SMACKDOWN PRESEASON GUIDE
Double H: hhuie1@uic.edu
Version 1.2
Revised June 2, 2000
This document Copyright 2000
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
----------------
* Thanks to Zeke III first for buying me the game and all the hours
of playing. Kindred rule!
* Sherm for his wealth of wrestling knowledge
* Wil and Way for the hours we have played and the hours yet to come
* Can't forget the folks at www.wrestline.com and wrestling.ign.com
* Sephiroth X for responding to my e-mail, which finally made me
decide to send this FAQ in myself.
* To the guys at the EB at Chicago Ridge, heard you liked the FAQ.
Thanks for the kind words.
* Rafael for the "Five Dollars! Get outta here!?!"
* Philip Peters for the kind words.
* Any one I forgot, forgive me and email me ASAP
E-MAILS
-------
* Thanks to all who sent e-mails with questions and comments, especially
to those noted below. I'll try to include vital information in updates
especially it pertains to underdeveloped sections.
Any suggestions, ideas, additions, changes, etc. feel free to email me
at the above address. As I mentioned above, I will now incorporate any vital
information into future updates. Don't worry, I will give proper
acknowledgements, but if you don't wish your information to be documented,
please say so in your e-mail. Thanks.
UPDATES
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6/02 RagnaroK's (Andy) and whomever assisted in documenting his codes,
specifically for unlockable CHARACTER traits (see OBTAINING NEW
CHARACTER TRAITS, Section IV.)
6/02 GroovMstaX's (Tyson) Royal Rumble notes on how to succeed without the
use of cheating (see January's Royal Rumble)
6/02 Zer0X's observations regarding Title holders, and the "unknown" gender
(see SEASON MODE)
6/02 Calendar's (Oliver) Addendum to the "Madcatz" question (see January's
Royal Rumble)
6/02 Kjklinx's (Jordan) Observations on the Mahistrol Cradle (see PROFILE,
Section V.)
6/02 Sting12086's Notes on Handicap Matches. (see Match #04, Match #25,
Match #26, and Match #08)
6/02 NDW1007's (Nicholas) Observations on the Appearance/Injury CHARACTER
trait debate (see APPEARANCE, Section II.)
5/15 Added a few notes to the Tag Team sections under Preseason Scenarios
(see Match #01, and Match #06)
5/15 Section on moves I forgot to add as I rushed Version 1.0 (see end of
FAQ under Cool Extras)
5/15 Response to William Glover's "Madcatz" question (see January's Royal
Rumble)
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Having logged hours upon hours on THQ's new game Smackdown, I can honestly
say that it is the best wrestling game I have played to date. The reason...
PRESEASON mode! I looked far and wide all over the internet for any in-
depth FAQs about the Smackdown preseason mode, but often found little or
no info whatsoever. Anything that I did find was mostly repeats of other
sites/FAQs, so with the help of my friend Zeke, I have managed to figure
out many of the scenarios that deal with the create-a-superstar Preseason
mode. This FAQ will generally cover how to get the most out of creating
a Preseason wrestler, and how to reach the top in Season Mode.
I. BASIC OBSERVATIONS
----------------------
A) Although the cheats and hints on how to unleash hidden wrestler
appearances, etc. via completing a handful of Preseasons and the 20+
Seasons are not listed here, I suggest unlocking those goodies first
before attempting to make a "final" version of your wrestler. Those
tidbits of information may be found elsewhere on this and other sites.
Overall the most important thing to unlock is the option to allot 100
points to your create-a-superstar from the start.
B) The major observation regarding increasing the difficulty (other than
facing opponents that truely fight back) is that a higher rank can be
achieved at the end of Preseason mode if consistently played on a higher
level. I have noticed that continually playing on "Easy" throughout
Preseason and Season modes will often leave your create-a-superstar in
the lower ranks (below #20), thus unable to compete for any major belt
other than Tag Team and Women's champion. Provided that you win matches
with the difficulty set at Hard/Difficult, you can break through the
#20 ranking and climb to the top and one day surpass even Stone Cold
himself. Sounds impossible at first, but after several seasons, it can
be done.
C) As far as saving your create-a-superstar, I suggest using two separate
memory cards (you'll see why later). Use the first memory card to unlock
"CHARACTER" traits through practicing/playing through endless preseason
modes, and the other to store your final create-a-superstar(s). I prefer
using two cards, but one will have to do if that's all you have.
II. ACTUALLY CREATING A WRESTLER
---------------------------------
If you are only creating a "phoney" wrestler to run through Preasons for
purposes of unlocking more "CHARACTER" traits, then the easiest thing to
do is keep things set on default. Make four copies of your wrestler
under the OPTIONS menu and run Preason after Preseason. If this is your
intent scroll on down to section III.
A) PROFILE
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i) First of all you will have to create a PROFILE for your create-a-
superstar. This menu option allows you to give your create-a-superstar a
real name (let's say John Doe for the rest of this FAQ), a nickname
(Bruiser) and other personal stuff to flesh out your wrestler. It is
important to note that everything being entered under the PROFILE option
can not be changed once your create-a-superstar is "completed", so choose
carefully. Things like spelling should be double checked and others like
entrance video, or favorite wrestler selections should be thought out
carefully before a final decision is made.
ii) When choosing an Entrance video, make sure you select one that fits your
wrestler, or team of wrestlers. It makes no sense to create a big
musclebound power dude and give him Debra's video (it just wouldn't make
sense, unless it's the puppies that you want to see!). Or let's say you
are planning on creating two wrestlers for a tag team combo, they can
have individual videos, or better yet have similar videos like the
Hardyz so that their entrances are the same. Remember once your create-
a-superstar is "completed" the Entrance Videos may not be changed. For
John Doe, I will just keep the default video of Stone Cold.
iii) Favorite Wrestler is VERY important. This wrestler will be your friend
throughout SEASON mode and come to your aid from time to time via a run
-in appearance. Although it is highly unlikely that you will not make
friends with other wrestlers throughout Preseason, your selection of a
Favorite Wrestler is crucial, so choose wisely. (My opinion on a good
suggestion would be any wrestler with a ground based finisher with the
exclusion of "The Rock"... this will be explained later in the FAQ).
Once again, for my wrestler, "Bruiser" I will use the default favorite
wrestler, Stone Cold.
B) APPEARANCE
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i) APPEARANCE is the next thing you have to decide for your create-a-
superstar. The main things you need to worry about is selecting a Head,
Torso, and a pair of Legs for your wrestler. Pretty simple and self
explanatory when you scroll through the many faces and body types. This
part will depend on your personal preference. In the case of Bruiser, I
will stick with the default Stone Cold appearance.
ii) Whether certain body types affect your create-a-superstar's movement,
speed, resistance to injury, etc. I am not sure. However, through my own
gameplay, I have created "phoney" create-a-superstars with either Stone
Cold's Legs, or Triple H's Legs and was more prone to unlock the "Knee
Injury" CHARACTER trait. Since both sets of Legs wear a knee brace, this
may be the reason why, but it could also have been a random occurrence.
Just something to be aware of when selecting body parts.
UPDATE: As observed by NDW1007, possible confirmation of the above...
After creating a superstar with Stone Cold's facial appearance,
he managed to unlock the "Neck Injury" CHARACTER trait. Coincidence?
Only time will tell.
iii) After selecting body parts, then you are given an opportunity to adjust
height and weight. Height ranges from about 6 feet tall to 7 feet plus.
It is a shame though that shorter wrestlers can't be created for female
valets or like a luchadore cruiserweight. As far as weight, I assume
the bulkier the wrestler, the slower he/she moves. Strength may also
change with excessive size. One thing to note though, shorter wrestlers
of course will have shorter arms, from my observations will affect the
distance that you can grapple successfully.
iv) Next you can select a skin tone. The only thing I noticed for this, is
that certain uniforms may change color to compliment changes in skin
tone.
v) To finish off your create-a-superstar's APPEARANCE, you have to select a
weapon for him/her. Your weapon of choice is what your wrestler begins a
"Hardcore" match with in his/her hand. There are many to choose from, yet
other objects do exist backstage and at ringside. Again a choice to be
made based on personal preference, but a longer weapon like a bat or a
kendo stick because it has reach. Short weapons like Paul Bearer's urn,
"Head", or even Big Boss Man's nightstick often force your wrestler to
move extra close to opponents just to score a hit.
C) PERSONALITY
-----------
i) Aaaahhhh, this is where the real fun begins. Deciding on a PERSONALITY
for your create-a-superstar is where you can select wrestling moves,
finishers, and all the other little things not mentioned above.
ii) First of all you must decide on a STYLE for your wrestler. Selecting a
specific Style will affect how ABILITY points may be allotted as your
wrestler gains experience throughout the Preseason (see #iv below).
1) A wrestler with an "Average" style learns all types of moves at
similar rates.
2) A "Speed" style reminiscent of luchadores/cruiserweights like X-Pac
allows a wrestler to learn "Speed" type moves easier, but at the
expense of learning "Power" moves.
3) A "Power" style reminiscent of brutes like Mark Henry allows a
wrestler to learn "Power" type moves easier, but at the expense of
learning "Speed" moves.
4) A "Technical" style reminiscent of ex-WWF star, the "Excellence of
Execution" himself, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, allows a wrestler to learn
"Technical" type moves easier, but at the expense of learning
"Roughneck" moves.
5) A "Roughneck" style reminiscent of bruisers like Farooq, allows a
wrestler to learn "Roughneck" type moves easier, but at the expense of
learning "Technical" moves.
iii) After selecting a wrestling Style, you may now opt to select your first
"CHARACTER" trait. Of course you may be wondering, "What the heck is a
CHARACTER trait?". Well simply put, a CHARACTER trait is an attribute
that may either help or hinder the evolution and gameplay of your
create-a-superstar. There are over 100 to choose from for your first
Character trait, but it is not necessary that you select any. The game
starts with a default amount of CHARACTER traits (about 20-30 to select
from) with the remainder to be unlocked as you progress through
Preseason after Preseason. Once a new CHARACTER trait is unlocked it
will be available for use when creating new wrestlers. However, make
sure you "SAVE" the game options, because if you don't any new CHARACTER
traits that were unlocked since the last "SAVE" will be lost.
1) While wrestling through Preseason, your create-a-superstar will
obtain up to 6 Character traits to contribute to his/her
distinctiveness (5 if you fill one of the slots during the create-
a-superstar mode). They are obtained via interaction with opposing
wrestlers backstage, or after winning or losing specific types of
matches.
2) Again, you are not required to select a CHARACTER trait to begin
with, but if this is for your "Final" create-a-superstars(s) that
you want to save and use, then I suggest selecting one of the
Skill/Attack/Defense pluses. If you are just creating a "phoney"
wrestler to run through a phoney Preseason just to unlock more
CHARACTER traits, then I suggest against selecting one so that you
have the 6 possible slots to fill and unlock more goodies.
3) What I did was create a phoney wrestler, copy him to the other three
slots and ran a Preseason for each, unlock a whole bunch of stuff,
then "SAVE". Then I deleted the four phonies and repeated the
process to unlock more CHARACTER traits and game options.
4) Are you still confused about CHARACTER traits? Well here are
examples of some of the 100+ CHARACTER traits, both good and bad:
a) Tag Team+: This Character trait means that your wrestler is very
good at Tag Team confrontations.
b) Chris Jericho+: Similar to your selection for "Favorite
Wrestler" in your wrestler PROFILE, this means
that the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah is likely
to run from back stage to aid you during a
singles match.
c) Knee Injury: Unlike the two above, this is a negative attribute
that most likely means that any of your opponent's
attacks that affect the leg (Figure 4, Dragon Screw)
are likely to force your wrestler to submit more
easily.
d) Sexy: A physical trait that can work to your advantage. I
believe Tori has this because once I saw a cut scene where
she got referee Earl Hebner to overturn a Women's Title
decision in her favor by strutting around him in a "Sexy"
fashion.
e) Degeneration X-: A good Character trait to select if you want
to start off the bat as an enemy of that group
of degenerates. But better WRESTLER PLUS
Character traits await you such as individuals
(Jeff Hardy+) or tag teams (Acolytes+).
f) Cage Match-: Basically, you suck at Cage Matches, after
Mankind beats you in the Wrestlemania Cage Match
scenario. Hopefully you will beat him and earn
the Cage MATCH PLUS instead.
g) Hardcore Title+: Not only are you good at Hardcore Matches, but
you are at your best when competing for the
Hardcore Title itself. I will refer to these
as TITLE PLUS.
h) Power Skill+: The best type of Character trait to select in my
opinion. I will refer to these as ABILITY PLUS...
Character traits like Power Skill+, or Speed
Defense+ give your wrestler a head start in ABILITY
levels/points (see iv. below). I would chose this
for my John Doe wrestler.
5) So in order of importance (in my eyes) ABILITY PLUS, then TITLE PLUS,
then MATCH PLUS, then WRESTLER PLUS, then any other leftovers like
Good Mic Skills, Healthy, etc.
iv) After selecting (or not selecting) a CHARACTER trait, it's on to
distributing points amongst your create-a-superstar's ABILITY sections.
1) There are 12 abilities a wrestler may improve upon. Basically three
abilities under each of the four wrestling Styles. They are described
as follows:
a) SKILL: This ability determines which wrestling moves a create-a
superstar is allowed to add to his/her repetoire. The
more points allotted to a SKILL, the wider the variety
of moves that a wrestler may acquire. Thus, if you have
a high POWER SKILL, then you will have more Power moves
from which to choose, like Clothesline, or finishers like
the Stone Cold Stunner.
b) ATTACK: This ability determines how damaging your moves are as
well as how quickly your Smackdown (Finisher) bar
replenishes. It is also my assumption that wrestlers
with a certain ATTACK level in their specific wrestling
Style have a slightly higher attack strength than that
of a wrestler with similar ATTACK level from a different
wrestling Style. Confused? Let me re-explain. Let's
say you create a high flyer whose Style is SPEED, and
he/she has a level 5 SPEED ATTACK, when he uses a SPEED
move like Dropkick, it will do slightly more damage than
let's say a wrestler whose Style is TECHNICAL, who also
has a level 5 SPEED ATTACK also doing a Dropkick. Whether
this is true or not is hard to tell. It certainly would
make sense for complimentary Styles like SPEED vs. POWER,
or TECHNICAL vs. ROUGHNECK.
c) DEFENSE: Finally the all important DEFENSE! How well your create-
a-superstar is able to shake off the effects of moves,
and/or not tap out for a submission hold.
2) To begin with, every create-a-wrestler knows the basics, thus each of
the abilities is set at level one as a default. To increase these
abilities, the wrestler is allotted 70 points (100 if you run through
the 20+ Seasons in Season mode and unlock the extra 25 points) with
which to distribute. Each ability is kept track of with a colored
bar, and filling up a bar once will increase that particular ability
one level. The bar "MUST BE COMPLETELY FILLED" for it to count, what
this means is that a wrestler with a level 2 TECHNICAL ATTACK is no
worse than another wrestler with a slightly more than level 2 (but
not yet level 3) TECHNICAL ATTACK. So remember when allotting points,
decide carefully.
3) How points are allotted depend upon what specific wrestling Style
you selected earlier (see ii. under the PERSONALITY section).
Remember however, NO ABILITY MAY EXCEED LEVEL 5.
a) A wrestler is PROFICIENT in abilities of his/her specific Style,
DEFICIENT in abilities of his/her complimentary Style, and AVERAGE
in abilities of the other two Styles. The following chart will
explain:
Style Proficient Deficient Average
----- ---------- --------- -------
POWER POWER SPEED TECHNICAL, ROUGHNECK
SPEED SPEED POWER TECHNICAL, ROUGHNECK
TECHNICAL TECHNICAL ROUGHNECK POWER, SPEED
ROUGHNECK ROUGHNECK TECHNICAL POWER, SPEED
AVERAGE NONE NONE ALL
b) PROFICIENT abilities increase at the following rate:
2 points for one level
6 points for the second level
12 points for the next level
20 points for the final level
c) DEFICIENT abilities increase at the following rate:
10 points for one level
18 points for the second level
28 points for the next level
40 points for the final level
d) AVERAGE abilities increase at the following rate:
6 points for one level
12 points for the second level
20 points for the next level
30 points for the final level
4) The only other thing to note here is that choosing certain CHARACTER
traits (noted in iii. under the PERSONALITY section) may increase the
starting level of a particular ability. For example, if you selected
POWER SKILL as your first CHARACTER trait, then you will begin with
one extra level of POWER SKILL ability before allotting points. So
instead of the default 1 in POWER SKILL ability, you will begin with
a 2 in POWER SKILL ability. Pretty good, but not quite as good as
unlocking POWER SKILL+ in Preseason mode and selecting that as your
initial CHARACTER trait. POWER SKILL+ allows you to begin with a
level 3 in POWER SKILL abiltiy versus a level 2 with from selecting
the POWER SKILL CHARACTER trait.
a) If you are lucky in Preseason mode, you may even unlock other
ABILITY PLUS CHARACTER traits to enhance your create-a-superstar
even more. The only drawbacks, are the loss of CHARACTER trait
slots and "extending past the ceiling" of a particular ABILITY.
For example, if you are midway through Preseason and let's say your
TECHNICAL DEFENSE ability is currently at level 4, but then you
unlock the CHARACTER trait TECHNICAL DEFENSE+ , your level will
only increase up to the maximum (level 5). It's a bummer, since
you basically waste all those points that could have been allotted
to another ability.
b) My first suggestion though would be to create a well rounded
wrestler with most points going to the abilities in your specific
wrestling Style. Then opt for Defense, at least level 3 in each
(more if you can spare it).
c) Second, try to keep most abilities hovering around level 3 just
in case you unlock an ABILITY PLUS This will help to avert
"extending past the ceiling" (see a.). Keep doing this if you
can until right before the "Royal Rumble", then you can focus
those last 3 months worth of points to make your final adjustments.
d) I have noticed that POWER SKILL+, POWER ATTACK+, POWER DEFENSE+ are
more likcly to be unlocked than the other 9 ABILITY PLUS CHARACTER
traits.
e) The safest choice for an initial CHARACTER trait selection would
be any DEFENSE+ . You can always use the defense and usually
DEFENSE pluses are the hardest to unlock. In addition try to
select a DEFENSE plus from your DEFICIENT Style, so that you don't
have to waste those "extra" points of increasing DEFICIENT
abilities, that you could spend on your PROFICIENT or AVERAGE ones.
f) Once a particular ABILITY PLUS is selected, it can not be unlocked
on the same character again. Thus you CAN NOT have two SPEED
ATTACK+ thereby increasing a level 1 up to a level 5. So once
a particular ABILITY PLUS is selected then feel free to allot
points to that specific Ability, since you will never "extend
past the ceiling".
e) Some last minute reminders on allocating points:
* Decide on what Finishing move you really want and make sure you
allot the proper number of points to acquire that move.
* With those first 100 points, begin by focusing on your main
Style, (remember the level 3 rule just in case you unlock an
ABILITY PLUS) then spread the rest among the other styles.
* Like in the movie "Double Team", "Offense gets the glory, but
it's Defense that wins the game!"... so no matter how many
different moves you know, no matter how flashy your moves are,
it does no good when you can't shake out of a dizzy, or kick
out of a pin. Keep that DEFENSE high.
* After taking care of Defense then focus on ATTACK. Again,
lots of flashy moves mean nothing if they don't hurt the
opponent.
* After every win (and certain losses) in Preseason, you will
earn more points to allocate, but remember to use them or you
lose them. There is no storing of points to the next round
allowed.
* Your total amount of levels at the start will be equal to 12
(a level 1 default per ability). By selecting an ABILITY PLUS
as your first CHARACTER trait, you will increase this to a
total of 14. From there you are on your own. The best I could
muster by the end of Preseason, was about 48-49. That's about
a level 4 average in each Ability! Just something for you guys
to shoot for (it can be done if you are anal and meticulous like
me).
v) From there it's on to selecting actual MOVES for your create-a-superstar.
1) Since you won't have many Ability points to allocate at the beginning
of Preseason, you will have a limited amount of moves to choose from.
If this is your first time playing, stick to a small set of basic
maneuvers that you will remember.
2) Figure out which Moves you would like your create-a-superstar to
eventually have, as well as which Finishing Move (aka: FINISHER).
From there keep track of what level you need to attain in order
to acquire those specific moves.
3) Questions you should be asking yourself are...
a) What type of moves are used in each particular Style?
* POWER MOVES: Mostly body slams, clothesline, piledriver, DDT,
anything that seems to utilize brute physical
strength to execute.
* SPEED MOVES: A huge variety of kicks, quick takedowns, suplexes,
basically fast maneuvers with fast execution, and
a touch of technical expertise thrown in.
* TECHNICAL MOVES: Not all submission maneuvers, and some that
are quite speedy too. Moves like Figure 4,
Texas Cloverleaf, Armbar holds, etc.
* ROUGHNECK MOVES: Brawler type moves basically. Headbutts,
crotch attacks, etc.
b) What basic moves should I select?
* Technically, any moves you want to, but the smart thing to do
is either have moves that target a specific body part, quick
recovery types of moves, or a well rounded set of moves to take
on any situation/opponent.
* When targeting specific body parts, let's say for example, the
leg... you would then have moves like Shin Breaker, Dragon Screw,
Kick to Leg, Ankle Lock, and perhaps the Figure 4 as a FINISHER.
All from different Styles, yet attacking the same body part for
an easy victory. Or if you are targeting the back, then have
moves like Bearhug, Camel Clutch, Backbreaker, with a Walls of
Jericho FINISHER. Adopting this approach leads to quick
efficient matches that take out an opponent in mere minutes.
If for instance all your basic moves were leg specific and then
your FINISHER aims for the Head, a less effective method (unless
the opponent is severely dizzy) that may not earn you a victory.
Going after the same body part really does work... I remember
beating a weak Steve Blackman in under 45 seconds after applying
the Figure 4 just a few times. I was very surprised, and have
yet to duplicate that quick a win.
* Quick recovery moves, are maneuvers that after execution will
allow your wrestler to slap on another move before the opponent
can recover/react. For example, moves like Knee Smash, Belly
to Back Suplex, DDT, are quick recovery, but others like Full
Nelson Slam, Piledriver, other suplexes, leave you open for
seconds after they are used. Often high damaging, powerful
moves are slow to recover for obvious reasons. And the reason
you want Quick recovery maneuvers are to get through those
Handicap matches, 3-Way Dance, 4-Way Dance confrontations. Try
them all out and you will know what you like and dislike.
* Variety though is the other way to go. Having all POWER MOVES
or all SPEED MOVES may work at times, but against certain
opponents you will be helpless, as they block your every move.
For example, Power moves like the Clothesline are great, but
against brutes like Mark Henry, he will stop you. It would be
better to use Speedy or Technical submission holds to gain a
victory against him since his Defense is weak to these particular
Styles. On the flip side, Speedy moves like Spin Kick, or a
Drop Kicks are more likely to be blocked by folks like Edge
and Christian, or the Hardyz. So remember, a good combination
of submission holds, knockout maneuvers, and constrictive pins
will keep your create-a-wrestler ready for any situation.
c) Should I stick to moves from my wrestling Style?
* In theory I would say yes. I figure since it's your forte,
then there must be some unseen edge you have in performing
these moves built into the programming.
d) What type of pin moves should I select?... and other info about
pinning an opponent.
* Although the basic lay down pin works, almost all others work
slightly better.
* All other pin maneuvers either involve bridging the opponent or
immobilizing a leg or legs to prevent a kick out. These are
the pin falls that are likely to succeed. Moves like "Small
Package", "Mahistrol Cradle", or "Fisherman Suplex" fit this
bill and are very effective.
* Their only drawback occurs when a "Rope Break" is called by the
referee. "Rope Break" occurs when either an opponent's arm or
leg rests on/over/through the imaginary plane of a ring rope.
Once that happens, the pin (and even an ordinary grapple) is
automatically released. The other thing that sucks after a
"Rope Break", the opponent is back on his/her feet and no
longer dizzy!
* Best pin hands down is the "Pin with Bridge", can never have
a Rope Break with this move.
UPDATE: * According to "Jordan" the "Mahistrol Cradle" also never causes
a Rope Break. I have yet to test this, but if anyone can confirm,
it would be nice. I swear that I have gotten a Rope Break with
this move before, but I could be wrong.
e) What type of FINISHER should I select?
* In my honest opinion, stick to any FINISHER that is a
grappling move. Although moves like the "People's Elbow",
or "Senton Bomb" are really, really cool, they can't be
used in any of the backstage matches, leaving your wrestler
at a disadvantage. You may still be wondering, why not?
With out a rope to bounce off of, or a turnbuckle to leap
from, the two above moves can't be executed.
* Quick FINISHERS are also recommended. Nothing sucks more
to do a FINISHER with a long set up (like the "People's
Elbow", or the Big Show's "Show Stopper") in a 4-Way Dance.
Again you ask why? For example, let's say you are the
Rock in a 4-Way Dance getting ready to do the "People's Elbow"
against Triple H, and all during the rope bouncing and set up,
Stone Cold busts a "Stone Cold Stunner" on Mankind to squeeze
in a victory. It's happened before on my game and it can happen
to you.
* Other reasons why off the rope FINISHERS are advised against...
the "People's Elbow" can be stopped by a grapple either in the
initial frames of animation or near the end just as a wrestler
is about to lay the Smackdown. A REAL bummer cuz not only does
your move get negated, but you also lose a green "SMACKDOWN"
FINISHER dot. Moves like the "Lo Down", "Money Shot", etc.
take even more time to set up because not only do you have to
dizzy the opponent, the opponent has to be lying face up on the
ground and close to the turnbuckle. And in a multi-wrestler
match it can take a lifetime before you are lucky enough to even
execute, especially as opponents consistently knock you down
from the corners. Other than that, I am not sure if other
FINISHERS can be negated. With more gameplay I will be able to
tell.
* Also stick to a FINISHER that can either KO an opponent or cause
a submission. This will usually occur only when the opponent is
severely dizzy. And even it they don't get knocked out or give
up, you can often pin them for the win afterwards. However in
Handicap or multi-wrestler matches you would opt for a non-pin
victory. One more thing, FINISHERS that also pin, like "Pulling
Walk Slam" or "Northern Lights Suplex" can be both advantageous
or work against you (in situations like above).
4) Other things you may select under the MOVES menu:
a) Entrance Moves: How your wrestler walks down the ramp.
b) Taunts: Select from a long list of taunts. Will your wrestler flip
the double bird like Stone Cold, or will he/she scream in
anger like Ken Shamrock?... you decide. One more thing,
Taunts raise your FINISHER bar as well.
c) Combo Move: Four basic attack moves can be linked together as a
combination attack.
5) Best moves in my opinion.
a) Basic Attack: The CLOTHESLINE, if time right can knock opponents
down from front or rear. It can even take down
2 to 3 guys if line up properly.
b) Front Grapple: It's got to be the DDT. Quick and efficient.
KNEE SMASH runs a close second in my book. For a
pin I would choose SMALL PACKAGE.
c) Rear Grapple: FULL NELSON SLAM stands alone on sheer power, but
if you've got it, TURN FACING FRONT is much better.
It will cause instant dizziness and leaves opponents
"Dizzy Only" moves or a dreaded FINISHER from the
front. SCHOOL BOY is the best pin to use here.
d) Near opponent's head on Ground: It's gotta be the Mounted Punch,
or submission maneuver.
e) Near opponent's legs on Ground: FIGURE 4 definitely! Not only
is it a submission, but it also
pulls opponents towards you and
away from ring ropes (no "Rope
Break"). WALLS OF JERICHO and
the SHARPSHOOTER are also good,
and Kick to the Groin. The best
pin in the game, PIN WITH BRIDGE.
f) Aerial moves: More for show than for effect, but the 450, and
DRAGONRANA, are my faves. I miss Rey Mysterio's
Dragonrana, a move that still seems to defy the
laws of natural flexibility.
g) FINISHER: Hands down, STONE COLD STUNNER! Compared to the regular
Stunner, the Stone Cold Stunner can just decimate an
opponent instantly.
h) Other moves: Sure there are other moves that are good, like
FLYING CROSS CHOP, MICHINOKU DRIVER, but you'll
have to experiment on your own.
D) FINISHING UP
------------
i) You should now double-check everything about your character before
saving to disk. Make sure every detail is correct and then you'll be
set to take on Preseason.
ii) If necessary make copies of your create-a-superstar to aid in maximizing
the amount of points you can earn.
III. TIPS FOR PLAYING THROUGH PRESEASON
----------------------------------------
A) The basic idea, now that you have created a wrestler, is to have him/her
participate in twelve months of grueling matches. Beginning with a
singles House match against Al Snow, you will proceed forth and wrestle
in one match per month for a whole year, that culminates at the WWF
spectacular Wrestlemania! Also note that every January you will face the
infamous Royal Rumble where you must toss out every other opponent and
be the last man standing. Can you do it? Later on I'll explain how you
can win each and every time.
B) The result of each match determines who or whom you will face the next
month. Though it may seem random at first, there is a distinct pattern
of sorts that the game follows (a listing of possibilities will be shown
further on in the FAQ). Most matches will lead in two different
directions. If you win you will face one scenario the next month, if you
lose you will face another.
C) EARNING MORE ABILITY POINTS
---------------------------
i) Aaaahhh, the topic on everyone's mind. Basically, all matches that are
won will earn you points, although some matches that you lose may also
earn you points. As far as a draw is concerned (when the time limit is
up), I believe it is treated as a loss in terms of earning points.
ii) Does difficulty setting affect the earning of points? Well, yes and no.
I can definitely say that to earn more points you need to have
interaction from your opponent, and this happens more easily on higher
difficulty levels. However, you also have to put on a good show by
using a variety of moves, bouncing of the ropes, using the corner,
taking it outside, KO's, submissions, clean pins. These all count
towards higher points earned. In my experience, quick wins, such as
playing against opponents on easy difficulty are boring and often earn
you less points. A win with a FINISHER, and successful taunting does
seem to add a few points here and there. Overall, you'll have to
experiment and see what does and doesn't work.
iii) Saving your create-a-superstar is the best way to maximize on points.
How you may ask? Well I'll try to explain next. Okay, remember that
there are four slots per memory card to save a create-a-wrestler.
Let's say I copy my wrestler "Bruiser" onto each slot and begin my
Preseason with "Bruiser" #1. Bruiser #1 loses to Al Snow and gets no
points... a bummer. So onto Bruiser #2, but this time I win and get
7 points. An okay showing, but I know I can do better. With Bruiser
#3, I kick some serious butt and earn 13 points, EXCELLENT! Finally,
I play one more time with Bruiser #4 and get only 10 respectable points.
So with that settled, it's obvious that I want to keep Bruiser #3, so
before I move onto the next match against Ken Shamrock, I duplicate
Bruiser #3 over the other three slots and repeat the process against
Ken Shamrock thereby "maximizing" my ability to earn points. Continue
this method until the end of your Preseason and you will be guaranteed
to got tons of points.
D) OBTAINING NEW CHARACTER TRAITS
------------------------------
i) As mention before, additional CHARACTER traits are obtained by playing
through a Preseason. 99% of the time you will be able to fill the 6
total slots that are available to your create-a-wrestler.
ii) If a DRAW occurs after a time limit is reached, it is possible that
certain interactions may not occur. A DRAW from my experience is
treated like a LOSS I believe.
iii) There are several ways CHARACTER traits are unlocked:
1) Basic interaction with other wrestlers backstage will be the most
frequent and easy way. Show them respect and you may gain a
potential ally for your career in Season mode, but diss them bad
and you'll probably have hell to pay with a new enemy.
2) Sometimes a wrestler may ask you for assistance to help beat up
another wrestler. For example, in one of the scenarios Chyna will
ask you to attack Ken Shamrock backstage. Whether you join her
vengeful quest or not, you have a chance to make both a friend and
an enemy in such situations.
3) Besides wrestler interaction, there are any number of Special matches
strewn throughout Preseason that can aid you in your quest to become
a Superstar. Doing extremely well in such matches can earn you a
MATCH PLUS CHARACTER trait. For example, defeat every other person
in the annual Royal Rumble and you will surely obtain the ROYAL
RUMBLE+. Beat down Al Snow with a barrage of weapons in a Hardcore
confrontation and you could get the HARDCORE MATCH+. However, when
you lose to the likes of Test in an Anywhere Falls Match, you may be
slapped with an ANYWHERE FALLS-. So try to do especially well in a
Special match and you could one day be a specialty legend in the WWF.
4) By far the hardest CHARACTER traits to unlock are ABILITY PLUS ones.
Of the 12 possibilities, POWER SKILL+, POWER ATTACK+, and POWER
DEFENSE+ pop up most frequently. The other 9 are more rare and only
a consistent demonstration of your wrestling ability can unlock these
Ability enhancers. Again the most I was able to obtain for any one
wrestler was a total of three (one chosen from the start, and two
earned while in Preseason mode). A rarity to say the least. One
more thing though, lose too many matches and use too many poor
tactics and you could be slapped with an ABILITY MINUS!
5) Other than those mentioned above, any remaining CHARACTER traits are
somewhat random. CHARACTER traits like GOOD HEALTH, MIC SKILLS+,
NECK INJURY, etc. are given anytime throughout a Preseason. Remember
though as I had mentioned in an earlier section, traits like KNEE
INJURY, or SEXY might only be unlocked based upon the appearance you
choose for your create-a-superstar so be aware.
iv) Again remember after running a Preseason where new CHARACTER traits
have been unlocked, make sure you SAVE them to your memory card. Make
a backup copy on another card if necessary.
UPDATE: Here is the complete list of CHARACTER traits. It includes both
the default ones and all the unlockable ones too.
Power Attack Technical Attack
Speed Attack Rough Attack
Power Defense Technical Defense
Speed Defense Rough Defense
Power Skill Technical Skill
Speed Skill Rough Skill
Singles Match Tag Team Match
3-Way Dance 4-Way Dance
Battle Royal Anywhere Falls Match
Hardcore Match Cage Match
Royal Rumble Tournament
"I Quit" Match WWF Title
Tag Title IC Title
European Title Women's Title
Hardcore Title Handicap Match
Special Referee Lucky
Favorite Good Looks
Sexy Good Speaker
Somber Power Attack+
Power Attack - Technical Attack+
Technical Attack- Speed Attack+
Speed Attack- Rough Attack+
Rough Attackk- Power Defense+
Power Defense- Technical Defense+
Technical Defense- Speed Defense+
Speed Defefense- Rough Defense+
Rough Defense- Power Skill+
Power Skill- Technical Skill+
Technical Skill- Speed Skill+
Speed Skill- Rough Skill+
Rough Skill- Singles Match+
Singles Match- Tag Match+
Tag Match- 3-Way Dance+
3-Way Dance- 4-Way Dance+
4-Way Dance- Battle Royal+
Battle Royal- Anywhere Falls+
Anywhere Falls- Hardcore Match+
Hardcore Match- Cage Match+
Cage Match- "I Quit" Match+
"I Quit" Match- Royal Rumble+
Royal Rumble- Handicap Match+
Handicap Match- Special Referee+
Special Referee- Injured Neck
Weak Neck Injured Waist
Weak Waist Injured Elbow
Weak Elbow Injured Knee
Weak Knee Lucky Life
Unlucky Funny
Smart Sensual
Lady Noble
Don Juan Femme Fatal
Sharp Tounge Teriffic Speaker
Bad Speaker Fashionable
Unfashionable Good Health
Bad Health Loner
Cooperative Roughneck
Rowdy Fair
Betrayer Tenderhearted
Stone Cold+ The Rock+
Triple H+ Mankind+
Ken Shamrock+ Al Snow+
Hardcore Holly+ Big Show+
Kane+ The Undertaker+
Test+ X-Pac+
Road Dogg+ Degeneration X+
Mr. Ass+ Gangrel+
Edge+ Christian+
Big Bossman+ Val Venis+
Godfather+ Chyna+
Tori+ Vince McMahon+
McMahon Family+ D'Lo Brown+
Mark Henry+ Matt Hardy+
Jeff Hardy+ Hardy Boyz+
Chris Jericho+ Shane McMahon+
Paul Bearer+ Steve Blackman+
Faarooq+ Bradshaw+
Acolytes+ Buh Buh Ray+
D'Von+ Dudley Boys+
Debra+ Stone Cold-
The Rock- Triple H-
Mankind- Ken Shamrock-
Al Snow- Hardcore Holly-
Big Show- Kane-
The Undertaker- Test-
X-Pac- Road Dogg-
Degeneration X- Mr. Ass-
Gangrel- Edge-
Christian- Big Bossman-
Val Venis- Godfather-
Chyna- Tori-
Vince McMahon- McMahon Family-
D'Lo Brown- Mark Henry-
Matt Hardy- Jeff Hardy-
Hardy Boyz- Chris Jericho-
Shane McMahon- Paul Bearer-
Steve Blackman- Faarooq-
Bradshaw- Acolytes-
Buh Buh Ray- D'Von-
Dudley Boys- Debra-
Tournament+ Title Match+
Tag Title+ IC Title+
European Title+ Women's Title+
Hardcore Title+ Wealth
IV. PRESEASON SCENARIOS
------------------------
Now that you know basically what to expect in Preseaon, the following will
be a list of the myriad of possible outcomes from month to month. I will
number each match so that you will know which match to proceed to next.
Also, I will list the maximum number of points that I have been able to
achieve match per match. Although it may be possible to earn more points,
I have yet to do so (I'll update when necessary). In addition, since you
are a new wrestler to the WWF, you obviously start at the bottom of the
barrel. Winning matches will increase your create-a-superstar's ranking
so that you can get title shots during the season. Also, pay attention to
your surroundings, your opponent(s), and FINISHER bars. Lastly, if a
match is really going bad for you, press both "Select" and "Start" at the
same time to REBOOT the Playstation. This will give you another crack at
the match, but it must be done before you lose in anyway. Once you are
down for the 3 count, KO'd, or submit, you won't be able to REBOOT.
DIFFICULTY
----------
Remember to check out the difficulty setting before you start playing.
On Easy your opponents will not fight back as much, but you will seldom
achieve a rank higher than #30 by the end of Preseason. On Medium or
Hard, you will have a difficult time, and if you stay on the winning
track you will definitely pave the way to contending for a belt. Also
note, difficulty level does not produce different scenarios. All scenarios
may be accessed whether on Easy, Medium, or Hard.
HEALTH
------
At the beginning of each match you will notice a Heart next to each
wrestler involved in the match. This heart indicates how healthy/tired
you are heading into the bout. Each create-a-superstar begins with a full
Heart and as he/she moves along the heart will fluctuate in level. The
more empty the heart, the more easily you can lose. Prevent an opponent
from touching you and you'll stay healthy month to month. Get stuck in a
long, drawn out brawl, and your health will surely decrease. But remember
this can also work to your advantage as well when facing more than one
opponent. Make note of which wrestler is lowest in health and go after
him/her. You'll be more likely to attain a win.
SPECIAL NOTE
------------
Make sure the read the "Special Note" that is located before the listing of
December matches. It will describe how scenarios unfold following that
month.
START
-----
Before you actually wrestle your first match, you will be greeted by the
most power man in wrestling/sports entertainment today, WWF owner, Vince
McMahon. He will address you by your real name (John Doe in my case), and
welcome you to your one year tryout. Basically, good luck in the year
ahead and hopefully you'll make it a career in Season mode (don't get
nervous though, you always get into the WWF, even if you lose all your
matches!)
APRIL
-----
Aaaaahhh, the first month up and only one possible match you will encounter.
-Match- #AA
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Al Snow
-Win- Go to #00 (14 points)
-Loss- Go to #00 (0 points)
-Interactions- None
Tips: Your first match is a basic Singles match versus Al Snow. A simple
jobber match really, and whether you win or lose it's on to Ken
Shamrock in May. If it's your first time playing, then test out
your moves and learn how to wow the audience. Beware of "count out"
losses too. Once you are outside of the squared circle, you'll have
10 seconds to get back in. Get that "W" and move on.
MAY
---
May arrives and you have no choice but to face "The World's Most Dangerous
Man"... Ken Shamrock.
-Match- #00
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Ken Shamrock
-Win- Go to #01 (16 points)
-Loss- Go to #11 (19 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Ken Shamrock will offer you some advice, but you won't
be given an opportunity to answer back.
Tips: This is when the Preseason begins to get interesting. Wins and
losses truly begin to count now as the story unfolds. Shamrock can
be a formidible opponent if you let him get the upperhand. He is a
perfect example of a well-rounded wrestler. His moves are quick and
efficient and if he gets you in his ANKLE LOCK submission, you can
bet that it will be all over. The key to defeating an opponent is to
out move and out think him/her by using maneuvers that they may be
weak against. In a singles match-up pound victims from behind as
much as you can, and pray that you will get your FINISHER out!
JUNE
----
June is when matches begin to branch out. Good luck and keep to a winning
track.
-Match- #01
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Tag Team
-Opponent- with Shane McMahon vs. The Acolytes
-Win- Go to #02
-Loss- Go to #12
-Interactions- (Win) Shane will speak, but you won't be given an opportunity
to answer back.
(Loss) Jacqueline will speak, but you won't be given an
opportunity to answer back.
Tips: Your first Tag Team match and wow!... against APA! Although with
practice you can singlehandedly score a win without Shane's help,
I suggest you make tags and stay fresh. You will get more used to
competing in tag matches this way. While in the ring, keep pounding
on one guy if you can. If necessary, prevent the fresh opponent
from tagging in, by throwing the "legal" man into turnbuckles and
keeping him away from his partner's corner. Remember that since it
is a match with multiple wrestlers, make sure your superstar's
ATTENTION is aimed at the proper opponent (R2 button). This is most
easily done by keeping the PLAYER INDICATORs option on. Also, if
Shane is the "legal" man, make sure to help him out if possible.
While you are in the corner you can still reach in and throw a quick
punch/swipe if the opponent is nearby. A couple more things while
waiting in your corner: You can still TAUNT, and even move back and
forth around the turnbuckle post by pressing left and right on the
control pad. If the battle is taken out of the ring, then take
advantage and build up that FINISHER bar (no pins allowed outside
for this match). But don't forget about a "count out". Also note
if a someone is being pinned, the computer will automatically send
both wrestlers from the corners immediately into the ring, either
to breakup the pinfall, or to make the save. However, if by chance
you are in the midst of reaching in for a tag, you will not be forced
to enter the ring, so be alert and undo the reach-in).
CAUTION: When playing this and any other tag matches beware. I've had
the strange experience with the controllability switching from
Controller #1, to Controller #2 after a tag is made. I'll
explain. Let's say I was using "Bruiser" in the match. I'm
obviously using Controller #1 right!?!, then I tag Shane in but
suddenly I'm controlling Shane. After the next tag is made,
it can switch back to normal. Weird occurrence.
In regular tag matches, I've used Controller #1, and tagged in
my friend's wrestler on Controller #2, and we've reversed our
controlability. I don't know if it's a game glitch, or a
Playstation glitch. Just FYI, so you don't get caught off
guard.
-Match- #11
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- D'Lo Brown
-Win- Go to #02 (10 points)
-Loss- Go to #12 (12 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Prince Albert will speak, but you won't be given an
opportunity to answer back.
Tips: With a loss against Ken Shamrock you won't have your first taste of
tag competition. I suppose maybe Shamrock was too much for you, so
now you'll be pit against my hometown hero, D'Lo Brown. Stick to
your general singles tactics, and since D'Lo's FINISHER is the "Low
Down", it will be difficult for him to use against you. No matter
though, he doesn't need it to pin you, so don't get cocky! D'Lo
should be no problem, so beat him to a pulp and move on to July.
JULY
----
-Match- #02
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Steve Blackman
-Win- Go to #03 (13 points)
-Loss- Go to #13 (13 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Stevie Richards will speak, but you won't be given an
opportunity to answer back.
Tips: I treat Steve Blackman like I do Shamrock, with special care. Since
this is your fourth match, things begin to heat up and Blackman may
react more than previous opponents. Pay attention and you'll get
the "W".
-Match- #12
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Chyna
-Win- Go to #23 (14 points)
-Loss- Go to #33 (11 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Blue Meanie will speak, but you won't be given an
opportunity to answer back.
Tips: If you've reached Chyna, you've obviously lost some matches in the
previous months. No matter, you can still gain a victory against
the WWF's "Ninth Wonder of the World". Don't underestimate Chyna.
She may be a woman, but her Roughneck skills can be more than a
match for an inexperienced wrestler. Her style is unorthodox so
don't be surprised if she blocks some of your moves.
AUGUST
------
-Match- #03
-Show- Summerslam
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Road Dogg
-Win- Go to #04 or #14 (depending on previous outcomes, 19 points)
-Loss- Go to #14 (?? points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Tori will comment on the match you've just had and you
will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Against one half of the New Age Outlaws you may have your hands
full, but personally I think Mr. Ass is a much harder opponent to
face. However, the D-to-the-O-to-the-Double-G may still give you
problems endurance-wise that previous victims may not have
exhibited. Hopefully you've been improving your ABILITY levels
and with improved maneuvers in your arsenal you'll be successful
in taking out the former "Roadie", or else he'll give it to you
"Doggy style!".
-Match- #13
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Kane
-Win- Go to #14 (?? points)
-Loss- Go to #14 (?? points)
-Interactions- You'll call Kane out to the ring before your match.
Tips: The first of two possible confrontations against the "BIG Red
Machine", the Undertaker's "little" brother is all Power with at
touch of finesse. Use quick moves and submission holds to defeat
him easily, otherwise you'll just be trading blows if you try to
out-strength him. Be careful of a loss, you may get the MIC SKILL-,
I did in my first-ever outing.
-Match- #23
-Show- Summerslam
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Big Show
-Win- Go to #14 (24 points)
-Loss- Go to #24 (11 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Big Show will comment on the match you've just had
and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Unlike Kane above, the Big Show is brute power without the speed.
He is slow, but very strong, so just out maneuver him.
-Match- #33
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Hardcore
-Opponent- Mr. Ass
-Win- Go to #14 (10 points)
-Loss- Go to #24 (0 points)
-Interactions- Sometime after the match, you will meet Debra. She'll offer
you some advice so respond to her in kind if you wish.
Tips: Your first possible taste of Hardcore action! Why against Mr. Ass?
I'm not sure, but what I do know is that he is much better than his
tag team counterpart, the Road Dogg. At times it seems that Mr. Ass
has endurance out the ears, so don't expect an easy pinfall unless
he's tired. Remember since it's a Hardcore match, stick to weapons
with some reach... bat, metal rod, kendo stick, broom stick, etc.
These will allow you to keep distance from Billy Gunn while still
allowing contact through the weapon.
Use R1 to pick up and drop objects and the SQUARE to throw them if
necessary. Don't forget that when you are holding onto something,
you won't be able to grapple, so just keep pressing that X button
and smack away. Attacks work best when your opponent is already
on the mat/ground. Keep him down until he no longer moves, by
then he's definitely ready to be pinned. Remember though, NO
COUNT OUTS, NO ROPE BREAKS and you can even be PINNED OUTSIDE so
beware.
SEPTEMBER
---------
-Match- #04
-Show- House Show
-Type- Handicap
-Opponent- vs. Dudleyz
-Win- Go to #05 (14 points)
-Loss- Go to #05 (13 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Buh Buh Ray will comment on the match you've just had
and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: The dreaded Handicap match. Well, you were bound to face one sooner
or later. "Those Damn Dudleyz!" will sure give you a run for your
money. Different tactics can be employed in a match like this. The
first thing to note is which opponent has less health. That will be
the Dudley that you focus your attacks on. Second, try to keep the
two apart, either by throwing the healthier man out of the ring, or
keeping them at opposite turnbuckles. Third, make sure to keep the
player indicators on so that you can properly alternate attacks
against Buh Buh Ray and D'von... with "Quick recovery" moves you will
keep them on the ground and neither will touch you. Lastly, if I
remember correctly, there are NO COUNT OUTS, but I think that ROPE
BREAKS are on, and you MUST PIN IN THE RING. With those ideas in
mind, take the fight outside to build up for a FINISHER or two.
Then toss the weaker man back into the ring for the victory. KO'S
work best in this match, since pinfalls are usually broken up by the
fallen man's partner.
UPDATE: According to Sting12086, if one of your opponents gets a FINISHER
Dot before you do, take him/her outside the ring. It's impossible
to be KO'd out there, so coax him/her into performing the FINISHER
then, shake out of it and continue the match back in the squared
circle.
-Match- #14
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Test
-Win- Go to #15 (12 points)
-Loss- Go to #15 (?? points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Test will comment on the match you've just had and
you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: One of three possible confrontations against the "Artist NOT formerly
employed by Motley Crue", I treat Test like Kane, a power man with
some speed to boot. His height is an advantage, so beware of his
long reach.
-Match- #24
-Show- House Show
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Godfather
-Win- Go to #15 or #25 (depending on previous outcomes, 19 points)
-Loss- Go to #25 (25 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) The Godfather will offer you some advice, but you
won't be given an opportunity to answer back.
Tips: The Godfather (aka: Kama Mustafa, aka: Papa Shango), is one of
the relatively quick mid-carders in the game. Continue to use
singles tactics against him and you'll chalk one up against the
"Pimp Daddy", then you can sit back and roll up a Big Fatty. Too
bad his Digi-Hos aren't as voluptuous as those busty women in the
Green Army Men commercial... plus no "dancin' with the hos" after
a victory/loss.
OCTOBER
-------
-Match- #05
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Mankind
-Win- Go to #06 (18 points)
-Loss- Go to #16 (0 points)
-Interactions- Not really an interaction, but before your match against
Mankind, there will be a cut scene of you walking backstage.
Tips: If you thought Mr. Ass has endurance, check out Mankind's "Testicular
fortitude". The man just doesn't go down easily. Work on limbs if
you must, otherwise it will just be a brawl.
-Match- #15
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Mark Henry
-Win- Go to #26 or #46 (depending on previous outcomes, 7 points)
-Loss- Go to #36 (?? points)
-Interactions- None
Tips: He didn't win any Gold Medals, but he can still kick your butt! Mr.
Mark Henry is all Power. Use speed to your advantage or you'll
lose in a flash. Submission maneuvers work best against him, but
you may end up with MARK HENRY- for your troubles.
-Match- #25
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Handicap
-Opponent- vs. Hardyz
-Win- Go to #46 (19 points)
-Loss- Go to #56 (0 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Jeff Hardy will comment on the match you've just had
and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Unlike the Dudleyz Handicap match, the Hardyz will both out-speed
and out-maneuver you in an instant. Remember that different tactics
can be employed in a match like this. The first thing to note is
which of the two brothers has less health. That will be the Hardy
that you focus your attacks on. Second, try to keep the two apart,
either by throwing the healthier man out of the ring, or keeping
them at opposite turnbuckles. Third, make sure to keep the player
indicators on so that you can properly alternate attacks against Matt
and Jeff... with "Quick recovery" moves you will keep them both on the
ground and neither will be able to touch you. Lastly, if I remember
correctly, there are NO COUNT OUTS, but I think that ROPE BREAKS are
on, and you MUST PIN IN THE RING. With those ideas in mind, take the
fight outside if you can to build up for a FINISHER or two. Then
toss the weaker man back into the ring for the victory. KO'S work
best in this match, since pinfalls are usually broken up by the
fallen man's partner.
UPDATE: According to Sting12086, if one of your opponents gets a FINISHER
Dot before you do, take him/her outside the ring. It's impossible
to be KO'd out there, so coax him/her into performing the FINISHER
then, shake out of it and continue the match back in the squared
circle.
November
-------
-Match- #06
-Show- Survivor Series
-Type- Tag Team
-Opponent- with X-Pac vs. Edge and Christian
-Win- Go to #07 (13 points)
-Loss- Go to #17 (?? points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Edge will comment on the match you've just had and you
will be prompted to respond.
Tips: If you've made it to this match, then you've been lucky and stayed
on the winning track. You will have had some experience in a Tag
Team matchup, but this time you're up against two speedy opponents,
Edge and Christian. Make note of which Canadian is weaker and keep
the heat on him throughout the match. If necessary, prevent the
fresh man from tagging in, by throwing the "legal" man into
turnbuckles and keeping him busy. Remember that since it is a match
with multiple wrestlers, make sure your superstar's ATTENTION is
aimed at the proper opponent (R2 button). This is most easily done
by keeping the PLAYER INDICATORs option on. Also, if X-Pac is the
the "legal" man, make sure to help him out if possible. While you
are in the corner you can still reach in and throw a quick
punch/swipe if the opponent is nearby. A couple more things while
waiting in your corner: You can still TAUNT, and even move back and
forth around the turnbuckle post by pressing left and right on the
control pad. If the battle is taken out of the ring, then take
advantage and build up that FINISHER bar (no pins allowed outside
for this match). But don't forget about a "count out". Also note
if a someone is being pinned, the computer will automatically send
both wrestlers from the corners immediately into the ring, either
to breakup the pinfall, or to make the save. However, if by chance
you are in the midst of reaching in for a tag, you will not be forced
to enter the ring, so be alert and undo the reach-in). Speedy moves
may not work as well against the Canadian duo, so use Power and
submission tactics to your advantage.
CAUTION: When playing this and any other tag matches beware. I've had
the strange experience with the controllability switching from
Controller #1, to Controller #2 after a tag is made. I'll
explain. Let's say I was using "Bruiser" in the match. I'm
obviously using Controller #1 right!?!, then I tag Shane in but
suddenly I'm controlling Shane. After the next tag is made,
it can switch back to normal. Weird occurrence.
In regular tag matches, I've used Controller #1, and tagged in
my friend's wrestler on Controller #2, and we've reversed our
controlability. I don't know if it's a game glitch, or a
Playstation glitch. Just FYI, so you don't get caught off
guard.
-Match- #16
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- I Quit Match
-Opponent- Rock
-Win- Go to #07 (29 points)
-Loss- Go to #17 (?? points)
-Interactions- Not really an interaction, but before your match, there will
be a cut scene of the Rock walking backstage.
(Loss) The Rock will comment on the match you've just had and
you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: The first and only "I Quit!" Match in the game, but why against The
Rock and not Mankind or Stone Cold, I'm not sure. Anyway, the object
of the match, force the Rock to give up, it's as simple as that. How
to do it? First of all, there's a microphone at ringside and it
must be obtained to gain a victory. Second, duke it out until the
Rock is down on the mat. Run over, pick up the microphone and run
back over the Rock and press the CIRCLE button. If you are
successful, he will submit... if not, press R1 to drop the mic and
return to beating him down. Eventually he will submit and you will
be victorious. There are NO COUNT OUTS, and I believe NO ROPE
BREAKS, plus you may force the Rock to submit ANYWHERE.
-Match- #26
-Show- Survivor Series
-Type- Handicap
-Opponent- vs. Acolytes
-Win- Go to #27 (13 points)
-Loss- Go to #17 (0 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Farooq will comment on the match you've just had and
you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: I'm pretty sure that this may be your first Handicap match so pay
close attention. APA will definitely take you to the brink of
defeat, so here's what you'll have to do... The first thing to note
is which member of the Acolytes has less health. That will be the
man that you focus your attacks on. Second, try to keep the two
brawlers apart, either by throwing the healthier man out of the ring,
or keeping them at opposite turnbuckles. Third, make sure to keep
the player indicators on so that you can properly alternate attacks
against Ron "Farooq" Simmons and Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw... with
"Quick recovery" moves you will keep them on the mat and neither will
be able to stop you. Lastly, if I remember correctly, there are NO
COUNT OUTS, but I think that ROPE BREAKS are on, and you MUST PIN IN
THE RING. With those ideas in mind, take the fight outside to build
up for a FINISHER or two. Then toss the weaker man back into the
ring for the easy victory. KO'S work best in this match, since
pinfalls are usually broken up by the fallen man's partner.
UPDATE: According to Sting12086, if one of your opponents gets a FINISHER
Dot before you do, take him/her outside the ring. It's impossible
to be KO'd out there, so coax him/her into performing the FINISHER
then, shake out of it and continue the match back in the squared
circle.
-Match- #36
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- 3 Way Dance
-Opponent- vs. Val Venis and D'Lo Brown
-Win- Go to #27 (?? points)
-Loss- Go to #17 (?? points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Val Venis will comment on the match you've just had
and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: The 3 Way Dance will be a true test of your wrestling skills. It is
somewhat similar to a Handicap matchup, but this time it's every man
for himself. Follow my suggestions and you will surely win. The
first thing to note is which opponent has less health. That will be
the man that you focus your attacks on. Second, try to keep the two
apart, either by throwing the healthier man out of the ring, or
keeping them at opposite turnbuckles. Third, make sure to keep the
player indicators on so that you can properly alternate attacks
between Val and D'Lo when necessary, but again since it is a 3 Way
Dance, try to focus on the weaker individual. "Quick recovery"
moves are the key to victory. Lastly, if I remember correctly,
there are NO COUNT OUTS, but I think that ROPE BREAKS are on, and
you MUST PIN IN THE RING. With those ideas in mind, take the fight
outside to build up for a FINISHER or two. Then toss the weaker man
back into the ring for the victory. KO'S work best in this match,
since pinfalls are usually broken up by the free standing opponent.
Oh yeah, one more thing... be careful of using a FINISHER on an
opponent and then allowing the fresh wrestler to slide in for the
cheap pin.
-Match- #46
-Show- Survivor Series
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Jericho
-Win- Go to #27 (5 points)
-Loss- Go to #37 (?? points)
-Interactions- (Win??/Loss) Jericho will comment on the match you've just
had and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: A chance to face the "Ayatollah of Rock n' Rollah". Beware of his
variety of tactics. Y2J is good both on the mat and in the air.
His "Lionsault" can strike with terror from above, or when he knows
you're tired he'll slap on the "Walls of Jericho" to make you submit,
but if he gets his "Double Powerbomb" FINISHER on you, it may all
come to a quick end. Personally, I think Jericho is one of the best
wrestlers out there right now. His versatility is what you must
defend against or it will cost you a victory.
-Match- #56
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Hardcore
-Opponent- Hardcore Holly
-Win- Go to #27 (8 points)
-Loss- Go to #37 (0 points)
-Interactions- Sometime after the match, you will meet Steve Blackman.
He'll offer you some advice so respond to him in kind if you
wish.
Tips: Another chance at Hardcore action! They don't call him Hardcore for
nothing. Actually I've never played this match, because I've only
used the "Skip" option on this one. So as far as his wrestling
style, I can't tell you what you can expect from Hardcore Holly
(aka: Bob "Sparkplug" Holly, aka: "Sparky Plug"). My only advice
is to remember since it's a Hardcore match, stick to weapons
with some reach... bat, metal rod, kendo stick, broom stick, etc.
These will allow you to keep distance from Bob Holly while still
allowing contact through the weapon. I sure wished that Crash was
in the game don't you?
Use R1 to pick up and drop objects and the SQUARE to throw them if
necessary. Don't forget that when you are holding onto something,
you won't be able to grapple, so just keep pressing that X button
and smack away. Weapon attacks work best after you've knocked
Hardcore Holly onto the mat/ground. Keep him down until he can no
longer move, by then he's definitely ready to be pinned. Remember
though, NO COUNT OUTS, NO ROPE BREAKS and you can even be PINNED
OUTSIDE so beware.
------------
SPECIAL NOTE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note that no matter if you win or lose any match in December, next
month you will participate in the Royal Rumble. Your success or failure
in January will actually determine which scenario you will face in
February.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
December
-------
-Match- #07
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Kane
-Win/Loss- Go to BB, (19 points/?? points) then...
-Win Rumble- Go to #08
-Loss Rumble- Go to #18
-Interactions- (Win) Kane will comment on the match you've just had and you
will be prompted to respond.
Tips: What can I say about Kane? Well, if you've faced him in August,
then you'll already know what to expect from the "Big Red Machine".
Otherwise, treat him as a Power opponent with some Speed on his side.
Also beware of his long reach. His height gives him the advantage
of having long grappling arms. Out-maneuver him and it will lead you
to a win.
-Match- #17
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Hardcore
-Opponent- Test
-Win/Loss- Go to BB, (18 points/?? points) then...
-Win Rumble- Go to #18
-Loss Rumble- Go to #28
-Interactions- (Win) Test will comment on the match you've just had and you
will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Hardcore action, but this time against the "Wrestler that would've,
could've, should've been Mr. Stephanie McMahon." Oh well. This may
be your second opportunity to face Test, a mini-rivalry beginning???
Perhaps. Test is similar to Kane. A good mixture of Power and some
Speed. His height is an advantage, so beware of his long reaching
grapples and attacks. Remember since it's a Hardcore match, stick
to weapons with some reach... bat, metal rod, kendo stick, broom
stick, etc. These will allow you to keep distance between you and
Test, while still allowing contact through the weapon.
Use R1 to pick up and drop objects and the SQUARE to throw them if
necessary. Don't forget that when you are holding onto something,
you won't be able to grapple, so just keep pressing that X button
and smack away. Attacks work best when your opponent is already
on the mat/ground. Keep Andrew Martin down until he no longer moves,
by then he's definitely ready to be pinned. Remember though, NO
COUNT OUTS, NO ROPE BREAKS and you can even be PINNED OUTSIDE so
beware.
-Match- #27
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Gangrel
-Win/Loss- Go to BB, (17 points/?? points) then...
-Win Rumble- Go to #28
-Loss Rumble- Go to #38
-Interactions- (Win) Gangrel will comment on the match you've just had and
you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Gangrel, or "Mr. Vachon" as I like to call him is another one of your
mid-card jabronis. He's not too hard to defeat, so you'll be quickly
on your way to the Royal Rumble. He's got a cool opening, but other
than that, there's not much else that's cool about pudgey. Take him
out and move on.
-Match- #37
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Singles
-Opponent- Godfather
-Win/Loss- Go to BB, (?? points/14 points) then...
-Win Rumble- Go to #38
-Loss Rumble- Go to #48
-Interactions- (Win??/Loss) The Godfather will comment on the match you've
just had and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Another crack at Papa Shango... I mean Kama Mustafa... oops my fault.
The Godfather is back to take some more punishment at your hands. A
jobber like Gangrel, the Godfather shouldn't be too difficult to
defeat. Since it's a singles matchup you should have no problems by
now.
January
-------
-Match- #BB
-Show- Royal Rumble
-Type- Royal Rumble
-Opponent- All wrestlers
-Win- Refer to December results for next Scenario (38 points)
-Loss- Refer to December results for next Scenario (0 points)
-Interactions- None
Tips: Well it's finally January. A new year, and time for you to really
shine! But since it is January, it's time for the annual Royal
Rumble. 30+ competitors and it's your job to toss them all out of
the ring, shock the world, and show them all you mean business!
How is the Royal Rumble set up? It begins with 4 competitors in
the ring at the same time, with you always being one of the initial
four. Your mission is to toss them out one by one (use the CIRCLE,
Irish Whip), without being tossed out yourself. Every time a
wrestler is tossed out, a 10 second countdown will begin and then
a new wrestler will run down the ramp to join the melee. There will
never be more than 4 wrestlers at a time, and hopefully you will
always be one of them.
First of all it's almost impossible to win the Royal Rumble even
if it's set on the easiest difficulty. The best I ever did on my
own was defeat 25 opponents before being tossed out. Well then, you
may be wondering,"How is it possible to beat everyone?" There are
two methods to "Cheat":
Method One
----------
If you've got a Multi-Tap, use it! (Remember that the multi-tap
must be plugged in before you turn on the system, or it may not work
properly.) Press "Select" on the three other controllers and the
other three wrestlers will no longer be AI manipulated. With them
being controlled by a "Human", they will remain motionless, and you
can toss them out one by one. Everytime a wrestler joins, press
"Select" on the appropriate control pad to take over. After about
15 minutes or so, it will all be over and you will be victorious.
UPDATE: In response to William Glover's question about the "Madcatz" multi-
tap, it does not work. I have a "Madcatz" brand multi-tap too,
and it never ever worked. It also doesn't work on certain other
games like, Madden 2K, and NBA Live. I assume it's because the
games may be programmed to only work with official Sony licensed
peripherals. So sorry guys, gotta use the Sony multi-tap or you're
just out of luck.
According to "Oliver" from the UK, his Madcatz does work, so perhaps
it's just a U.S. thing? Strange huh?
Method Two
----------
Don't have a Multi-Tap? Well if you've got at least two control
pads, then activate the extra one, and use it to your advantage.
For example, controller #1 will be you, so stay alert... press
"Select" on controller #2 to and use it as well (ask a friend if
nearby to assist). I usually toss the two left over AI controlled
wrestlers out, then hide my create-a-superstar in the corner, while
I use the controller #2 guy to throw folks out and keep them away
from my real wrestler. It takes practice but can be done. Just
keep the controller #2 guy by the ropes near the ramp, and as new
competitors come in, just toss them out.
Method Three
------------
If you decide not to cheat and tough it out just to see how you do,
then you are on your own. Stick to the middle of the ring as much
as possible. Use lengthy moves as much as possible to help keep you
in the ring. Remember that the other three wrestlers are almost
always out to get you (look at their player indicators and you will
see), they only go after AI wrestlers if you are really preoccupied.
UPDATE: I got an email from "Tyson" and he suggests the following:
From the start, let the other three opponents duke it out. Then
take out those that are a bit dizzy and toss 'em. Be careful when
approaching any wrestlers though, because if you walk up to them
when they have their backs to the ropes, you will be whipped over
the top. Stand back until he/she comes to you, or use a running
attack against him/her. If and when you are able to clear the ring,
just stand back and wait for the next opponent to arrive. Don't
attack him/her immediately, he/she will reverse attack. Step back
then engage the opponent. Keep this up, and with some practice
you will succeed like "Tyson". (As I mentioned, using similar
tactics like those of "Tyson's" I managed to reach the mid twenties,
so it looks like I need more practice.... naaaah, I'll stick to the
multi-tap unless it's for real!)
The Royal Rumble is truly the longest, most difficult match you will
face, so good luck.
February
--------
-Match- #08
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Handicap
-Opponent- vs. Rock n' Sock Connection
-Win- Go to #09 (15 points)
-Loss- Go to #09 (19 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet Paul Bearer. He'll
offer you some advice so respond to him in kind if you wish.
(Win with a positive response to Paul Bearer) The Acolytes
will comment on the match you've just had and you will be
prompted to respond.
Tips: By now you should have fought in a Handicap Match. Whether against
the powerful Dudleyz, the speedy Hardyz, or the brawling Acolytes,
they are mere jobbers and up n' comers compared to the Rock n' Sock
Connection. The Rock and Mankind each have distinct styles that you
must defend against, which is why this specific Handicap matchup is
more difficult. Stay alert against the Rock's speed, and watch out
for Mankind's brawling endurance. Mr. Socko is a force to be
reckoned with, so make sure to stay away from Mankind if his
FINISHER is ready. With your preseason winding down, it's very
important that you go out with a bang, so make these last two
months count.
UPDATE: According to Sting12086, if one of your opponents gets a FINISHER
Dot before you do, take him/her outside the ring. It's impossible
to be KO'd out there, so coax him/her into performing the FINISHER
then, shake out of it and continue the match back in the squared
circle.
-Match- #18
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- 3 Way Dance
-Opponent- vs. X-Pac and Ken Shamrock
-Win- Go to #19 (36 points)
-Loss- Go to #19 (6 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet Chyna. She'll ask
you for some assistance to attack Ken Shamrock, help her if
you wish.
Tips: Similar to a Handicap Match, this 3 Way Dance is just as troublesome.
If you've faced Val and D'Lo in November, then you'll know just what
to expect. This time however, it will be against two distinct
opponents, the speedster X-Pac, and the powerful submission expert
Ken Shamrock. It will definitely be a true test of your wrestling
abilities. Remember it's every man for himself, so follow my
suggestions and you will surely win. The first thing to note is
which opponent has less health. That will be the man that you focus
your attacks on. Second, try to keep the two apart, either by
throwing the healthier man out of the ring, or keeping them at
opposite ends of the ring. Third, make sure to keep the player
indicators on so that you can properly alternate attacks between
X-Pac and Shamrock when necessary, but again since it is a 3 Way
Dance, try to focus on the weaker individual. "Quick recovery" moves
are the key to victory. Lastly, if I remember correctly, there are
NO COUNT OUTS, but I think that ROPE BREAKS are on, and you MUST PIN
IN THE RING. With those ideas in mind, take the fight outside to
build up for a FINISHER or two. Then toss the weaker man back into
the ring for the victory. KO'S work best in this match, since
pinfalls are usually broken up by the free standing opponent. Oh
yeah, one more thing... be careful of using a FINISHER on an
opponent and let the other guy slide in for the surprise pin.
-Match- #28
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Hardcore
-Opponent- Al Snow
-Win- Go to #29 (24 points)
-Loss- Go to #29 (6 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, Al Snow will be attacked and you
will come to his aid. Shortly after, he will confront you
backstage and offer his thanks, so respond in kind if you
wish.
Tips: If you thought Mankind was crazy, then you haven't fought against
Al Snow in a Hardcore Match. My only advice is to remember since
it's a Hardcore match, stick to weapons with some reach... bat, metal
rod, kendo stick, broom stick, etc. These will allow you to keep
distance from Snow while still allowing contact through the weapon.
Use R1 to pick up and drop objects and the SQUARE to throw them if
necessary. Don't forget that when you are holding onto something,
you won't be able to grapple, so just keep pressing that X button
and smack away. Attacks work best when your opponent is already
on the mat/ground. Keep Al Snow down until he can no longer move,
by then he's definitely ready to be pinned. Remember though, NO
COUNT OUTS, NO ROPE BREAKS and you can even be PINNED OUTSIDE so
beware.
-Match- #38
-Show- Smackdown
-Type- 4 Way Dance
-Opponent- vs. X-Pac, Mr. Ass, and Road Dogg
-Win- Go to #39 (34 points)
-Loss- Go to #39 (0 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet X-Pac. He'll offer
you some advice so respond to him in kind if you wish.
Tips: Against DX in a 4 Way Dance! Normally, you'd think impossible am I
right? Well, having an extra guy in the ring can sort of be a
blessing in disguise when compared to the 3 Way Dance. The same
rules apply in a 4 Way Dance as they do in a 3 Way Dance. The only
difference as mentioned already, one additional opponent. But this
is good, because the extra man will allow you to pair off. Things
to remember... go for the KO or submission, go after the weakest
wrestler, be aware of everyone's FINISHER bar. Good luck, you'll
need it.
-Match- #48
-Show- Raw is War
-Type- Anywhere Falls
-Opponent- Test
-Win/Loss- Go to #29 (If you help Triple H, 34 points/11 points)
-Win/Loss- Go to #49 (If you don't help Triple H, 34 points/11 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet Triple H. He'll ask
you for some assistance to attack Vince McMahon, help him if
you wish.
Tips: Your final confrontation with Test! I just treat this match like
a Hardcore Match. The only difference is that you can't head
towards the ring... and of course "Falls count anywhere". So beat
Test down backstage and pin him easily for the victory.
March
-----
-Match- #09
-Show- Wrestlemania
-Type- Cage Match
-Opponent- Mankind
-Win- On to Season mode (61 points)
-Loss- On to Season mode (34 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet the Undertaker.
He'll ask you for some assistance to attack Stone Cold, help
him if you wish.
Tips: Wrestlemania has arrived! Your final match of the Preseason so make
it good. If you've basically got a perfect record, then the Cage
Match is the perfect way to end your preseason career. And with
Curt Hennig (aka: Mr. Perfect), or Sean Stasiak (aka: The Perfect
One) both at WCW, Mankind is definitely the perfect choice for your
own personal "Hell in a Cell". Aside for the Royal Rumble, the Cage
match is arguably the most difficult match you will face. How do
you win? Well first of all, there are no pinfall, KO, or submission
victories. The only way is over the top (there is a door, but it's
always locked). So begin by beating Mick to an inch of his life.
When he is basically not moving anymore then it's time to start
climbing. Push your directional pad towards one of the cage walls,
then press R1 to begin climbing. Once you are on the wall, move the
directional pad left and right and the climbing will begin. Let's
just hope you make it over before Foley wakes up. If he does, he
will definitely walk over to the cage and begin rattling it to knock
you down. Before he does, I suggest you hit the X button and perform
an Elbow Drop on top of him.
If by chance Mankind gets the upper hand and makes it onto the wall
first, then do your best to wake from dizziness. Afterwards head
towards the side that Mick is climbing and begin attacking that wall.
If your attack is too weak, he will not fall. It works best when you
are directly under Foley.
The action will be fast and furious so keep it up until you are
victorious. Do well and you may even earn the CAGE MATCH+!
-Match- #19
-Show- Wrestlemania
-Type- 4 Way Dance
-Opponent- vs. Stone Cold, Big Show, and The Rock
-Win- On to Season mode (53 points)
-Loss- On to Season mode (28 points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you'll see a cut scene of Mankind
and The Rock discussing strategy backstage. Shortly after,
you will meet the Big Boss Man. He'll ask you for some
assistance to attack the Big Show, help him if you wish.
Tips: Wrestlemania has arrived! Your final match of the Preseason so make
it good. You should know what to do by now. As for who to go after,
the weakest man of course! Otherwise it's your choice, the roughneck
brawler Stone Cold, the powerhouse Big Show, or the man with the
"Most electrifying move in sports entertainment today!", The Rock.
If you're a submission expert, I would definitely go after the Big
Show, he is most susceptible. Remember to watchout for FINISHERs,
and remember that the "People's Elbow" can be stopped. Just remember
to change your player indicator to focus your attention on The Rock
if you plan on negating him.
-Match- #29
-Show- Wrestlemania
-Type- Tag Team
-Opponent- with Triple H vs. Rock n' Sock Connection
-Win- On to Season mode (62 points)
-Loss- On to Season mode (?? points)
-Interactions- Sometime before the match, you will meet Triple H. He'll
offer you some advice so respond to him in kind if you wish.
Shortly after, Mr. Ass will offer some advice provided you
reacted in a positive manner towards Triple H, respond to
him in kind if you wish.
Tips: Wrestlemania has arrived! Your final match of the Preseason so make
it good. My favorite of all the Wrestlemania matches, teaming up
with "The Game" against "The People's Champ" and the man who many
refer to as a God of professional wrestling. Unlike previous Tag
Team bouts, this is a clash between some of the WWF's top stars.
With Triple H as your partner, you will at least have a seasoned
veteran on your side. If you've faced the Rock and Mankind before,
you'll know what to expect. Counter the Rock's speed, or Foley's
brawling style and you will end up with your final win. Tag
often, especially if you are tiring out. And use every little
trick you have to succeed, cuz this is the end of a years worth
of training.
CAUTION: When playing this and any other tag matches beware. I've had
the strange experience with the controllability switching from
Controller #1, to Controller #2 after a tag is made. I'll
explain. Let's say I was using "Bruiser" in the match. I'm
obviously using Controller #1 right!?!, then I tag Shane in but
suddenly I'm controlling Shane. After the next tag is made,
it can switch back to normal. Weird occurrence.
In regular tag matches, I've used Controller #1, and tagged in
my friend's wrestler on Controller #2, and we've reversed our
controlability. I don't know if it's a game glitch, or a
Playstation glitch. Just FYI, so you don't get caught off
guard.
-Match- #39
-Show- Wrestlemania
-Type- Special Referee Match
-Opponent- Triple H
-Win- On to Season mode (56 points)
-Loss- On to Season mode (?? points)
-Interactions- (Win) Pat Patterson will comment on the match you've just had
and you will be prompted to respond.
(Loss) Stephanie McMahon will comment on the match you've
just had and you will be prompted to respond.
Tips: Wrestlemania has arrived! Your final match of the Preseason so make
it good. Nothing too special about this match aside from Shane
McMahon as the Special Referee. Just treat it like a singles match,
but of course you're against one of the best... the man who dubs
himself "The Game", cuz he's just "That DAMN good!", Triple H.
The only thing you need worry about is accidently hitting Shane
during the match. If this happens, he will get a few licks on you
before returning to a somewhat impartial state. I wonder if you
consistently attack Shane, will he foil you with a fast count? In
my opinion, the most boring and normal match of all the Wrestlemania
scenarios.
-Match- #49
-Show- Wrestlemania
-Type- Battle Royale
-Opponent- vs. Stone Cold, Vince McMahon, and Triple H
-Win- On to Season mode (?? points)
-Loss- On to Season mode (39 points)
-Interactions- (Loss) Vince McMahon will comment on the match you've just
had and you will be prompted to respond.
Shortly after, Stephanie McMahon and Debra will offer some
advice provided you reacted in a positive manner towards
Vince McMahon , respond to each of them in kind if you wish.
Tips: Wrestlemania has arrived! Your final match of the Preseason so make
it good. The Battle Royale, one of the two possible matchups where
you can face Stone Cold, and the only one where you can lay a hand
on your boss, Vince McMahon. How does the Battle Royale work?
Well, all 4 men begin in the ring at the same time. Everytime a
wrestler is pinned, KOed, or submits, he must immediately leave
and the remaining wrestlers continue to battle until one man is
left standing. Personally, I would go after Vince first since he
is the only "non-wrestler". Hopefully while you're working on
Vince, Stone Cold and Triple H will go head to head. If you're
lucky, by the time you finish with Vince, either Stone Cold or
Triple H will be out of the match. If not, then it's basically
like a 3 Way Dance. Your main focus is to beat on others and not
allow them to lay a hand on you. Remember, you need not be pinned
to be eliminated. Every little attack will count against you for
a KO/submission loss. After suffering enough damage, even a simple
attack like a scoop slam could knock you out so beware. Also note
that any wrestler that is eliminated, will remain at ringside to
grab at legs, tripping up active opponents, so stay avay from the
ropes as much as possible. Work on one man at a time, and you will
emerge victorious.
END
---
After your final match, you will again be greeted by the most power man in
wrestling/sports entertainment today, WWF owner, Vince McMahon. He will
address you by your real name (John Doe in my case), and welcome you to
the WWF as a permanent employee. It doesn't matter if you even lost every
match (the WWF needs jobbers too, like the Brooklyn Brawler for instance).
Make your way to Season mode so that you can begin your run for a belt.
Personal glory awaits you in the matches to come.
V. SEASON MODE
---------------
A) Now that you've finished Preseason, it's time to shine... literally.
Your mission is basically to have gold around your waist, and once you've
got it, never to relinquish it. Well now the question is, "How can I earn
a title shot?" Actually running a Season, is the slow route to take. And
if you decide to play on Easy difficulty, then it's 99% guaranteed that
you'll never break into the top 20 in rankings, so stick to the Medium
difficulty. Also note that interactions/cut scenes for your character
will be limited throughout the Season mode, so don't expect to see your
guy(s) that often. So aside from playing through an infinite number of
seasons, you can quickly earn a title shot by competing in "Exhibition"
matches, or "Create-a-PPV". Those two modes allow you to control both who
you face, and in what type of match you will face him/her/them.
B) In order to compete for a belt though, you must qualify based upon your
current ranking amongst all the wrestlers. Ranking is determined by
points, and points are earned through victory. At the beginning of the
Preseason, you will have 0 points and your rank is between 37 and 40.
On Easy difficulty, a win will usually earn you 1 point, but on higher
difficulty levels, more points can be earned per victory.
Your ranking before heading into Season mode will thus depend on the
difficulty level at which you played, and how well you did. Success
on Easy will most likely land you somewhere between a ranking of 20
and 30. On Medium difficulty, you will land somewhere between #10 and
#20 if you are lucky. But Hard difficulty will take you to the top
rankings of #1 to #10!
C) Here are the ranking breakdowns in order to compete for each title:
WWF Tag Team: You may be any rank and any gender.
WWF Women's: You may be any rank and a female.
WWF European: Your rank must be #20 or higher and any gender.
WWF Hardcore: Your rank must be #20 or higher and any gender.
WWF Intercontinental: Your rank must be #10 or higher and any gender.
WWF World Champion: Your rank must be #5 or higher and a male.
So as you can see, the easiest belts to acquire are the Tag Team straps,
or the Federation Women's belt. The rest, you'll have to work your way
up to earn.
D) If you are anal like me, then you will have followed my advice to import
your create-a-superstar onto a new memory card with no previously saved
options. This will allow the original Title holders at the beginning of
the game to still exist. If not, and you ran the 20+ Seasons, and
countless Preseasons, then everyone's ranks will have changed, and belts
will have changed hands as well. Again, it doesn't really matter, but
I prefer beginning with the original title holders:
World Champion: Triple H
Intercontinental Champion: Chris Jericho
European Champion: Val Venis
Hardcore Champion: Big Boss Man
Women's Champion: Tori
Tag Team Champions: New Age Outlaws
UPDATE: According to "Zer0X", by using the "?" unknown gender, all 6 belts
may be acquired by one create-a-superstar. Also if any create-a-
superstar with belts is deleted, the straps will automatically
revert back to the original holders listed above.
EXHIBITION MODE
---------------
The easiest way to earn a belt is utilizing the Exhibition Mode. If you
have a low ranking, you may immediately challenge the New Age Outlaws (or
whomever the current Tag Champs are) to a Tag Title match. Select a
partner, and switch the option for a Title match. If you created a female
wrestler, then you have the added opportunity to compete for the Women's
Championship. Remember that Exhibition mode let's you compete in any
one single event, which if SAVED can effect both ranking and even title
holder status. This is the most basic way to increase the rank of your
wrestler, one match at a time, before officially entering into Season mode.
But again remember, unless the difficulty is Medium or higher, your rank
will almost never rise above #20.
CREATE-A-PPV MODE
-----------------
This is also one of the better things about the game. Pay Per Views can be
created out of thin air, so let your imagination run wild. Each PPV
consists of a 6 match card (basically enough for each belt to be exchanged).
If SAVED, a PPV can also effect both ranking and title holder status. Also
if you've noticed, each match you participate in shows an "Audience
Ranking". These are kept track of through each PPV that you create, and
there is even a list of the best PPVs ever created, and the best matches
ever from a PPV. Kinda cool, so check from time to time and see the results
of your hard earned efforts.
Here are some things to remember when setting up a Pay Per View:
1) Start with Match #6 and work your way backwards. You will often want
your best belt on the line in this final match.
2) More Title Matches on the line, mean huge ratings. A PPV with all 6
titles on the line will most likely do better in overall ratings that
say having only 2 titles, or none at all being up for grabs. Remember
that in order for a title to be up for grabs, all individuals involved
must qualify in rank and gender for the belt(s) in question.
3) More Specialty Matches also mean better ratings. Fans are often more
interested in say a Cage Match for the World Championship than a regular
singles match. Matches have to be special for viewers to stay tuned.
Boredom will set in if nothing spectacular is being offered, so give
the audience what they want and they'll keep coming back for more.
Remember that Tag Team belts can only be decided in a Tag Team Match,
and the Hardcore belt can only be decided in a Hardcore Match. Aside
from those stipulations, the remaining 4 singles belts may be won in
any other type of matchup.
4) After selecting the types of matches, the participants involved (and
let's hope you qualify), make sure to note that belts are on the line,
and make sure to switch the wrestlers you want to control from COM to
1P, 2P, 3P, or 4P. I can't tell you how many times I forgot to do
one of the above, thereby diminishing the ratings for match, or even
preventing my own participation. (If it happens to you and you wish
to redo the PPV, then "Reboot" with the "Select" + "Start" during a
match).
5) If you wish to earn points quickly, then turn up the difficulty and
put your self in each of the six matches. Remember each victory means
points.
SEASON MODE (REALLY)
--------------------
Okay after raising your superstar's rank, or earning some belts via PPVs or
an Exhibition or two, then it's really time to enter the Season Mode. There
are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you will very rarely see a
cut scene/interaction involving your created superstars... too bad, a flaw
in the programming I guess. Second, you may notice that you may face the
same opponents over and over again. My best guess is that this is similar
to having an on-going feud with that/those wrestlers. Don't worry though,
after a while, it will change, but it will give you experience against
certain fighters so that you can learn how to defend against their styles.
Finally, just roll with the punches. You will lose from time to time, so
don't fret. It's all part of sports entertainment. Sometimes your wrestler
may just be low on health so there's nothing you can do to stop the title
change. Just do your best, and if you lose a belt, you can always get it
back. That's what makes the game interesting and keeps it fresh.
Other things to be aware of during Season Mode. Unless you stay healthy,
you will not compete month after month. Even wrestlers need a break every
once in a while. So if you notice your "Heart" is almost depleted, then
it's a good bet you'll be absent the next month. The best way to stay
healthy is obviously not to take a pummeling match after match. Every
month you are off, your rank is subject to drop as those below you may
compete and surpass you in points. The longer the "vacation" the more your
rank will suffer.
The Royal Rumble is an annual event in January, so follow the same advice
from Preseason and you will be victorious. Also, every June is the King of
the Rings tournament. The participants involved are generally chosen at
random, but you can always bet that big stars are involved. It begins with
a total of 8 wrestlers in 4 brackets. You will fight in three matches if
you make it to the finals. If you manage to be selected to participate,
then do your best to win. Winning 3 matches means major points. If you
are unable to participate in the King of the Rings, then be ready to take
a blow to your ranking.
Other than that, you're basically on your own. After playing on medium for
a while, and winning all the belts, it does get boring. That's when you
turn up the heat on maximum difficulty. Then you'll really have to be on
your toes and everything is on the line. Good luck in your quest for some
gold!
VI. COOL EXTRAS
---------------
Since I was in a rush to get the original FAQ out earlier this month, I
forgot to add a section on how to perform certain moves that aren't listed
in the instruction booklet that comes with the game itself. My friend Zeke
was kind enough to point out my exclusion, so here it is:
A) Vaulting Body Press: Took me a while to figure out how to do this move,
and afterwards, I couldn't believe how simple it
was to execute. I had gotten it out by mistake
a few times and eventually learned how to do it.
First, your opponent has to be outside of the ring.
Second, line up against the ropes nearest the
opposing wrestler. Third, bounce off the ropes
with the Triangle button, and then immediately
press the X button. Instead of slingshotting off
the ropes, your superstar will leap over and out
of the ring and splash onto your victim!
B) Leap Frog, Slide, Duck: I also figured out that while running, or
bouncing off the ropes, you could press the
Square button and a) Leap Frog your opponent if
facing his/her back, or b) Slide between the
opponent's legs if facing him/her, c) sometimes
the wrestler may even Duck and avoid an oncoming
attack. Originally I thought it was (Square then
X) like the Baseball slide, but after some
experimentation I found out I was wrong, and only
needed to use the Square button.
C) Taunt off ropes: While bouncing off the ropes, I also discovered that
if you press the Taunt button and a) your opponent was
basically on the mat, you would skip over him/her, or
b) if you had Irish Whipped your opponent and he/she is
coming towards you, you will lay down instead and he/she
will skip over you.
D) Tripping opponents: As is often seen in the Battle Royal mode, when a
wrestler is outside the ring, he/she may press the
Circle button and grab the feet of anyone near the
ring ropes. One grab will cause a trip, and another
will actually pull the opponent out. I think this
also works backstage on the elevated platform located
in the kitchen. Also, if an opponent is stuck on a
turnbuckle, you can run outside that corner, pull
the legs and injure the crotch. Kinda cool, but hard
to pull off on your own because of the timing. It's
easier in tag mode, or if the opponent is severely
dizzy.
E) Irish Whip near the seats: If you've got the opponent outside and Irish
Whip as close a possible to the seats, your
superstar will actually grab the opponent by
the hair and headbutt him/her on the railing.
Zeke discovered this one by the way.
F) Irish Whip Reversal: Though I haven't gotten this move fully discovered
yet, I have on occasion been able to reverse an
Irish Whip. My only observations are: a) if
you are dizzy and being Irish Whipped, then a
reversal may not be possible, and b) just as you
are about to be thrown, press Square (block) then
Circle to perform the reversal. I'm pretty sure
this is correct, but if someone can confirm it
would be nice, since "blocking" moves is a timing
thing.