrity involvement to push the brand, and high octane action all compiled in one full spectacle event! It’s as huge as the Super Bowl, Premier League, Oscars, and EVO all wrapped up into one big event for all fans. Well mostly. I won’t lie that Pro Wrestling does have a place in my heart, both good and bad. In fact, I still am a wrestling fan to this day and promotions such as WWE, WCW, ECW, and AEW, as well as indies and training in a wrestling promotion, have been a part of why I enjoy Pro Wrestling today. But the strong evidence as to how I got even more closer are the wrestlers in video games. Since the dawn of fighting games, grapplers became an essential to the genre, just like nitrous boost in racing or a frag grenade in first person shooter. You can count on hand a number of fighting games that would contain at least one grappler character in it. And since a major wrestling event is coming soon, why don’t we take a look at some of the best wrestlers these games have to offer. These are the Top 10 Wrestlers in Fighting Games.
Kicking things off is a game that sadly is fondly remembered for their ladies and gimmicks than the actual gameplay. And no I'm not kidding. Reiko Hinomoto is one of the two poster girls of Rumble Roses, a wrestling game by Konami that exclusively consists of an all female roster. Say what you will about this game but it does have a strong gameplay that could rival some of the wrestling games to this date. Reiko does have the attitude and spunk as almost any Joshi you see today. Hard working, hard hitting, and beauty all mold into an iconic look. Her motives also bring some interest as she participates in the Rumble Rose tournament to honor her mother and find her missing daughter, going up against cowgirls, dancers, ninjas, and nurses to name a few. Really, if you were to put Reiko in today's modern wrestling, either in the US or Japan, you may have possibly one of the most likeable and respectable characters to ever live. From the rising sun to our hearts, Reiko is the Kamikaze Star on this list.
Now I may be cheating here since this character is actually from the Batman comic book series and not from a video game, but he was selectable in two Injustice fighting games and utilized a wrestling move to break the Bat’s back, so I’m putting him on this list. What makes Bane so great isn’t because he is a giant brute who uses a form of steroids to gain the upper hand but rather a cunning and intelligent criminal. Still he is a powerhouse with his drop kicks, elbow drops, and that iconic backbreaker that basically put Bruce into semi-retirement. And it wouldn’t be keeping in touch with his character if his special ability allowed him to buff up his strength with the use of Venom, a form of special synthetic steroid drug that would make him a monster. Though overusing it does have its terrible side effects such as weak strikes and weak bones. Still, no matter how you put it, Bane is one hardcore wrestler who would do almost anything to get a leg up on his competition!
We travel to the North this time and meet a man from our neighboring pals up in Canada. Wolf is the OG wrestler in Sega’s finest fighting game, Virtua Fighters. Unlike other games on this countdown, Virtua Fighters trade fast pace and special moves for a more technical and basic approach to fighting games. But no matter how much of a beginner or an experienced player you are, Wolf demonstrates his ability in the game with heavy hitting grapples and surprisingly agile strikes. It’s also a trope that we find on this list that Wolf’s only interest in participating in the World Wide Tournament was to go up against the Strongest in the world, since he got bored of beating the same opponents in his circuit. Wolf has appeared in all of the Virtua Fighter games and is among the one of the most popular characters among the roster, dealing big damage and precise combos to his unsuspected opponents.
Number 7 consists of a wrestler who pays tribute to one of the greatest from Japan. Fatal Fury’s Raiden took his appearance mostly from Big Van Vader. But aside from appearance, this Australian brute does not hold back when he is in the ring or in the tournament. Raiden does perform hellacious tactics you might expect from a heel wrestler, poison mist, cheap shots, and underhand tactics. Over the years, he does change up his tactics but still plays to the crowd like a Pro Wrestler would. And while his grapples and mist are devastating, it’s nothing compared to the most deadliest strikes he performed in the game, a homage to the man known as Big Van Vader. Take a look at that lariat and tell me you have seen it before in any other fighting game with that much power? You know that when Fatal Fury or King of Fighters approaches, it may be time, time for Raiden Time.
Given inspiration to Andre The Giant, and we may have more down the future, the Andore Family is a clan consisting of thugs with Pro-Wrestling skills, collaborating with Mad Gear to take over Metro City. Among those members is Hugo, a slow, dimwitted yet known to be the strongest of the family. Although Hugo made his debut in Final Fight, his true strength was displayed in the sequel of the Street Fighter III series under the guidance of his manager and partner Poison. Despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Hugo’s size, strength, and durability make him withstand some of the toughest fighters Street Fighters put up against him. He even pushed an effort to create a new organization with Poison dubbed, The HWA or The Huge Wrestling Army, now that’s a stable I can get behind brother. It takes a lot for a wrestler to go from a life of crime with his family to becoming one of the most popular wrestlers from the Capcom Circuit, especially if you know about moments like 38.
Earlier I discussed Reiko Hinomoto and the pride of Japan. Well consider this the US counterpart to Reiko Hinomoto in the form of Tina Armstrong. The Armstrong family consisting of Bass and Tina Armstrong is DOA’s powerhouse of Pro Wrestling and has been a part of Dead or Alive since the beginning. In a way, Tina is a representation of what it means to be an American at that time. While Tina does demonstrate her love and joy of Pro Wrestling at the tournament, she also showcased that Americans can do anything other than just Pro Wrestling, especially if you have a goal in mind. Model, Movie Star, Musician. Talk about making it big in America! But aside from her aspirations, she isn’t a pushover at all, in fact she is one of the most deadliest characters in the game offering massive damage both in her strikes and her grapples. And if you were to include Dead Or Alive’s counter mechanic, yeah trying to deliver a flurry of attacks will lead you to her dreaded grapples and submission holds. Tina is the pride of America and delivers the raw strength and attitude of the USA through her skills and her aspirations.
Sometimes as a Mayor of a city, you need to dish out justice with your own bare hands, and that’s what we get in the form of Mike Hagger from the Capcom series. Mike Hagger actually got his work cut out as a Professional Wrestler, participating in the Capcom Pro Wrestling League and helping trained young up and comers like Gunloc and Biff Slamkovich, before settling down and becoming the Mayor of Metro City. There, he opted to fight crime with his bare hands, a man who is willing to clean the streets of crime personally! Mike displays his power by taking down the syndicated gang known as the Mad Gears gang, and rescuing his daughter alongside Cody and Guy. Then he went over to Japan to suplex some fools to save his friends. Then destroyed the remains of the Mad Gear gang alongside Guy, Lucia, and Dean. But hey, do you wanna go up against someone who trains everyday piledriving massive great white sharks in order to get stronger? I wouldn’t think so either. From being the most popular wrestler to the city’s greatest mayor, Mike Haggar is the one you want to support, protecting your streets and making it safe, even if he has to do it with his two bare hands!
Old School Gamers would easily recall this but if you still unknown about one of Wrestling’s greatest retro wrestlers, here’s the 101. Nintendo’s Pro Wrestling couldn’t have come out at a huge time, during the peak of WWE’s popularity and the hype of pro-wrestling all over the territories. Match this with NJPW rise in popularity and you have yourself a winner. Pro-Wrestling is a basic video game with gimmicky wrestlers such as Fighter Hayabusa, Giant Panther, and The Amazon! Among those in the roster came Starman!, a man who has a star on his face and high flying lucha libre. Well it may not be lucha libre pre-say, but still it’s one of the coolest characters in the game. After all, Starman’s popularity only grew more in the nostalgia standpoint, with merchandise such as t-shirts, masks. There’s even an actual wrestling promotion that has Starman as an actual wrestler in real life. He is the coolest wrestler ever and proof that nostalgia goes a long way! A Winner is You, Starman!
Selecting the top two was really a tough decision to make. Really, you could put either of these two as either 1 or 2 and I would be fine with it. But for now, the number 2 spot on this list goes to King from the Tekken Series. Talk about a mask wrestler who has nearly every aspect of professional wrestling. Speed, Power, Technician, almost everything that a pro wrestler would want in their arsenal. The King monocle has been around since the beginning though with two different people who held the same name much like Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat. The first King was known as the Children’s Champion, participating in the King of the Iron Fist Tournament to win the prize money to help out an orphanage. I'm pretty sure this was the premise for Nacho Libre. Sadly the first King was killed by Ogre and soon replaced by a younger, more hungry wrestler who is dubbed King II. But no matter which of the two you play as, both display the skills of a powerhouse with heavy damage grapples such as the piledriver, suplex, and muscle buster, speedy strikes with his uppercuts, shoulder tackles, and kicks, and technical submissions including the dreaded submission locks of doom, every gamer's worst nightmare. He is the muscle of Mexico, and the pride of the King name, much like Tiger Mask. Now that ya think about it carefully...
Number 1 is the man who started it all. The one who is the pride of strength of the USSR…I mean Russia! Zangief is the pure definition of what it means to be a Pro Wrestler. Big, Large, Intense, Muscle, Power, and Strength! His goal is one thing and one thing only, to become the strongest in the world and prove that Pro Wrestling is the best among the selection of fighting skills. Zangief has grown over the years and has gotten better since his first inception in the game. From Spinning Lariates and Spinning Piledrivers, to adding the Banishing Flat to counter projectiles and air grapples to counter the air game, to offering a variety of his grapples and lariats, and even becoming a Mecha in the Marvel Vs Capcom series! Zangief is beloved by his fellow followers, both in the Street Fighter Universe and gamers alike, has appeared in nearly all of the Street Fighter games, aside from three of course. Whenever a new Street Fighter drops, in nearly all forms of media, fans cannot wait to see the pride wrestler of Mother Russia return to drop fools with his Final Atomic Buster.
10. Reiko Hinomoto (Rumble Roses)
Kicking things off is a game that sadly is fondly remembered for their ladies and gimmicks than the actual gameplay. And no I'm not kidding. Reiko Hinomoto is one of the two poster girls of Rumble Roses, a wrestling game by Konami that exclusively consists of an all female roster. Say what you will about this game but it does have a strong gameplay that could rival some of the wrestling games to this date. Reiko does have the attitude and spunk as almost any Joshi you see today. Hard working, hard hitting, and beauty all mold into an iconic look. Her motives also bring some interest as she participates in the Rumble Rose tournament to honor her mother and find her missing daughter, going up against cowgirls, dancers, ninjas, and nurses to name a few. Really, if you were to put Reiko in today's modern wrestling, either in the US or Japan, you may have possibly one of the most likeable and respectable characters to ever live. From the rising sun to our hearts, Reiko is the Kamikaze Star on this list.
9. Bane (Injustice)
Now I may be cheating here since this character is actually from the Batman comic book series and not from a video game, but he was selectable in two Injustice fighting games and utilized a wrestling move to break the Bat’s back, so I’m putting him on this list. What makes Bane so great isn’t because he is a giant brute who uses a form of steroids to gain the upper hand but rather a cunning and intelligent criminal. Still he is a powerhouse with his drop kicks, elbow drops, and that iconic backbreaker that basically put Bruce into semi-retirement. And it wouldn’t be keeping in touch with his character if his special ability allowed him to buff up his strength with the use of Venom, a form of special synthetic steroid drug that would make him a monster. Though overusing it does have its terrible side effects such as weak strikes and weak bones. Still, no matter how you put it, Bane is one hardcore wrestler who would do almost anything to get a leg up on his competition!
8. Wolf (Virtua Fighters)
We travel to the North this time and meet a man from our neighboring pals up in Canada. Wolf is the OG wrestler in Sega’s finest fighting game, Virtua Fighters. Unlike other games on this countdown, Virtua Fighters trade fast pace and special moves for a more technical and basic approach to fighting games. But no matter how much of a beginner or an experienced player you are, Wolf demonstrates his ability in the game with heavy hitting grapples and surprisingly agile strikes. It’s also a trope that we find on this list that Wolf’s only interest in participating in the World Wide Tournament was to go up against the Strongest in the world, since he got bored of beating the same opponents in his circuit. Wolf has appeared in all of the Virtua Fighter games and is among the one of the most popular characters among the roster, dealing big damage and precise combos to his unsuspected opponents.
7. Raiden (King of Fighters)
Number 7 consists of a wrestler who pays tribute to one of the greatest from Japan. Fatal Fury’s Raiden took his appearance mostly from Big Van Vader. But aside from appearance, this Australian brute does not hold back when he is in the ring or in the tournament. Raiden does perform hellacious tactics you might expect from a heel wrestler, poison mist, cheap shots, and underhand tactics. Over the years, he does change up his tactics but still plays to the crowd like a Pro Wrestler would. And while his grapples and mist are devastating, it’s nothing compared to the most deadliest strikes he performed in the game, a homage to the man known as Big Van Vader. Take a look at that lariat and tell me you have seen it before in any other fighting game with that much power? You know that when Fatal Fury or King of Fighters approaches, it may be time, time for Raiden Time.
6. Hugo (Street Fighter)
Given inspiration to Andre The Giant, and we may have more down the future, the Andore Family is a clan consisting of thugs with Pro-Wrestling skills, collaborating with Mad Gear to take over Metro City. Among those members is Hugo, a slow, dimwitted yet known to be the strongest of the family. Although Hugo made his debut in Final Fight, his true strength was displayed in the sequel of the Street Fighter III series under the guidance of his manager and partner Poison. Despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Hugo’s size, strength, and durability make him withstand some of the toughest fighters Street Fighters put up against him. He even pushed an effort to create a new organization with Poison dubbed, The HWA or The Huge Wrestling Army, now that’s a stable I can get behind brother. It takes a lot for a wrestler to go from a life of crime with his family to becoming one of the most popular wrestlers from the Capcom Circuit, especially if you know about moments like 38.
5. Tina Armstrong (Dead or Alive)
Earlier I discussed Reiko Hinomoto and the pride of Japan. Well consider this the US counterpart to Reiko Hinomoto in the form of Tina Armstrong. The Armstrong family consisting of Bass and Tina Armstrong is DOA’s powerhouse of Pro Wrestling and has been a part of Dead or Alive since the beginning. In a way, Tina is a representation of what it means to be an American at that time. While Tina does demonstrate her love and joy of Pro Wrestling at the tournament, she also showcased that Americans can do anything other than just Pro Wrestling, especially if you have a goal in mind. Model, Movie Star, Musician. Talk about making it big in America! But aside from her aspirations, she isn’t a pushover at all, in fact she is one of the most deadliest characters in the game offering massive damage both in her strikes and her grapples. And if you were to include Dead Or Alive’s counter mechanic, yeah trying to deliver a flurry of attacks will lead you to her dreaded grapples and submission holds. Tina is the pride of America and delivers the raw strength and attitude of the USA through her skills and her aspirations.
4. Mike Haggar (Saturday Night Slam Masters)
Sometimes as a Mayor of a city, you need to dish out justice with your own bare hands, and that’s what we get in the form of Mike Hagger from the Capcom series. Mike Hagger actually got his work cut out as a Professional Wrestler, participating in the Capcom Pro Wrestling League and helping trained young up and comers like Gunloc and Biff Slamkovich, before settling down and becoming the Mayor of Metro City. There, he opted to fight crime with his bare hands, a man who is willing to clean the streets of crime personally! Mike displays his power by taking down the syndicated gang known as the Mad Gears gang, and rescuing his daughter alongside Cody and Guy. Then he went over to Japan to suplex some fools to save his friends. Then destroyed the remains of the Mad Gear gang alongside Guy, Lucia, and Dean. But hey, do you wanna go up against someone who trains everyday piledriving massive great white sharks in order to get stronger? I wouldn’t think so either. From being the most popular wrestler to the city’s greatest mayor, Mike Haggar is the one you want to support, protecting your streets and making it safe, even if he has to do it with his two bare hands!
3. Starman (Pro Wrestling)
Old School Gamers would easily recall this but if you still unknown about one of Wrestling’s greatest retro wrestlers, here’s the 101. Nintendo’s Pro Wrestling couldn’t have come out at a huge time, during the peak of WWE’s popularity and the hype of pro-wrestling all over the territories. Match this with NJPW rise in popularity and you have yourself a winner. Pro-Wrestling is a basic video game with gimmicky wrestlers such as Fighter Hayabusa, Giant Panther, and The Amazon! Among those in the roster came Starman!, a man who has a star on his face and high flying lucha libre. Well it may not be lucha libre pre-say, but still it’s one of the coolest characters in the game. After all, Starman’s popularity only grew more in the nostalgia standpoint, with merchandise such as t-shirts, masks. There’s even an actual wrestling promotion that has Starman as an actual wrestler in real life. He is the coolest wrestler ever and proof that nostalgia goes a long way! A Winner is You, Starman!
2. King (Tekken)
Selecting the top two was really a tough decision to make. Really, you could put either of these two as either 1 or 2 and I would be fine with it. But for now, the number 2 spot on this list goes to King from the Tekken Series. Talk about a mask wrestler who has nearly every aspect of professional wrestling. Speed, Power, Technician, almost everything that a pro wrestler would want in their arsenal. The King monocle has been around since the beginning though with two different people who held the same name much like Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat. The first King was known as the Children’s Champion, participating in the King of the Iron Fist Tournament to win the prize money to help out an orphanage. I'm pretty sure this was the premise for Nacho Libre. Sadly the first King was killed by Ogre and soon replaced by a younger, more hungry wrestler who is dubbed King II. But no matter which of the two you play as, both display the skills of a powerhouse with heavy damage grapples such as the piledriver, suplex, and muscle buster, speedy strikes with his uppercuts, shoulder tackles, and kicks, and technical submissions including the dreaded submission locks of doom, every gamer's worst nightmare. He is the muscle of Mexico, and the pride of the King name, much like Tiger Mask. Now that ya think about it carefully...
1. Zangief (Street Fighter)
Number 1 is the man who started it all. The one who is the pride of strength of the USSR…I mean Russia! Zangief is the pure definition of what it means to be a Pro Wrestler. Big, Large, Intense, Muscle, Power, and Strength! His goal is one thing and one thing only, to become the strongest in the world and prove that Pro Wrestling is the best among the selection of fighting skills. Zangief has grown over the years and has gotten better since his first inception in the game. From Spinning Lariates and Spinning Piledrivers, to adding the Banishing Flat to counter projectiles and air grapples to counter the air game, to offering a variety of his grapples and lariats, and even becoming a Mecha in the Marvel Vs Capcom series! Zangief is beloved by his fellow followers, both in the Street Fighter Universe and gamers alike, has appeared in nearly all of the Street Fighter games, aside from three of course. Whenever a new Street Fighter drops, in nearly all forms of media, fans cannot wait to see the pride wrestler of Mother Russia return to drop fools with his Final Atomic Buster.
you caught my typo, good job, I meant Tina. 
