Fans waited for a big announcement from WWE2K 24 today, and it was certainly delivered. Now, we have even more information about what to expect.
WWE 2K24 Promises New Experience
WWE Games announced their cover Superstars for the upcoming WWE 2K24 game, and fans have a reason to be excited. Cody Rhodes will grace the cover of the regular version, whereas Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley are sharing the deluxe edition. Now, we have more information about the upcoming game.
A trailer was also released as part of the information roll-out on January 22nd. This includes even more tidbits about the upcoming Forty Years of WrestleMania mode.
It appears that the 40 years of WrestleMania mode will allow gamers to re-live every past Mania event. This could be an incredible undertaking, and they included a bit of text within the trailer to paint this picture.
Re-Live Forty Years of WrestleMania
All-New Match Types
New Career Mode Experiences
WWE 2K24 Downloadable Content
The Nightmare Family Pack will also be included in this game. That will feature four playable Superstars, including Dusty Rhodes, Dashing Cody Rhodes (in facemask), Stardust, and Superstar Billy Graham.
This will also include new MyFaction cards, including Pharaoh as a manager. Stardust’s inclusion in the game is incredibly interesting, considering Cody’s reluctance to give it a huge spotlight since his return.
WWE 2K24 Release Date
The new game will have two waves for their release dates. On March 5th, WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition and Forty Years of WrestleMania editions will drop.
The standard and cross-gen digital editions of the game will come out on March 8th. Pre-order is now open.
Cody Rhodes made his anticipated return to WWE in what’s being referred to as “the worst kept secret in pro wrestling,” this past weekend when he was revealed as Seth Rollins’ surprise WrestleMania 38 opponent.
Rhodes initially left WWE back in 2016 after being subjected to the Stardust gimmick that he has openly stated he was not a big fan of. Since his departure, Rhodes birthed his “American Nightmare” persona, a play on his father, WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes’, “American Dream” nickname. After a successful indie run, as well as helping build All Elite Wrestling (AEW) up from scratch, Rhodes decided to return to WWE when his contract with AEW expired earlier this year.
Now, after having proved himself as a top singles star away from the company, Rhodes is back in WWE with a much different outlook on his potential. When negotiating his return with Vince McMahon, Rhodes tells BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani he told “The Chairman Of The Board” he never wants to hear about the Stardust gimmick ever again.
“There wasn’t any true guarantees, there was a request,” Rhodes said (via Wrestling Inc.). “I said I never want to ever see Stardust ever again and I never want to see, hear it or talk about it and it was a handshake and that was all I needed.
“Then the first thing I did in the match last night was a random Stardust reference, I thought what’re you doing? You’re going back on your own strange request, other than that it was complex to get this all together and maybe one of wrestling’s biggest contracts, which I’m so flattered about. I have a child so yeah.
Cody Rhodes topped Rollins in an excellent matchup during Night One of WrestleMania 38, and is ready to address the WWE Universe tonight on Monday Night RAW. It will be interesting to see what’s in store for “The American Nightmare” in the midst of the WrestleMania fallout.
Arn Anderson is currently Cody Rhodes’ manager in AEW. Double-A has a long history with the Rhodes family including working backstage in WWE while both Cody and his older brother Dustin were on the active roster. In 2014, Cody debuted the “Stardust” gimmick with WWE. Anderson recently commented on the gimmick during an episode of “the Arn Show.”
“I didn’t dislike it from the fact that the costuming and Cody looked good in that character. I know that every time I dealt with Cody from day one he would give you the best he could,” Anderson said. “And I know that there should be some good things happening for him in the business because his attitude was good, his ability was good, straight away.”
“They put this character on him, I didn’t know how strongly he was against it until later,” Arn continued. “I thought he did a good job with it and he looked good in the costuming and the whole deal but there was no plan past that.”
Arn then said what he couldn’t figure out was that the new gimmick wasn’t meant to elevate Cody up the card.
“When they change you and change your character and you just stay at a level-push, you don’t go anywhere with that then what was the reason to change you?” Arn asked. “If there were no positive plans to elevate you and that is what I couldn’t figure out.”
Elijah Mainville was given an honorary contract by the WWE during his battle with neuroblastoma cancer. His ring name was Drax Shadow and he posed with former WWE Superstar Stardust in the ring. Unfortunately, Mainville passed away at just 9 years old. Mainville’s family has started a GoFundMe account to help with his funeral costs. You can donate to the Mainville family by clicking here.
Cody Rhodes addressed Elijah Mainville’s passing on Twitter.
Cody Rhodes has asked to be released from his contract with WWE.
The wrestler, who portrays Stardust, said on his personal Twitter account on Saturday, “The past ten years have been quite the trek, but as of earlier today I have asked for my release from WWE.”
“I’ll speak further on the matter shortly. Thank you to all the pro-wrestling/sports entertainment fans worldwide. Thank you.”
– Damien Sandow will be appearing at the June 11 GFW – WrestlePro event in Keyport, New Jersey with Hornswoggle and Zeb Colter, who were also released from WWE last week.
– Next Monday will see the season finale of The Edge & Christian Show air on the WWE Network.
When asked by a fan on Twitter about his future, Cody Rhodes aka Stardust revealed his plans for retirement. His father Dusty wrestled until he was 60 years old, and his brother Dustin currently wrestles at 46, but Cody says he’s going to bow out of competition a little sooner.
Stardust crashed Stephane Amell’s “Arrow” panel at Dallas Comic Con on Saturday, returning his Slammy Award, throwing a glass of water in his face and challenging him to a singles match.
The two had been teasing a confrontation in the days leading up to what transpired yesterday. This appears to set the stage for a match at WrestleMania 32, coincidentally also in the Dallas area.
"If he wants a singles match, all he has to do is ask." – @amellywood
Amell teamed with Neville to defeat Stardust and Bad News Barrett at last year’s SummerSlam event after months of buildup. Now the Arrow super hero and WWE’s resident super villain will get a chance to settle their differences one on one.
Stardust just crashed Stephen Amell's panel….
Posted by Robbie Amell on Saturday, February 13, 2016
– The 2/4 episode of WWE Smackdown on USA drew drew 2,414,000 viewers, down a bit from last week. Even with less people watching, Smackdown was the highest rated show on cable for the night.
– It looks like Stardust could be paying actor Stephen Amell a visit tomorrow at the the Dallas Comic Con event. Amell will be appearing at the fan expo on Saturday and Sunday and the two appear to be teasing a potential confrontation:
– John Cena continues to make huge strides with his recovery from shoulder surgery. The 15-time world champion is back with another workout video showing fans just how hard he’s working to return to action as soon as possible. Just 5 weeks out of surgery, Cena is already squatting over 300 pounds. The original
It looks like one of the more pleasantly surprising storylines from WWE in 2015 is going to be continuing. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson is reporting that this Saturday at the Heroes and Villains Fan Fest in Secacus, New Jersey, WWE has plans to send a crew to shoot video of a confrontation between Stardust and Arrow star Stephen Amell. It would seem as if there are now plans to do a singles match between them, and since it’s a celebrity match, you have to wonder if it’s earmarked for WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas.
Amell and Stardust had a brief feud last year culminating in a tag team match at SummerSlam, where Amell and Neville defeated Stardust and King Barrett. Amell showed pretty impressive athleticism in his appearances, even hitting a big dive off the top rope to the floor at SummerSlam, and generally got high marks from fans for his performances. However, he was clearly being protected by the tag match booking at SummerSlam and a singles match is a much taller order for a non-wrestler.
NXT star Bronson Matthews (Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl) stepped in it big time on Monday night with a tweet that has drawn heat from NXT and WWE veterans. During RAW, “Big Action” took it upon himself to deem the Social Outcasts the #SocialJobbers.
The tweet got the attention of Kevin Owens (who eventually blocked him), his NXT peer Bull Dempsey and Stardust, who says Bronson probably won’t be welcomed in the WWE locker room – if he ever makes it there. Josh deleted some of his tweets, but here’s what’s still available from the exchange:
– As noted, Ric Flair noted during a recent edition of his “WOOOO! Nation” podcast that Stardust is currently out of action with a neck injury. Although he was sent to a local hospital for fear of a possible bone fracture but was cleared, Flair claims it is a neck injury that Stardust is dealing with as a result of his December 7th RAW match against Jack Swagger.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Stardust was medically cleared to return to the ring this past Monday, but for whatever reason, did not work this week’s RAW or Super SmackDown shows.
As noted, Stardust also missed the WWE Tribute To The Troops taping last week due to the same injury, as he and real-life wife Eden had the following exchange on social media that confirmed the fact that Stardust was originally scheduled for the taping.
.@StardustWWE heard you had a great outfit for Tribute to the Troops. Injury kept you from wearing. Maybe you can wear it on #EdensStyle 💁🏽
– Although he noted on social media that he checked out fine and suffered no fractures, WWE kept Stardust out of the ring again this week. As noted last week, Stardust appeared to suffer an injury during his match against Jack Swagger on the December 7th edition of RAW, and was taken to a local hospital immediately after the show to be evaluated.
– A fan hit the ring at the NXT live event in Sheffield, England as part of the NXT U.K. Tour this past Sunday, December 13th. One of the NXT crew members, possibly Ryan Katz, stopped the fan before anything serious happened. The fan run-in spot took place during a tag-team match that featured The Mechanics vs. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable.
– WWE announcer Scott Stanford, who also works for PIX11 out of New York City, posted the above video clip that shows him meeting George Takei of Star Trek and Howard Stern Show fame.
– As noted earlier this week, Stardust was examined for potential fractures at a local hospital following Monday’s WWE RAW match against Jack Swagger. It turned out that Stardust did not have any fractures, but the injury was bad enough that it kept him off the WWE Tribute To The Troops taping on Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Florida. Stardust and his real-life wife, NXT ring announcer Eden, had the following exchange on social media this weekend about the injury keeping him off of the taping.
.@StardustWWE heard you had a great outfit for Tribute to the Troops. Injury kept you from wearing. Maybe you can wear it on #EdensStyle
– It appears that a movie or documentary on late WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes is going to be released in 2017. Dusty’s son, Cody Rhodes (Stardust), took to social media on Friday to post the following teaser for the project, which he claims will be called, “The Last Cowboy.”
Official announcement & more details forthcoming…but here’s something to get excited for “The Last Cowboy” 2017 pic.twitter.com/yXmsVf5QU1
– Former WWE Divas Champion Layla and former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz were married earlier this month in Arizona. WWE has since acknowledged the marriage, as they wrote the following congratulatory message on their official website on Friday:
“After revealing their engagement this past summer, former WWE Divas Champion Layla and former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz (Richard Young) were married earlier this month. Join the rest of the WWE Universe in congratulating Layla and Ortiz on this exciting new chapter in their lives!”
Stardust (Cody Rhodes) suffered an injury scare as a result of his brief match with Jack Swagger on Monday’s TLC “go-home” edition of RAW. Stardust noted via his private Twitter account that he was examined after the show for potential fractures at Roper Hospital in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Fortunately for Stardust, the news coming out of his hospital visit appears to be positive.
“Thanks to all the folks at Roper hospital for being so accommodating and efficient,” wrote Stardust on his private account, “No fractures.”
The Stardust-Swagger match was joined in progress when RAW returned from commercial and didn’t last long, as Swagger forced him to tap out to the Patriot Lock and then went on to his post-match segment with Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter.
2K Sports issued the following press release today about the “New Moves Pack” released today as downloadable content for owners of the WWE 2K16 video game. It’s included as part of the DLC season pass, and here’s all of the info:
WWE 2K16 New Moves Pack Downloadable Content Now Available
2K today announced WWE 2K16’s first downloadable content offering, the New Moves Pack, is available now for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, as well as Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system, and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft for a suggested price of $3.99. Featuring more than 30 new moves, including the Corner Enzuigiri (made popular by WWE Diva Nikki Bella), Avalanche Ram (made popular by WWE Diva Paige), Sidewinder Suplex (made popular by WWE Superstar Kevin Owens), Standing Crossface Chickenwing (made popular by WWE Superstar Stardust) and Dragon Sleeper (made popular by NXT Superstar Finn Bálor), the New Moves Pack will help fans further customize their favorite Superstars and Divas to dominate their rivals.
The New Moves Pack is also included in the WWE 2K16 Season Pass. For a suggested price of $24.99, a savings of more than 20 percent versus individual content purchases, players will receive the following items as they become available:
Accelerator
Players will gain instant access to all unlockable content available in the game (excluding downloadable content)
Legends Pack
Playable WWE Legends: Big Boss Man, Dusty Rhodes, Lita, Mr. Perfect, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Trish Stratus
2015 Hall of Fame Showcase
Playable matches include:
“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Rikishi vs. The Rock
Alundra Blayze vs. Paige
Larry Zbyszko and Arn Anderson vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair
The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) vs. The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake)
The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)
Future Stars Pack
Playable NXT Superstars: Samoa Joe, Diego, Fernando, Blake and Murphy
Stardust is of course referring to actor Stephen Amell. After Amell and Neville defeated Stardust and King Barrett at SummerSlam, the Arrow star revealed that he was continuing to train in the ring just in case Stardust wanted another shot at him.
– On Twitter today, Xavier Woods of the “UpUpDownDown” YouTube channel noted that they obtained a beta copy of the new Star Wards Battlefront game. They records a gameplay video with Stardust announced to be released soon.
– A live RAW is set to return to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 14, 2015.
– Mattel has an awesome display of upcoming WWE figures including the first Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks, and Bailey. The new WWE figures are followed by returning favorites including but not limited to Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Lana, and Wade Barrett. All of the latest Mattel WWE wrestling figures can be seen below.
– The Total Divas season finale which aired on E! earlier this week brought in 1.158 million viewers according to a report from ShowBuzzDaily.com.
This number is a large increase from the previous week’s episode which brought in an average viewership of 795,000 and is the biggest audience since August 11th which brought in 1.176 million viewers.
– Cody Rhodes was asked during an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune on why following the death of his father Dusty Rhodes he didn’t return as himself.
“It would have been tacky, and it wouldn’t have been genuine. Many years ago, I used to watch Raw with my dad, and we watched Nitro, and we watched the PPVs. Many years ago, there was a wrestler who passed away, and his name was used pretty regularly after that on programming.
People were using it to try and draw the adulation of fans. Everyone was saying, ‘Oh, well such and such who passed away would have loved this.’ And (Dusty) told me, and this is something very few people know, `When I go, don’t ever let anybody say that about me. I left my body of work on the table already and it doesn’t need to be expanded.’ And I never forgot that. So there was never any question on who was coming back.”
– It’s not uncommon these days for WWE talent who are on the main roster to visit NXT and it seems that if a new tweet from Goldust is anything to go by, that’s what’s happening.
It’s not clear whether or not he’s hinting that he’s going to appear on a TV taping, TakeOver or he’s just heading down to work with some of the new guys in Florida.
– Elsewhere in the WWE Universe, Stardust teased on Twitter yesterday (September 25th) that his tailor is hard at work and that new ring gear is on the way.
– Finally, Chris Jericho has posted a photo Instagram celebrating a massive milestone with regards to his podcast Talk Is Jericho where he interviews guests from the wrestling world, the music world and beyond.
In the 22 months the podcast has been active Jericho has recorded 180 episodes and has now confirmed that he has reached 100,000,000 downloads on PodcastOne.
– Here’s the WWE Night Of Champions “Kickoff Show” pre-show featured Stardust & The Ascension vs. Neville & The Lucha Dragons in six man tag-team action:
https://youtu.be/guYuwZ3AaCY
– The following is a video preview of the new WWE Network show “Breaking Ground,” which premieres on the WWE Network on Monday, October 26th.
Actor Stephen Amell and WWE Superstar Stardust teamed up today to deliver a check to the Emily’s House charity based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Amell and WWE raised $297,557 for the special t-shirt that was made for the build-up to WWE SummerSlam, where Amell and Stardust competed in a tag-team match alongside Neville and King Barrett, respectively.
WWE and the “Arrow” star were able to raise the aforementioned amount of money in just five days.
The following are some photos and comments from both Stardust and Stepheen Amell.
– WWE has announced that Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin will be one of the main events at the NXT event in Houston, Texas on Thursday, September 17th.
– The guest on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast is former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts. The show will be available on Tuesday at 9pm EST. at PodcastOne.com.
– As reported over the weekend, WWE has created a new three-person faction called “Cosmic Wasteland,” which consists of Stardust and The Ascension. Konnor from The Ascension recently posted the following tweet praising Stardust, who appears to be the leader of the group:
