WWE 2K23 is by far the best wrestling video game till date. The graphics in them are so realistic that it actually feels like you are watching a televised wrestling match. That said, wrestling games have not always been the only place where you could play your favorite WWE stars. Just recently John Cena became a playable golfer in the golfing video game, PGA Tour 2K23.

So let’s take a look at 6 other instances where wrestlers have been part of non-wrestling video games.

1. Dwayne Johnson played a secret agent in SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run in 2006

This was back in 2006 when Johnson was just starting to make a name for himself in Hollywood with movies like The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King. Hence the video game SpyHunter thought it would be best to use Johnson’s popularity to revive the game. SpyHunter is a vehicular combat game that gives gamers a chance to take on the role of a secret agent.

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The game was quite a hit in the early 2000s but by 2005, it had lost its popularity. Hence the series was rebooted in 2006 with the game SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run where they roped in Johnson to play secret agent Alex Decker. Sadly that was not enough to save the game and it tanked badly after its release.

2. Ric Flair played a Commander in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3

Ric Flair is famous for his charismatic and over-the-top promos in the WWE. The energy that he exuded while talking in the ring has yet to be matched by any wrestler to date. It is for this exact reason that Flair made an appearance in the video game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3.

This game had a certain feature where commanders of various factions would deliver mission objectives to the player through a video-recorded message. This gave the military game a very realistic and personal feel. Flair played the role of Commander Douglas Hill and used his actual invigorating and pumped-up persona to charge players up in the game’s Command Challenge mode. Hollywood superstars like J.K Simmons, George Takei, and Tim Curry also played generals in the video game.

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3. “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey voiced Mortal Kombat’s Sonya Blade

It would be really odd if Ronda Rousey never made it to this list considering how popular she is among gaming fans being a self-proclaimed video game nerd herself. Having been part of both UFC and WWE, Rousey has gained a huge fan following worldwide. Although she is now focussing on releasing her next memoir, ‘My Life Outside the Ring: A Memoir’, back in 2019, she was roped in to voice Sonya Blade in the video game Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019.

She even cosplayed Sonya Blade while defending her title at WWE’s Elimination Chamber in 2019. And Rousey is not the only wrestler to be associated with the game. In 2023, Batista was part of the official live-action trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 which was released in September 2023. But talking about MK 1, another wrestler, or more so his iconic superhero character, has been added to the fighter roster.

4. John Cena’s Peacemaker has been added to the Mortal Kombat 1 fighting roster

Over the years, Mortal Kombat has been known for introducing characters from different movie franchises into its fighting roster. Right from Predator to Robocop to even Arnold Schwarzenegger from Terminator, all have been part of the gaming franchise.

In a video released in August 2023, NetherRealm Studios, the makers of MK 1 confirmed the list of characters that would be part of the game’s Kombat Pack DLC. That list includes John Cena’s Peacemaker, Omni-Man, Homelander, and a few other crossover characters.

5. God of War’s Kratos was modeled on the late wrestler Shad Gaspard

Many gaming fans will be shocked to know that the late WWE wrestler was actually connected to one of the biggest video games in gaming history. Shad Gaspard provided the motion capture for Kratos in the video game God of War. This event took place in 2018.

Sadly just 2 years later, Gaspard lost his life while trying to save that of his son. The two were caught in a rip current in the Venice Beach neighborhood of Los Angeles. Gaspard attempted to save his son’s life but tragically disappeared underwater soon after. Post his death, WWE honored Gaspard in 2022 with the Warrior Award for his brave actions to save his son.

6. NJPW’s Minoru Suzuki did the motion capture for ‘King’ in the Tekken franchise

King in the Tekken franchise is a fighter who plays a pro wrestler. This video game character was based on two real-life pro wrestlers. One was a Japanese wrestler named Satoru Sayama who always wore a tiger mask and the other was Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta. Jack Black’s hit comedy movie Nacho Libre in 2006 was also inspired by Fray Tormenta.

Hence it was only apt to get an actual pro wrestler for the motion capture of King. Finally, after a lot of scouting in the 90s, Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist Minoru Suzuki was hired to replicate their famous wrestling moves.

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