Well, after one of the worst games of all time with WWE 2K20, 2K22 has proven to be universally more rated. It’s a giant leap forward for the franchise, and a much needed one too! I’m very much enjoying this game so far, mainly down to my on-going Universe Mode… which seamlessly brings me on to Chapter 2 of my ongoing series.
With chapter 1 focusing on the initial set-up and opening show of my own WWE (PS4) Universe, this time around I will look at the shows leading up to and including my first PPV, WrestleMania Backlash! But before I get to the big show itself, here’s the results from the shows I did to lead up to it and to put the main card together…
As I mentioned last time, the Universe Mode on 2K22 no longer has promo segments which you can add in, so you will have to allow me some creative license along the way to help me explain things, interspersed with the actual matches I put together in the game.
I will run through the weekly shows a lot quicker than I did in my last blog, as the main focus of this one will be the PPV itself.
Raw – May, Week 2
Lashley & MVP call out Keith Lee, Benjamin & Alexander attack
1: Rhea Ripley beats Liv Morgan
Bliss promo on titantron to Ripley
2. Walter (with Aichner & Barthel) beats Titus O’Neil
Walter promo on Orton
AJ Styles & Omos backstage promo on tag division
3. Moustache Mountain beat Miz & Morrison (Priest interference)
4. Sheamus beats R-Truth
Carmella backstage interview teasing a ‘surprise’
5. Samoa Joe beats Mustafa Ali
Riddle-Pete Dunne backstage confrontation
6. Mia Yim & Nikki A.S.H beats Carmella & Maryse
Io Shirai promo package
7. Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott beats Drew Gulak
8. Keith Lee & King Nakamura beat Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander (with MVP)
SmackDown – May, Week 2
Sasha Banks in-ring, confronted by Charlotte Flair
1: Roman Reigns (with Paul Heyman) & Jimmy Uso beat Cesaro & X-Pac
2. Seth Rollins beat Finn Balor – Backstage Brawl
3. Street Profits beat Alpha Academy
Big E backstage promo on all in his match later
4. Murphy beats Oney Lorcan
5. Big E, Ricochet & Jeff Hardy beats Sami Zayn, Happy Corbin & Apollo Crews
Bayley-Bianca backstage confrontation
Roode&Ziggler in-ring promo
6. Robert Roode (with Dolph Ziggler) beats Dominik Mysterio (with Rey Mysterio)
Drew McIntyre backstage interview (on the Rollins-Balor brawl)
7. Drew McIntyre beats Kevin Owens
8. Charlotte Flair beats Sasha Banks (with a run-in/interference from Natalya)
Raw – May, Week 3
1: Io Shirai & Toni Storm beats Dana Brooke & Liv Morgan
Lashley backstage promo with MVP
2. Samoa Joe beats Elias
Mustafa Ali promo
3. Moustache Mountain beat Lucha House Party
Riddle backstage segment with Swerve
4. AJ Styles (with Omos) beats Mansoor
AJ Styles promo on the tag division and Moustache Mountain
Keith Lee backstage promo
Miz in-ring promo on Damian Priest
5. Braun Strowman beats The Miz (with John Morrison)
6. Viking Raiders beat Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aicher (Randy Orton interference)
Ripley-Bliss in-ring segment
7. Riddle beats Pete Dunne & Isaiah Swerve Scott in a triple threat number 1 contenders match for the US title
8. Bobby Lashley (with MVP) beats King Nakamura (with Keith Lee)
SmackDown – May, Week 3
Apollo Crews in-ring promo
1: Jeff Hardy beats Ricochet & Sami Zayn & Happy Corbin in a fatal 4 way number 1 contender’s match for the IC title
Bianca Belair backstage interview
2. Bianca Belair beats Shayna Baszler with Bayley on commentary
Sasha Banks backstage interview
3. The Usos beat Breezango
Finn Balor backstage interview
4. Finn Balor beats Murphy
5. Tegan Nox & Shotzi beat Toni Storm & Io Shirai in the semi final of the women’s tag title tournament
6. Rey Mysterio (with Dominik Mysterio) beats Dolph Ziggler (with Robert Roode)
7. Sasha Banks & Naomi beat Charlotte Flair & Natalya
8. Apollo Crews (C) beats Big E in a Falls Count Anywhere match to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Raw – May, Week 4
Randy Orton promo
1: Randy Orton beats Fabian Aichner
IIconics promo
2. Damian Priest & Braun Strowman beat The Miz & John Morrison
3. Alexa Bliss beat Dana Brooke
Ripley goes eye to eye with Bliss from the ramp
4. Sheamus (C) beats Riddle to retain the United States Championship
Mia Yim & Nikki A.S.H backstage promo
5. Toni Storm (with Io Shirai) beat Mickie James
6. Mustafa Ali beat R-Truth
Ali promo on Samoa Joe
backstage segment with AJ Styles – Tyler Bate – Erik
7. The IIconics beat Mia Yim & Nikki A.S.H in a women’s tag title tournament semi final
Contract signing: Keith Lee – Bobby Lashley turns into:
8. Backstage Brawl where Keith Lee beats Bobby Lashley
SmackDown – May, Week 4
‘The Bloodline’ in-ring promo, interrupted by Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
1: Charlotte Flair beat Naomi
Mysterios interview backstage
2. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio (C) beat Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode to retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles
3. Jeff Hardy beat Jinder Mahal (with Apollo Crews)
Jeff & Apollo go eye to eye
4. Peyton Royce (with Billie Kay) beat Tegan Nox (with Shotzi)
5. Austin Theory beat Ricochet by cheating
Ricochet in-ring interview
Cesaro backstage promo
6. Finn Balor beats Kevin Owens by DQ
7. Tamina beat Natalya
8. Roman Reigns & The Usos beat Cesaro, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods in a 6 man tag match
And so finally it is time for MY WrestleMania Backlash PPV! It went a little something like:
WrestleMania Backlash – May, Sunday Week 4 (Fort Worth, Texas)
Match 1:
I’d go Bianca to retain here. Just as she did over Bayley on this show irl, all about building Belair at this point. And a win on PPV here against a former champion is a big scalp.
Match 2:
This is absolutely a dream match, and I feel like now is not the time to beat Walter. That combined with Orton more than being able to take a loss, means there was only one way I was going to have this match go.
Match 3:
I feel like you need these sort of matches on any Pay per View, just the total carnage, action-packed fun fests. Sheamus retains as I don’t want to stop his reign just yet…
Match 4:
As we get to the middle of the show I’m gonna keep the action going with a combination of big stars, and a gimmick match. The babyfaces go over to please the fans, but no real damage done to the losing heels either, so win-win.
Match 5:
One of my missions of this Universe Mode is to try and do what WWE have failed to do, make the women’s tag titles MEAN SOMETHING! So I’ve gone with The IIconics as my first champions, they are a known TEAM rather than just two singles competitors thrown together, plus as heels I feel I can book them into some real heat, until I’ve built up challengers with enough steam to get the big win.
Match 6:
Yes… I know… a dusty finish in a world title match on PPV isn’t ideal. But I don’t want Lee to lose the title, and I want to protect Lashley… I will get to a long term feud ender between these two, now isn’t that time…
Match 7:
I see this as a big time match in the women’s division. But as much as I like Bliss, I feel in a similar way to Belair, Rhea Ripley could do with another big name win. Having won the rematch with Asuka, a win here over Bliss continues a strong start to her title reign. There’s a lot of moving parts in my ideas for the women’s division across both my shows, but one thing I want to do is always keep my champions strong.
Match 8:
Another lifelike booking here, with the same main event in my game as WWE booked in reality. Tried my best to make the match good, but it’s all about The Tribal Chief here.
So there we go, another blog post in this series and my first month and PPV done. Next time I’ll be building up to a huge PPV with Money In The Bank featuring both men’s and women’s ladder matches, plus all the world titles at stake.
You think you know what’s next?
Josh.
NobodyisReady.com 