Summary
WWE 2K25does a great job of recreating the WWE television shows and premium live events thanks to its production values and excellent visuals. Moreover, the game has reintroduced technical wrestling features like the Chain Wrestling mechanic, giving ita more old-school wrestling feelwhere wrestlers can go back and forth with grapple holds and takedowns.
Of course,WWE 2K25features a good set of technically minded wrestlers with move sets designed to wear down opponents, submit them, and utilize classic wrestling and MMA moves with style. Here are some of thebest technical wrestlers inWWE 2K25.
This list focuses on a wrestler’s technical move-set and how they are designed to break their opponents down instead of their overall Superstar Rating.
Finisher
Arm Trapped Crossface
Johnny Gargano is a former NXT Champion and former WWE Tag Team champion. He has wrestled invarious American wrestling promotions, like Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Ohio, and found success in the Japanese promotion Dragon’s Gate.
He’s a solid technical wrestler with moves that focus on the arms to set up his Arm Trapped Crossface submission finisher, as well as his Superkick signature moves. Gargano also has good technical submissions with the Octopus Stretch and the Fujiwara Armbar and satisfying moves like the Shiranu and Diced Bread that can be used to damage the head.
The Cross Rhodes
Cody Rhodes has come a long waysince he came back to the WWE. He was the face ofWWE 2K24and is arguably the top full-time star of the company. He has a unique wrestling move-set that shows him fighting from underneath against more powerful wrestlers like Roman Reigns, and he has had outstanding matches against wrestlers like Chad Gable. Cody is listed as a technical wrestler inWWE 2K25, and his moves are accurately represented in the game.
Rhodes has moves set up to break down the head and body for the Cody Cutter signatures and the Cross Rhodes. He has good technical submission holds with two variations of the Figure Four Leglock, a Fujiwara Armbar, and Hammer and Chinlock.
The Kinshasa
Shinsuke Nakamura is one of themost unique WWE Superstars inWWE 2K25.The Japanese star is a former IWGP champion, NXT Champion, and WWE US Champion, boasting notable feuds against AJ Styles, Cody Rhodes, and more recently, LA Knight. Nakamura also had a stint in MMA with a 3-1 record and a no-contest andturned down a contract with the UFCso he could continue his wrestling career.
Nakamura is a striker with good MMA-style technical submissions, like the Cross Armbar, Armbar Leglock Combo, and Triangle Choke. Furthermore, he has many targeted attacks to damage the head and body via the Kinshasa finisher variations and his signature moves, the Landslide and the Inverted Powerslam.
Go To Sleep/Avalanche Pedigree
CM Punk is one of the most recognizable figures in wrestling. His time in AEW ended in controversy but ultimately benefited WWE. Since his return, he has arguably become an even bigger star and is now more popular with fans. Since returning, he had the best feud of 2024 against Drew McIntyre after coming back from a triceps injury, which sidelined his return. His move-set and matches often pay tribute to legends like the Macho Man Randy Savage and Bret The Hitman Hart.
Punk’s moves inWWE 2K25focus on damaging the head and body to soften them up for the Anaconda Vice submission signature as well as his GTS Finisher. Punk has a solid submission game using the Koji Clutch, Cross Armbar, Triangle Choke, and Sharpshooter.
The Sharpshooter
Former WWE Intercontinental, Tag Team, and World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart is often touted as thebest technical wrestlerof all time. His style was flawless and had the skill and intensity to make moves and matches look realistic without ever hurting his opponents. Hart’s style and move-set have been captured well inWWE 2K25, and this includes everything from middle rope-pointed elbow drops to his snap suplexes.
Bret uses a combination of suplexes and technical takedowns to wear down the back and the legs, setting his opponents up for his famous Sharpshooter finisher. He also has strong signature moves like the Piledriver and the Ring Post Assisted Figure Four, which causes massive damage inWWE 2K25.
The Ankle Lock
Ken Shamrock is a former MMA fighter who held the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight Championship. He’s also a former WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, and NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
His background in legitimate MMA and Greco-Roman wrestlingtranslates well to the pro wrestling arena with his use of powerful suplexes, Judo throws, and Fireman’s Carry takedowns. Shamrock also uses good submissions with his Heel Hook Achilles Lock, Cross Armbar, and Single Leg Camel Clutch, before finishing with his Ankle Lock finisher, also used by Kurt Angle.
Regal Stretch/Straight Jacket Neckbreaker
William Regal is a WWE legend and was an outstanding performer who, most notably, worked in WCW and the WWE. Before this, he wrestled legitimate shoot matches in Blackpool, England’s Pleasure Beach Amusement Park, challenging members of the public to defeat him, and he also wrestled for ITV’sWorld of Sports Wrestling.
Regal uses a classic British wrestling stylethat combines brutal rule-breaking attacks with technical wrestling, incorporating moves like the Snapmare and Face Scrape, Knee Pressed Knuckle Grind and European Uppercuts. He has a lot of moves that target the head to set up his signatures and finishers, with the Regal Plex, the Knee Trembler, the Regal Stretch, and the Straight Jacket Neckbreaker being used for an easy finish.
The Dragon Suplex
Charlie Dempsey is the son of William Regal and similarly uses a European and British shoot wrestling style that combines technical wrestling and rule-breaking. Dempsey uses even more technical moves than his dad, incorporating moves like the Wrist Clutch Assault, Arm Wrench Suplex, Gentleman’s Clutch, and Stunt Rider Stretch, combined with classic moves like European Uppercuts and Side Headlock Takeovers.
Dempsey has solid submissions with the Last Chancery, Muta Lock, and the Dragon Sleeper. His moves all build toward his signature, and his finishing moves are the Crossface Chickenwing, the Regal Stretch, and the Dragon Suplex.
Kurt Angle is a former Olympic Gold Medalist in Freestyle Wrestling and is widely consideredone of the best wrestlers ever. The WWE Hall of Famer is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE European Champion, WWE US Champion, WWE World Champion, and TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Unsurprisingly, Angle’s Freestyle wrestling background and athleticism translate to his move set inWWE 2K25.He uses classic technical wrestling moves with various Mat Return takedowns via the Gator Roll and the Grounded Wrestling Roll. He is a suplex machine inWWE 2K25,and he uses a lot of them to damage the body for the Angle Slam and the leg for his Ankle Lock Finisher.
The Chaos Theory
Ankle Lock
Chad Gable is a former Olympic wrestlerwith a move-set similar to Kurt Angle, but he is arguably more diverse inWWE 2K25.Pound-for-pound, he’s one of the strongest wrestlers in the WWE, performing the Deadlift German Suplex on the super heavyweight Braun Strowman.
Gable utilizes a lot of suplex moves in his arsenal but has some of the most diverse technical moves in the game, having access to classic wrestling moves like the Spinning Drop Toe Hold, Mat Return, Fireman’s Takedown, Ankle Pick Knee Crusher, and more. Gable also has a strong submission game with the Crossface and two Fujiwara Armbar variations with his finishing moves, the Chaos Theory and Ankle Lock submission.
