Not everyone has a game controller, or a handheld console, with themselves at all times - but we all crave that peace of ringside action from time to time. And if you do, too, then read on and find out how to kill five minutes in the line, while diving into the exciting world of pro wrestling. No promotion simulators, no merge games, no apps with long, generic and SEO-driven titles.
10. WWE Mayhem
WWE Mayhem’s page on Google Play Store
Despite being one of the better WWE titles on the Play Store as of now, it's not a traditional wrestling game - it's a mobile 1v1 fighter in which every wrestling move is on a super meter, which can also be used to dodge your opponent's supers. Deplete their meter and, to end the match quicker, time your taps right during the pin minigame and win!
The fights are simple to grasp, but that's only scratching the surface of how much stuff you can unlock, by doing challenges, upgrading your existing WWE Superstars, clearing the career mode and acquiring (or outright buying) lootcases that let you unlock even more of WWE's roster.
9. Wrassling
Wrassling’s page on Google Play Store
In this physics-based arcade game, all you really need to do is slide around and clean the house - or, more accurately, the ring. As one of the strongest athletes of Slamdovia, your purpose is to wrassle people out of the squared circle, which frequently gets populated by other little (and big) people who'd gladly throw you outside.
You have a set checklist of tasks to complete, each of which unlocks a funny hat. Hats in Wrassling aren't just cosmetic: you need to keep a hat on for some challenges, as it does affect your Atari 2600's stick figure physics and can easily be taken off by anyone in the ring.
8. Pocket Wrestling
Pocket Wrestling’s page on APKPure
Here's one more 2D ragdoll wrestling game for you! Gameplay-wise, it's exactly the same as Wrassling, with a few mechanical differences: for one, you can't jump. On top of that, there's more trash to throw at people, including... trashcans. As well as ladders.
While there's not much else to say about Pocket Wrestling, it earns a higher position on the list due to its' unique multiplayer. You can play the game, either along with or against a friend, on one and the same phone. No, we're not kidding.
7. Rowdy Wrestling
Rowdy Wrestling’s page on Google Play Store
With a concept similar to Expert Wrassling, Rowdy Wrestling takes the physics ragdoll approach and adds proper matches to it. Whip your arms, drain your opponent's health, then throw them out! There aren't a ton of actual grapple moves in this game, but every now and then, you'll get to smash glass against your rival's head or bonk them with a chair.
Adding to the atmosphere is a tiny roster of dummies, styled after WWF's top roster from the early nineties, which includes Lieutenant Mayhem (Sgt. Slaughter), Captain Fantastic (The Ultimate Warrior), Bonk the Clown (Doink) and Albert the Large Man (Andre the Giant), along with cameos from Jimmy Hart, Mr. Fuji and Paul Bearer. The more matches you win, the more oldies you get to unlock - including The Incredible Hulk knockoff, Basher.
Every character has four career paths in solo mode and three in tag team mode, as well as the infinite Rumble mode, similar to what Wrassling has.
6. TNA Wrestling Impact!
TNA Wrestling Impact Android Gameplay! by Green-Droid on YouTube
One of the few apps on this list that are no longer available on the App Store, and was made around the same time TNA Impact! got its own video game, right at the peak of promotion's popularity. For all intents and purposes, it's the Diet Coke version of the console TNA video game, still focusing on the wrestling part of the experience and still having the same expansive roster of ring oldies and TNA originals of the time, like Sting, AJ Styles and Hulk Hogan.
Unlike its console counterparts, TNA Wrestling Impact! can't boast of a huge variety of modes (not even the Ultimate X Match), but it does have a story campaign, as well as a competent Create-a-Wrestler mode.
5. Rowdy City Wrestling
Rowdy City Wrestling’s page on Google Play Store
Rowdy Wrestling got a sequel - and while it has all of the same old faces, it plays differently: now it's closer to being a platform fighter that not only allows you to perform actual moves, but also take the beatings outside of the ring. In that sense, it's closer to a traditional fighting game, in that you don't have to throw people over the ropes - draining their health bars is enough.
The career mode is expanded upon: instead of three gauntlets of fights for every character, there's a hub that allows you to upgrade your character or buy single-time powerup smoothies for them (with money you earn ingame, of course). The more you get hurt, the more injuries you have to heal between matches, so keep an eye on that as well.
In a way, it's surprising how RCW manages to transform its prequel's gameplay by using the same four on-screen buttons.
4. Wrestling Revolution 3D
Wrestling Revolution 3D’s page on Google Play Store
Mat Dickie's Wrestling Mpire series is something of a cult classic among pro wrestling fans who are also into video games - and an endless source of mods from the community. And its spinoff, Wrestling Revolution, is absolutely no exception.
Similarly to the Fire Pro Wrestling series - another cult classic among fans - WR3D features a roster of wrestlers and fighters from several different companies, all with fake names, as they were not licensed. Renaming those is up to you, as the game freely lets you customise every pre-existing character.
Compared to its' 2D equivalent, called simply Wrestling Evolution, 3D's main draw is the insane deathmatches you can pull off, allowing you to either put barbed wire in place of ropes and concrete instead of mats, or turn the whole arena into a minefield. Dismemberment comes bundled with the dynamite.
3. WWE 2K
WWE 2K Mobile: 7 YEARS LATER by Section Plays on YouTube
A while ago, 2K Games wanted to break its' tradition of doing yearly WWE releases, - at least for mobile, - and keep that one app updated yearly, hence the name WWE 2K, without the year. This, however, was not to happen, and the only WWE game to be the closest to its console counterparts was abandoned.
While less arcadey than most other entries on this list, it holds up pretty well long after its' release, with most of the top-billed roster from WWE 2K15, a character creator (with unlockable customisation options), cage matches, intuitive touch controls and even 1v1 Bluetooth multiplayer! The crowd and Superstar entrances from the mainline WWE games are present as well.
WWE 2K has been delisted from the Google Play Store a while ago (like the aforementioned TNA Wrestling Impact!), but it's definitely unlike any WWE-branded game that's officially available for download. Nevertheless, it can be sideloaded and played without a hitch.
2. Wrestling Revolution
Wrestling Revolution’s page on Google Play Store
The non-3D Wrestling Revolution game comes with the same features: a ginormous roster, the career simulation mode that plays everything, kayfabe or not, as if it were real, and the sheer chaos some of the matches can devolve into.
While the 3D version had more egregious deathmatches, the draw of the 2D version is its' props, which could appear in any mode: rideable motorcycles, explosive TV sets, cameras, guitars you can play on and, if that wasn't enough, shootable guns. And after you're done toying around, set all of that garbage on fire, along with everyone else on the ring.
1. Wrestling Empire
Wrestling Empire’s page on Google Play Store
The newest in the line of MDickie's pro wrestling titles, Wrestling Empire is generally considered to be the best one, the most fully-featured one and, as you'd expect, the most fun one for the platform.
On top of everything Mat Dickie has developed over the years for his Wrestling MPire series (yes, without the "E"), Empire features an improved simulation mode, as well as a more elaborate match creator that allows you, among other things, to fit a hundred people into one cage and then watch them either try to climb outside or beat each other to a bloody pulp.
The best part? Wrestling Empire is also available for PC and Nintendo Switch - with exactly the same feature set and customisation options as in the mobile version.
