WWE 2K23 Early Reviews: 10 Major Details We Learned
6. You Can Taunt While Holding A Weapon
WWE 2K22 drastically changed the way in which weapons work. More life-life table-break animations were introduced, as were modifications to other weapons, such as chairs and kendo sticks, that caused them to break after a specific amount of blows.
In WWE 2K23, however, the level has been upped once more, as the ability to taunt with a weapon in your hand has been introduced. Pressing left or right on the D-pad will allow you to taunt while holding any weapon. So far, only steel chairs, kendo sticks, and sledgehammers have been shown to feature these new animations, so discovering whether or not you can go all Terry Funk with a ladder around your neck may have to wait until the full game hits shelves.
As for the exact animations, each weapon comes with two. Chairs will allow you to hit the chair off the ground and hold it in the air, goading your opponent towards you; the kendo stick isn't too dissimilar, the only exception being that instead of holding it up straight, you twirl it around.
Sledgehammers, meanwhile, have only had one taunt shown as of publication, which sees the player rest the weapon over their shoulder. Perhaps then Triple H will have adequate time to decide if using the unprotected hammer is more effective than covering it with his hands.