It has often been observed by many fans that wrestling is the least exciting part of pro wrestling. A huge part of what makes pro-wrestling such a draw is the over-the-top spectacle and pageantry that comes along with it. The finishers, the stories, and most importantly, the entrances.
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WWE 2K22 features wrestlers from all over history, and it shows just how important an entrance can truly be. Even if an audience has never seen a character before, their entrance should be able to tell them everything they need to know about the character. The music, the visuals, the atmosphere; all of it should come together to distill the character's identity, and the best are truly iconic, many of which feature in WWE 2K22.
10 Triple H
Although The Game has recently announced his in-ring retirement, his career is far from over in WWE. It's no surprise he stayed at the top for so long in the company, though, given how cool he felt from his entrance alone. Motorhead's "The Game" is a brilliant song, and even "King of Kings", which he uses as a corporate character is very memorable.
In terms of his walk to the ring, it's got just about everything, almost to the point of excess. Starting with a darkened ramp with a spotlight cast on him from below, his flexing and posturing on the walk to the ring. His iconic water-spit, before a rainbow of lights coats in the ring. It's a bit of a bombardment on the senses, but it gets an audience pumped like few others.
9 Drew McIntyre
WWE's modern entrances have gotten a bit less interesting than their classic counterparts. Whilst the music and Tron designs are memorable and engaging, very little gets injected into their walks to the ring. There's very rarely anything unique or extra grand, except for WrestleMania entrances, where things are made to feel more special.
Drew McIntyre's entrance stands just a notch above the rest, thanks to a few extra touches. Firstly, whilst people have a lot of love for his old entrance theme, his current one is badass. Then, it has the unshakable cool moment where he raises his sword, before jamming it into the ground, causing fire to spurt up around him.
8 Goldberg
An entrance truly like no other, love or hate Goldberg, he has something truly his own. One of WCW's biggest original success stories, they carefully constructed an aura around Goldberg that made him feel a cut above everyone else in the company. The game allows him to clash with some all-time greats in dream matches that never happened.
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Showing him walking from his dressing room, surrounded by security is absolute genius. Not only does it make him feel like a huge star who gets these perks, but it carefully builds anticipation for his arrival on the stage. It's no surprise that most crowds go wild when he finally comes through the curtain.
7 Io Shirai
When Io Shirai first showed up in NXT, there wasn't much to grab hold of from a character perspective. She was undeniably a fantastic wrestler, but felt like a pretty generic face, like Kairi Sane before her. Thankfully, she found a unique identity when she turned heel, and never looked back.
The electronic music paired with strobe likes is overwhelming in exactly the right way. It gives her such a cool presence on the stage, and perhaps most importantly was the exact opposite of the character she was before. It's the perfect example of how to reinvent a character.
6 Kane
One of the most iconic characters in wrestling history, Kane's entrance makes him seem absolutely terrifying when he comes to the ring. The burst of fire starting it off immediately grabs attention and has great potential to shock anyone he's in the ring with.
Then the arena gets bathed in red light as demonic music fills the room. It draws all the focus onto the masked monster coming to the ring, walking without a care for anything around him. Then, once he's in the ring, he raises his hands before slamming him down, and fire shoots up from the turnbuckles.
5 Demon Finn Balor
Finn Balor's regular entrance as the Prince is pretty cool. His music is cool and memorable, and Finn carries himself in such a way that draws people to him. However, when it comes to theatrics and memorable moments, the Demon has far more to offer.
Like Kane, he bathes the arena in red light, but rather than using it for a chaotic burst of energy, everything builds slowly. It's a wonderful piece of theatrics as the music slowly builds up, the stage fills with smoke and the camera just catches glimpses of Balor shifting through it. The way Balor moves in this persona truly makes it feel like a different person, someone who has transcended to have supernatural abilities.
4 Roman Reigns
After the break-up of the Shield, Roman Reigns struggled to find an identity, and one of the biggest hindrances to this was his entrance. He still used The Shield's music, and variations on their attire, it made him feel like someone who couldn't move on. However, in 2021, all of that changed.
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Now the Tribal Chief who rules with an iron fist, he got a new attitude, new gear, and new music to match. His new music sounds like that of a Dark Souls boss, with ominous choirs foretelling his arrival, hitting the hard notes of The Shield's theme, but mixing it in with piano melodies that make it something truly unique.
3 Edge
Edge has now abandoned his iconic entrance in favor of something new and exciting, but the old faithful is still in WWE 2K22. The song "Metalingus" is arguably the best theme song in WWE history, and Edge wore it so well.
As a heel it gave him an arrogant swagger, as a face it made him feel like a rock star. It's undoubtedly aided by the way he would immerge from the smoke on the stage, before standing tall as multicolored fireworks went off all around him. It's the epitome of wrestling's "larger than life" ideals.
2 Karrion Kross
An entrance that tragically never saw the full potential of his character. This rock opera of an entrance made Karrion Kross feel like a far bigger deal than any squash match ever could. Starting in black & white, the song slowly builds as Scarlett wanders the stage like she's heralding the arrival of a monster.
The monster then arrives, walking to the ring through smoke and fire, before the song hits its climax. When things burst back into color, and Kross begins to scream "Fall and Pray" in the ring, he feels unstoppable. It was the perfect packaging, it's just a shame WWE had to mess it up so badly in real life.
1 The Undertaker
It would be a big mistake to claim any other entrance as the greatest; not just in WWE 2K22, but in WWE history. The Undertaker is the most enduring and iconic character in wrestling history, and his entrance is arguably the biggest part of making him feel special.
A gimmick that could've been written off as silly, the slow funeral procession music, combines with the purple lighting and smoke to feel both intimidating and awe-inspiring. Undertaker's slow, measured walk to the ring gave him absolute confidence and an aura of immortality, aided by the way he would raise the lights himself when he got into the ring and faced down his opponent.
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