WWE 2K23 has revealed John Cena as this years cover star and is also announced as the star of this years 2K Showcase.
The WWE 2K23 2K Showcase mode lets the player relive a wrestlers career, showcasing all their greatest matches and moment to be replayed by the player in WWE 2K23. In previous years, the likes of Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Steve Austin, Mark Henry and the WWE Diva’s have been the focus of the 2K Showcase, while this year it is likely to be based on the storied career of John Cena.
By playing each match and completing certain objectives, the player is able to unlock different items to be used in WWE 2K22. This includes classic arenas, wrestlers and even extra attires for certain wrestlers. Some wrestlers are only available to be played as once they are unlocked in the 2K Showcase mode. This makes it a must play mode in the WWE 2K series.
It has been revealed that 13 matches will be included in the John Cena WWE 2K23 2K Showcase. The Steve Austin “3:16” mode on WWE 2K16 has 29 matches for the player to complete, so the mode has less than half the content of previous games.. However, the Rey Mysterio Showcase on WWE 2K22 also had 13 matches, which included a bonus unlockable bout involving Rey’s son Dominik Mysterio.
The WWE 2K23 trailer was released today, confirming John Cena as the cover star for the game. You can click below to watch that trailer or keep scrolling to see what matches will be in the WWE 2K23 2K Showcase.
WWE 2K23 John Cena Showcase
Speaking to Gameshub, Dino Zucconi, Showcase Lead Designer at Visual Concepts, spoke about the John Cena 2K Showcase mode. He confirmed that the mode will feature 13 of Cena’s most iconic matches, but will differ from previous bouts – John Cena loses every single one of them.
This differs from previous years where the play would control the star for every game, trying to win the matches while hitting a number of objectives. This hopes to breath new life into the mode and give players a new experience with some interesting match-ups to replay in WWE 2K23.
‘John Cena loses all of the historical matches in Showcase. That’s the kind of idea – never give up. It’s easy to say when you’re winning all the time, and you’re preaching it to other people … we wanted John Cena to talk about what that meant, when he’s lost a match, or he’s lost a championship.’
‘What did he have to do to regroup and keep going? That starts with his debut. He lost his first match on television, and you know, anyone can quit right there and go, “this isn’t for me.” Here we are, 20 years later, and he’s one of the greatest of all time – so I think that really plays well. It’s been a good mantra for him, and it just worked perfectly for us.’
WWE 2K23 John Cena Showcase All Matches
The John Cena 2K Showcase matches for WWE 2K23 are:
John Cena vs Kurt Angle – Smackdown 2002 (John Cena’s Debut)
John Cena vs Rob Van Dam – ECW One Night Stand 2006 (WWE Championship)
John Cena vs Batista – Summerslam 2008
John Cena vs The Rock – Wrestlemania 28 (Once In A Lifetime)
John Cena vs The Undertaker – Wrestlemania 34
John Cena vs Roman Reigns – Summerslam 2021
The fact that John Cena loses all the match in the mode adds some interesting variety. Some of the matches that
- John Cena vs Brock Lesnar – Summerslam 2014
- John Cena vs Roman Reigns – Battleground 2016
- John Cena vs CM Punk – Money In The Bank 2011
- John Cena vs AJ Styles – Summerslam 2016
- John Cena vs Daniel Bryan – Summerslam 2014
- John Cena vs Randy Orton vs Triple H – Wrestlemania 24
- John Cena vs The Miz- Wrestlemania 27
What matches would you like to see in John Cena’s WWE 2K Showcase – let us know in the comments down below!