WWE All Stars

WWE All Stars for PlayStation 2 is THQ's 2011 professional-wrestling game built around an intentionally arcade-like take on WWE spectacle. Released on March 29, 2011 alongside versions for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PSP, the PS2 edition brings current WWE Superstars and celebrated Legends into the same exaggerated ring. Rather than aim for the simulation-minded pace associated with THQ's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw games, WWE All Stars turns familiar entrances, strikes, grapples, and finishing moves into bold, quick-moving contests with oversized character designs and dramatic animation.

Matches reward momentum, timing, and pressure. Players use strikes to start combinations, shift into grapples for heavier throws and slams, and look for chances to counter an opponent's offense. Every wrestler belongs to one of four gameplay classes—Brawler, Grappler, Acrobat, or Big Man—so the roster does not simply differ in appearance. Brawlers emphasize longer punching sequences, grapplers thrive on holds, acrobats use speed and aerial attacks, and Big Men bring size and power. As the fight develops, signature moves and finishers provide the biggest swings, while the game’s high leaps and emphatic impacts make each character’s offense deliberately larger than life.

WWE All Stars offers more than a standard one-on-one bout. Exhibition play lets players set up matches from its roster of Legends and then-current Superstars, with options that include tag-team, Triple Threat, Fatal 4-Way, handicap, Steel Cage, and Extreme Rules action. Standard victory conditions can involve pinfalls or knockouts; Steel Cage matches instead make escaping the cage the objective, while Extreme Rules introduces weapons and removes disqualifications. Local multiplayer makes these formats suitable for head-to-head sessions, and the shifting rules encourage players to adapt their attacks, spacing, and use of the ring environment.

The roster is the game’s central attraction. John Cena, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, CM Punk, The Undertaker, Kane, Edge, and other WWE names from the period stand beside stars from earlier eras including Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. That mix supports the game’s fantasy premise: wrestlers who never met in the same era can face each other under the same rules. WWE’s original roster announcement also marked Randy Savage’s appearance as a first for a THQ/WWE video game, one example of the release’s effort to assemble personalities from across WWE history.

Single-player progression is led by Path of Champions, which presents three ladder-style story paths focused on Legends, contemporary Superstars, and tag teams. A chosen wrestler works through a sequence of opponents and varied match types before reaching a featured final challenge; completing paths can unlock alternate attire and material for a created character. Fantasy Warfare provides a different route through the game, arranging themed Legend-versus-Superstar dream matches such as Hulk Hogan against John Cena, Andre the Giant against Big Show, and Bret Hart against Edge. These pairings frame the game’s cross-generational conceit while also supplying unlockable wrestlers.

Create a Superstar allows players to make a custom competitor and assign an established wrestler’s move set, extending the roster beyond its licensed cast. Across its modes, WWE All Stars is less concerned with reproducing a television-style wrestling broadcast than with translating the personalities and signature offense of WWE performers into fast, stylized competition. The PlayStation 2 version arrived late in the console’s life but preserved the release’s core identity: an accessible, action-forward wrestling game where Legends and Superstars can be matched in combinations that the real WWE ring could rarely provide.