WWE 2K24: The most overrated and underrated wrestlers
The great ratings debate will go on every year, and WWE 2K24’s release cycle is no different. The build-up to launch had plenty of people crying about unfair treatment for their favorite wrestlers being rated too low, or someone they hate too high. Even the wrestlers themselves can fall into this trap sometimes, and in an interview with Cody Rhodes, he admitted that all the wrestlers do like to see how they rank – even if they pretend they don’t care.
Still, as silly as it can be, 2K24 does have a handful of competitors that even we look at and ask “What were they thinking?” when it comes to their overall rating. So we’ve picked out the most overrated and underrated in the game.
Overrated: Logan Paul – 90
2K Games
Despite having only been an active wrestler for a little over two years, Logan Paul has become a big deal in WWE. He quickly shocked the world with just how well he took to wrestling, and has put on some really great matches in that time, winning the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio last fall.
Still, it seems a bit soon to be shoving him up in the 90s, especially given that he only wrestles a few times a year. It seems strange to put him on the same level as legends like Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam.
The biggest insult is that he’s rated the same as Gunther, the 600+ day reigning Intercontinental Champion. Speaking of...
Underrated: Gunther – 90
2K Games
The Ring General has been the dominant reigning Intercontinental Champion over 600 days, he deserves a bit of a boost.
From a kayfabe perspective, he is one of the most unstoppable wrestlers in the world, having previously enjoyed a United Kingdom Championship reign that lasted over 800 days. The man wins championships and holds onto them for a long time. Sure, he’s yet to win a world title, but that shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of who gets the top ratings.
Plus, outside of kayfabe, he is easily one of the best all-round in-ring performers on the planet, able to put on an incredible match with just about anyone put in front of him. If that’s not worth a few extra points, I don’t know what is.
Overrated: Jey Uso – 90
2K Games
I love Jey Uso, and he’s had a great year, but even I have to admit this is pushing it.
It seemed like the twin tag team of The Usos would never break up, but it finally happened at Summerslam last year and since then Jey has become a bonafide singles star, with a bunch of highlights under his belt. His talent can’t be denied, but also, what has he won of any consequence to justify this high of a rating? He lost to Roman Reigns at Summerslam, lost to Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship, and loses to Drew McIntyre seemingly every other week.
He deserves a decent rating, don’t get me wrong, but putting him above the likes of Batista and Kurt Angle is going a bit far.
Underrated: AJ Styles – 85
2K Games
A man who was once on the cover of WWE 2K19, AJ Styles seems to fall further and further every year. He’s stayed around the 90 mark for almost his entire time in the WWE, and yet this year he saw a sudden drop that feels unjustified.
Admittedly, it’s not been a banner year for the Phenomenal One, as he hasn’t done much of note aside from feuding with Karrion Kross for far too long. However, it should never be forgotten that this is AJ goddamn Styles. His body of work up until this point should be enough to stop his rating from ever falling this low.
Overrated: JBL – 89
2K Games
Perhaps one of the most overrated wrestlers of all time, the idea that JBL is ranked the same as Kurt Angle, Drew McIntyre, and Randy Savage is utterly laughable.
The man had the most mediocre career imaginable with one massive highlight – a WWE Championship run that is widely agreed upon to be one of the worst of all time. He was terrible on commentary after he retired too. Doesn’t feel like someone deserving of quite this much praise if you ask me, but here we are.
Underrated: Triple H – 91
2K Games
Maybe it’s because he’s the man currently running the company, but it’s weird how Triple H is consistently ranked lower than his Attitude Era contemporaries. It was hilarious when Bret Hart through a hissy fit on a podcast about Triple H being rated higher than him in WWE 2K16, but it seems the team at 2K took it personally and never rated The Game as highly ever again.
Still, when you look at how the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock, and The Undertaker are rated, Triple H should absolutely be in the same class. He was just as successful in the early 2000s, and even had a much more successful reign into the Ruthless Aggression and PG eras. He’s a 14-time world champion, what more does he need to accomplish?
Overrated: Wade Barrett – 85
2K Games
This one feels a little mean, as a fellow Brit I’m a big fan of Wade Barret, but 85 seems a touch too high.
He’s got plenty of accomplishments under his belt – mostly Intercontinental Championship wins – but I’m not sure that’s enough to put him on the same level as AJ Styles. It’s especially weird for the version of Barrett that is in the game. His beardless 2012 incarnation is arguably the worst and least successful period of his career, so it was an overall baffling decision.
Underrated: Ilja Dragunov – 81
2K Games
I know that, from a kayfabe perspective, NXT stars are below the main roster in the pecking order, but come on, you’re putting Ilja Dragunov on the same level as The Miz?
Not only is Dragunov the current NXT Champion, but he’s one of, if not the very best wrestler on the entire brand – this is the same man who made Gunther tap out to win the United Kingdom Championship. 81 feels like an insult, not only to Dragunov, but to all of NXT if that’s as high as they’re going to rate their top guy.
Overrated: Shane McMahon – 79
2K Games
How could anyone rated 79 be overrated, you ask?
Well, in Shane McMahon’s last appearance, he got 30 seconds in a match, rolled his ankle jumping, and immediately had to be carried off. Also, he’s responsible for booking the terrible 2022 men’s Royal Rumble.
These two facts – and my general distaste for anyone with the surname McMahon – are enough for me to say that 79 is far too good for him.
Underrated: Johnny Gargano – 74
2K Games
This rating is a conflict of how 2K rate wrestlers versus how I think they should be rated. I think a wrestler's rating should be a representation of their entire body of work up until this point in their career, while 2K takes more of a “What have you done for me lately?” approach.
It’s true that Gargano has never lived up to his NXT days since jumping to Raw and Smackdown, and hasn’t had much success worth shouting about in the last couple of years. However, let us never forget that NXT Johnny Gargano was one of the best wrestlers on the planet, and put on multiple match-of-the-year contenders every single year.
He may not be on top right now, but he’s still that same wrestler who blew us all away in 2018 and 2019, and his rating should take that into consideration.
