10 Things WWE 2K21's REAL Replacement Needs To Fix

Since WWE 2K15, 2K have been clear in their desire to push the series more towards a realistic simulation of the product, moving away from the arcade style that older games were known for, in order to bring the series in line with their other sports offerings. Though this approach has alienated some, it has resulted in a generally enjoyable gameplay experience when everything works properly. However, this problem is undermined by the fact that structurally, matches in 2K20 barely little to no resemblence to WWE match.

In real life, wrestlers will begin matches with working holds and strikes, before transitioning into using bigger moves, such as suplexes and powerslams towards the end. In 2K20 however, that is not the case, as the AI will often begin the match by attempting to powerbomb you to the outside. Though this can make matches exciting, it conflicts with 2K's vision of the game as a simulation of the WWE product.

The same can be said for the OMG moments and backstage brawls, which lose the spontaneous feel that makes them exciting in real life, due to the tedious nature of getting the AI in EXACTLY the right position to begin them.

These issues kill 2K's vision of their game as a WWE sim, and therefore make matches feel prefabricated and false, which dampens the whole experience and hurts the long term value of the game, since matches often feel very similar to one-another.