''Wrestle War'' is a video game developed and published by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

which was released in arcades in 1989, and later ported to the

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

console in 1991 in Japan, Australia, and Europe. Despite being released the same year as

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

's '' WrestleWar'' pay-per-view event, it is not associated with any wrestling promotion. The original Japanese game cover featured a

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

look-alike, but it was changed for the international release. ''Wrestle War'' was included as part of the ''

Sega Smash Pack ''Sega Smash Pack'' (''Sega Archives from USA'' in Japan) is a series of game compilations featuring mostly Sega Genesis games. Pack 1 (Windows) The first pack titled ''Sega Smash Pack'' (''Sega Archives from USA Vol. 1'' in Japan) featured eigh ...

'' compilation for the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

in 2001. In 2022, the original arcade version will be included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.

Gameplay and roster

The player takes control of Bruce Blade, a rookie wrestler, through a series of matches to win the Sega Wrestling Alliance championship belt by facing the following wrestlers, each possessing their own unique wrestling moves: *Mohawk Kid *Sledge Hammer (based on

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the yea ...

) *Mr. J (based on

Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...

from the Friday the 13th movie series and the real life wrestler,

Jason the Terrible Karl Moffat (born July 31, 1959), better known by the ring name Jason the Terrible, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling and in Japan. Professional wrestling career In August 1981, M ...

) *Don Dambuster (based on

Road Warrior Hawk Michael Hegstrand (January 26, 1957 – October 19, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as The Road Warriors (The Legion of Doom in WWF), with Road Warrior Animal. ...

) *Mad Dog/Nim Rod Falcon (based on

Lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

star

Mil Mascaras Mil, mil, or MIL may refer to: Places * Mil, Syria, a village in Syria * Mil, Azerbaijan, a municipality in Beylagan Rayon * Mil, Markazi, a village in Markazi Province, Iran * Metropolitan area of Milan ( IATA code: MIL), Italy * Mill Hill Br ...

) *Titan Morgan (based on

) *Buckskin Rogers (based on

Stan Hansen John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his Glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesigh ...

) *Grand Kong (based on

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...

)

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Wrestle War'' on their April 1, 1989 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

References

{{reflist 1989 video games Arcade video games Sega video games Sega Genesis games Professional wrestling games Sega arcade games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan