Summary
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has been touted as the second-biggest wrestling promotion right behind the WWE. After nearly four years in the business, the company released its first video gameAEW Fight Forever. It features genre standards like create-a-wrestler and a story mode called Road to Elite, while also including AEW-exclusive matches, such asStadium Stampede.
The release ofAEW Fight Foreverback in June was met with a mixed reception from wrestling enthusiasts. Some gamers loved theWWF No Mercy-style approach because of its simplistic wrestling mechanics. However,AEW Fight Foreveralso received criticism for its outdated elements, which ranged from the roster to the graphics. One of the most glaring flaws is thatAEW Fight Foreveris still missing some classic match types, some of which the game should add in the future.
#1 Handicap Match
AEW WrestleDream (2023)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. The Righteous for the ROH World Tag Team Championships
Wardlow vs. 20 “Plaintiffs” in a handicap eliminator match
WWE WrestleMania 20 (2004)
Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock & Mick Foley) vs. Evolution (Ric Flair, Randy Orton, & Batista)
A Handicap Match in pro wrestling is normally composed of one wrestler against two allied wrestlers. Some matches also pit two wrestlers against three. This is a common match type across all wrestling promotions, including AEW. Recently,Maxwell Jacob Friedman, aka MJF, successfully defended the Ring of Honor (ROH) World Tag Team Championships against The Righteous in a handicap match atAEW WrestleDream.
Although Handicap Match is available inAEW Fight Forever’s Road to Elite, it’s not included in Arcade Mode. So, players aren’t able to recreate their favorite handicap matches from AEW on their own time.
#2 Steel Cage Match
AEW Blood & Guts (2023)
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita, & Pac vs. The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, The Young Bucks, and Kota Ibushi) in a Blood & Guts match
WWE Smackdown (2020)
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship
AEW is no stranger to a Steel Cage Match.The traditional type requires wrestlers to either pin or make their opponent tap out, or escape the cage in order to win. AEW has also innovated this with matches like MMA Rules Match and Blood & Guts, which is the company’s answer to WWE’s War Games.
Steel Cage Match is one of the most requested modes to be included inAEW Fight Forever. Several wrestling games, fromWWE 2KtoWrestleQuest, have a Steel Cage Match mode, so many players were confused as to why AEW excluded it.
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
WWE Hell in a Cell (2009)
D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. The Legacy (Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase Jr.)
WWE RAW (1998)
The Undertaker & Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mankind & Kane
Tornado Tag is essentially a free-for-all tag team match. Wrestlers don’t have to tag in their partners, they just have to face their opponents in the ring together. AEW has hosted a number of Tornado Tag matches, such as Darby Allin and Sting versus Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara inAEW Dynamitelast June.
Unfortunately,AEW Fight Foreverdoesn’t have a Tornado Tag match yet despite having multi-man tag matches. It might be difficult for players to set up their own Tornado Tag matches because only the legal wrestlers can execute a pin or submission.
#4 Iron Man Match
AEW Revolution (2023)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship
WWE WrestleMania 12 (1996)
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship
In an Iron Man Match, wrestlers have to score as many pin falls or submissions against their opponent within a set time limit. One of AEW’s best bouts to date was an Iron Man match between MJF versus Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship duringAEW Revolutionlast May. There’s also no disqualifications in this type of match, so wrestlers can use any means to get their opponent down.
The only time-based matchAEW Fight Foreverhas is theExploding Barbed Wire Death Match, where an explosion would trigger in the ring after several minutes. However, the standard Iron Man Match wasn’t included at all. It would have been a good opportunity, especially withAEW Fight Forever’s wide range of weapons.
WWE WrestleMania 18 (2002)
Maven vs. Goldust for the WWF Hardcore Championship
WWE WrestleMania 17 (2001)
Kane vs. Raven vs. Big Show for the WWF Hardcore Championship
AEW Fight Foreverhas a number of compelling hardcore matches, such as Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match,Lights Out Match, and the classic Falls Count Anywhere. But what’s noticeably missing is the ability to engage in a backstage brawl during a hardcore match, with the main reason being that there’s no option to go backstage in the middle of a match.
In theWWE 2Kseries, players have the chance to interact with items backstage in any hardcore match. So, the fact thatAEW Fight Foreverdoesn’t give wrestlers access to the backstage area was questioned by avid fans of the genre. A backstage area could definitely provide a change of scenery for any hardcore match, and would be especially useful in a Falls Count Anywhere scenario.
