WWE 2K16: Latest News and Buzz for Week of Sept. 28

Steve Austin may be on the cover of WWE 2K16, but whatever wrestlers fans dream up look to be the real stars of the game.

2K Sports pulled back the curtain on the improved MyCareer mode, releasing a trailer and discussing its details. Judging by that new info, creating a fictional grappler and then guiding him to a WWE Hall of Fame induction looks to be mighty fun.

More options, more potential paths and more intense rivalries are coming players' way.

Other WWE 2K16 news includes potential leaked matches for the story mode featuring Stone Cold himself, the increased role for managers and one of the features the video game will not be adding. 

As WWE builds toward the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, 2K has a similar time frame in order to get its fanbase pumped for WWE 2K16. The game is set for release on Oct. 27 in the U.S. and Oct. 30 internationally. 

Showcase Mode and Highlight Reel

Full details on the Austin Showcase mode have yet to emerge, but new information has let fans know a bit more about what to expect with that part of the game.

WWE 2K16 is most certainly featuring Mikey Whipwreck vs. Steve Austin from 1995. Joey Styles informed fans in a recent YouTube video that the bout will be playable, and also that he will be announcing it:

That's not the most iconic bout on Austin's resume, but if the story mode is going to capture his rise to the top, it should definitely feature some of his work in ECW. That's where he started to morph into the take-no-prisoners brawler he would eventually become.

In addition, fans can seemingly count on playing two of Austin's most famous bouts.

A giveaway associated with the SummerSlam 2015 DVD reportedly gave away two of the matches set for the Showcase mode. Chris Mawson wrote on Power Up Gaming, "Customers who purchase the event from Walmart are being provided with a promo code for the retailer’s TV on-demand service Vudu, allowing them to download the real-life versions of two matches that are to be included in the upcoming game’s story mode."

Those matches happen to be Austin vs. Triple H at No Way Out 2001 and Austin vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven.

Even if this info hadn't leaked, most fans would have guessed that those two classics would be included. It's impossible to tell Austin's story without his battles with The Rock, and his Three Stages of Hell contest against Triple H is probably the most fun thing to play from his career.

Still, The Rock vs. Austin was already in WWE 2K14.

Those fans looking forward to viewing replays of all the mayhem in those or other matches will have to wait.

On 2K's official forum, community manager Bryan Vore quoted producer Mark Little as saying, "We know many of the fans want a Highlight Reel or Replay Camera system to return and it is on our list of features ideas/requests for coming titles."

That appears to be another of the victims of the transition from THQ to 2K. The latter company overhauling the series has led to a variety of improvements, but the process is going to be a long one. 

MyCareer 

The biggest selling point for WWE 2K16 promises to be its much-improved career mode. While last year, 2K laid out a bare-bones beginning to the feature, its second effort looks to be miles better.

WWE released a new trailer that showed off the game's highlights, as well as revealed a number of key details from one of the developers.

As seen in the video, players will begin their careers at NXT and will have to either align or battle against The Authority, all while trying to build a Hall of Fame resume:

Renee Young will conduct interviews in which players will have a chance to let their created characters express their personalities. How one answers those questions helps shape what alliances and rivalries come one's way. 

Players will have various run-in options, including where and whom to attack. Fans can also have their created wrestlers distract a foe, helping someone else to an easy victory.

To reach the Hall of Fame, a player has to achieve a number of milestones, but there looks to be some choice on which ones to focus on. Both accumulating championships and delivering quality matches can help one reach the Hall, for example.

As thrilling as all that is, players still using current-gen consoles aren't going to be happy.

Once again, they get the shaft when it comes to career mode. As David Bixenspan noted for F4WOnline, "My Career will only be available in the Playstation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game."

New Footage

The MyCareer trailer wasn't the only clip to educate fans on what to expect from the upcoming video game. A pair of gameplay videos also offered some intriguing tidbits.

The WWE2KDev YouTube page uploaded a match that highlighted how much more involved managers can be in WWE 2K16: 

In it, the referee ejects Xavier Woods, Enzo Amore pulls the referee out of the ring to avoid a three-count and Woods stands on the apron to distract Colin Cassady. Those are all standard things one sees on WWE programming, but they hadn't been worked into the virtual version of the squared circle enough in the past.

These improved manager antics add a great amount of depth to gameplay. No longer are cornermen just standing at ringside; they are key parts of the action.

Another clip shows The Vaudevillains battling Amore and Cassady:

This video is proof of how much 2K has worked on adding animations and smaller details. Lots of the wrestlers' mannerisms are well represented in the game.

Simon Gotch's delayed, theatrical elbow drop and him doing pushups on his foe's back are both seen in the video. Amore's trademark boxer's shuffle is part of the game. The same goes for Cassady hyping the crowd by spelling out "sawft."

If 2K made sure to add all those items to a couple of NXT tag teams' arsenals, one has to imagine that the bigger stars are going to have even more of their real-life shtick transferred to the video game. 

As the release date for WWE 2K16 draws closer, the picture what the game will be continues to get clearer. In the coming weeks, gamers are sure to learn more about Austin's story, what kind of OMG! moments are on tap and what developers have in mind to replace the MyCareer mode on current-gen consoles.