The WCW Women’s Championship will be a part ofWWE 2K23, but its in-game design is leaving old-school wrestling fans baffled. Developer Visual Concepts has been unveiling new details aboutWWE 2K23in the build-up to its release next week, showing players what they can expect from the squared circle simulator’s revamped Universe and MyRise game modes.WWE 2K23’s roster has also been revealed in full, featuring a mix of modern-day WWE superstars and classic grapplers alike.Some of the older wrestlers included inWWE 2K23have previously competed in World Championship Wrestling, WWE’s famous rival promotion from the 90s that was bought out in 2001 - and fosteredfuture WWE legends like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Booker T among countless others. Much to the surprise of many,WWE 2K23will include WCW as a brand in MyGM mode, and Triple H’s old WCW persona of Jean-Paul Levesque will be part of the game’s roster. Naturally, players will also be able to have wrestlers compete for many of WCW’s championship belts, which have been available as unlockables in pastWWEgames.RELATED:Surprise WCW Superstar Makes Debut in WWE 2K23However, there is one WCW title belt design that is leavingWWE 2K23fans scratching their heads. As pointed out by Reddit user WWEWalkingDeadfan and Twitter user GRANDDADWHATTHE,WWE 2K23’s version of the WCW Women’s Championshiplooks nothing like the belt that appeared on television, instead resembling the classic WWE Women’s Championship with the WWE branding either removed or replaced with WCW logos. Some users in the comment section believe that WWE doesn’t own the rights to the original WCW Women’s Championship design, hence the recycled model - which was possibly taken from a fan’s website.
It is worth pointing out that other WCW and ECW title belts have been altered in some way or another inpreviousWWEvideo games, with the most prominent example being the WCW World Championship which also doubled as the WWE World Heavyweight title in the 2000s. However, these belts mostly retain their original designs, unlike the WCW Women’s Championship that will apparently be fought for inWWE 2K23’s MyGM mode.
Perhaps it was more difficult for WWE to secure the rights for WCW’s proper Women’s Championship to be used inWWE 2K23, and it is arguably much easier to tweak an existing title model than create a new one out of whole cloth. On the other hand, this vastly inaccurate WCW Women’s Championship sticks out in the face ofWWE 2K23’s efforts toward an authentic WWE experience, and the design seemingly being taken from a fan’s wiki is definitely strange. Nonetheless, it looks like fans who wish for a more accurate WCW Women’s Championship will have to create one of their own whenWWE 2K23launches next week.
WWE 2K23releases March 17 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
