In 2003, just four years after his professional wrestling debut, a 21-year-old Bryan Danielson stepped foot in a WWE ring for the first time, taking on John Cena for an episode of Velocity. That moment was when the journey began for Daniel Bryan and alongside 11 other career-defining moments/matches, will be featured as part of WWE 2K19‘s revamped Showcase Mode.
What is Showcase Mode?
Introduced as the replacement to season mode in WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009, showcase or story mode has allowed fans to recreate some of the most memorable moments, storylines, and rivalries in WWE history. From 2009-2012, this mode was focused on the Road to Wrestlemania with stories and gameplay centered around tailored stories based on the character chosen. In WWE ’13, the mode became focused on the Attitude Era, as players had the opportunity to play through WWE at one of its most pivotal periods, the Monday Night Wars. Told from the perspective of WWE, players had the option to choose from eight different characters and play out some of their classic matches from that time.
In WWE 2K ’14, the story mode focused on “The 30 Years of Wrestlemania.” It was the most comprehensive showcase to date as players were introduced to a nostalgic gameplay that recreated close to three decades and 46 iconic matches of WWE history. Past footage was incorporated to give the game mode a real feel to it as players were made to go through several primary objectives and bonus historical objectives in order to beat the game and relive classic Wrestlemania moments. One of these storylines allowed players to take on the then-legendary undefeated streak of the Undertaker, either as Undertaker himself in defense of the streak or as another character trying to defeat the streak.
WWE 2K15 introduced players to the official Showcase mode, which featured two core rivalries. Players could play through the bitter encounters between best friends turned better enemies, Shawn Michaels and Triple H, from 2002-04 or the well-regarded CM Punk vs John Cena matches from 2011-13. WWE 2K16 followed the career of Steve Austin, from ECW to 3:16 and of course, the feud with Vince McMahon. In both 2K15 and 2K16, several additional story modes were made available as DLCs.
Despite the showcase mode considered to be a fan-favorite, WWE 2K17 only featured it as a DLC and then opted to discontinue the mode in its entirety in WWE 2K18. That means this upcoming version which features the rise of Daniel Bryan, will be the first time showcase mode has been available on the physical disc of the game since 2016.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Players were probably chanting Daniel Bryan’s signature catchphrase when they found out that not only would Showcase Mode be returning after a few years absence, but that it would be featuring the rise of the plucky underdog and so-called B+ player himself.
The WWE journey of Daniel Bryan began with his Velocity match but it wasn’t until seven years later, that he signed with the company and began his climb to the top. One of the early indy darlings, Bryan had to overcome his size and his background in order to become a champion. Spurred on by the fans, who had more faith in him early-on than his bosses did. Daniel Bryan’s story of triumph is one that has already gone down in WWE history. As will his comeback a few months ago, which saw him unretire after being told two years ago his career was over.
All of this is captured in the game mode. The ups and downs, the highs and lows. Players will start at the beginning and follow along with Daniel Bryan as he narrates his own story, something that adds both emotion and authenticity to how Showcase Mode will be played in 2K19. Through Daniel Bryan’s own words, players will experience what that journey was like from start to where he is now, preparing for a Summerslam match against longtime rival, the Miz.
Some elements of the mode were revealed at a recent press event and they include:
- 15 custom video interview packages and 20 cutscenes, designed to emphasize featured moments in the career of Daniel Bryan
- 12 matches including 11 of Bryan’s most memorable matches as well as a surprise battle
- Venues from nine different arenas that played prominent roles in Bryan’s career including the First Union Center in Philadelphia, PA where Bryan had his Velocity tryout match and New Orleans, LA, home to Bryan’s iconic matches at Wrestlemania XXX, which ended with him as WWE World Champion
- 11 different playable character models, each one featuring unique move sets and appearances
- New entrances and victory scenes including a surprise when Daniel Bryan competes with Kane as part of Team Hell No
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vu21tVRG8o
“[W]e came up with the idea of having [Daniel Bryan narrate] it, but we wanted to do it in a cool way and we’re heavily influenced by what the WWE does as far as their production with the W24 series or 365,” WWE 2K19 creative director Lynell Jinks explained to GameSpot during the press event. “We’re like, ‘can we get [WWE’s] production team to do this?’ And they were like, ‘Oh yeah. This sounds like an amazing idea. Yeah, let’s do it.’ It was greenlit and so we moved forward with it. And so we were like, the next hardest thing was to come up with the matches, right? That we felt best represented his career.”
Daniel Bryan echoed this, telling IGN at the event that he’s “very grateful for this Showcase because I think this will introduce my story to not only newer wrestling fans who will get the game because they’re wrestling fans, but also people who aren’t wrestling fans but will get the game because they just like wrestling video games. They’ll be able to play through this and think ‘Wait, this guy wrestled John Cena in 2003…and then it doesn’t show him again until 2010. What was he doing for seven years?’ So I think that’s pretty cool.”
WWE2K19 hits shelves on October 9 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
