Wrestling Manager: A Review of Downloadable Game for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Wrestling Manager is a game developed by Serious Parody that is available for purchase and download through the app store on iTunes. For any wrestling fan who ever dreamed of becoming a promoter, this is your opportunity to prove it.

That is exactly what you have to do in this addicting game that provides all the components of running a wrestling promotion. You are given a set of talent for your roster as you create events. Hope that your events are a success because the money you make from events can be used to upgrade your talent and promotion.

The talent available is one of the more creative aspects of the game. Since Serious Parody could not legally use WWE and TNA Superstars’ names, it certainly had some fun creating new names. Wrestlers such as The Overtaker, Rodney Van Damn and the Penultimate Warrior are just a few names available to buy using the money made from events. Not only are these wrestlers’ names similar to WWE and TNA Superstars, but they look like them, too.

The Wrestling Manager is not like any other wrestling game you have seen in the past. It combines the franchise or dynasty mode of sports games with wrestling. I had the opportunity to speak with the creator of Wrestling Manager, Daniel Hinkles. In this interview, Hinkles encouraged me to buy and use managers and celebrities in the game.

Hinkles emphasized that one of the reasons why the inaugural WrestleMania was such a hit was that Vince McMahon brought in celebrities to help draw crowds. The creator of the Wrestling Manager said that celebrities have the same effect in the game. Celebrities will help one’s events draw better.

He had similar ideas about having managers on one’s roster. Managers help get wrestlers over with the crowd. Paul Heyman is hoping to do just this with the re-debut of Curtis Axel. There are managers in the Wrestling Manager that could possibly do the same for wrestlers in the game.

One aspect of this game that is familiar to wrestling fans is the ability to create different types of matches. Like the wrestlers and other parts to the game, these match types cost money. However, when creating an event, one must also include promos throughout the show. This is something that wrestling fans have not necessarily been able to do in past wrestling video games.

In terms of where this game can improve, there are a few areas. I didn’t quite understand how to improve events and upgrade talent. The Wrestling Manager game website does offer some hints on how to unlock various levels, but a tutorial on how to play the game would have been more useful.

Also, while it is meant to be a game in which one is the wrestling promoter and manages a wrestling company, fans tend to want to do the wrestling as well. Serious Parody has also created a game called 5 Star Wrestling that is more about the wrestling moves. This game is coming to PlayStation 3 this summer.

So if you are looking for an addicting game that allows you to become a wrestling promoter, be sure to check out the Wrestling Manager.  

You can listen to my interview with Daniel Hinkles by clicking here. There were some initial issues getting Hinkles on the line, so feel free to fast forward the first 10 minutes.

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