Pro Wrestling (1986). Play online

Summary

Pro Wrestling hits the NES as Nintendo’s third foray into the squared circle, sitting behind the earlier M.U.S.C.L.E. and Tag Team Wrestling experiments. You choose from six colorful grapplers – from a Brazilian‑style Amazon with a biting choke to a karate‑kicking Korean and a giant panther‑like bruiser – each offering a handful of signature moves. The game lets you lock up for slams and piledrivers, scale the turnbuckles for aerial attacks, and even step out of the ropes, though a 20‑count forces you back or hands you a loss. An on‑screen referee actually rushes to count three, giving you a frantic chance to escape if he’s on the far side of the ring.

In two‑player mode, matches become best‑of‑three‑falls with no five‑minute timer, and the system bans both players from picking the same character, keeping the contests fresh. The whole experience owes its solid mechanics to Masato Masuda, the lone programmer who later founded the revered Fire Pro Wrestling series.

Critics praised the realistic graphics, variety of moves, and engaging two‑player bouts; Famitsu’s mid‑80s scores reflected the hype, while Computer Gaming World crowned it Best Sports Game of 1988. It even topped U.S. sales charts for a couple of months and earned a spot on Game Informer’s 79‑best‑games list.

Storyline

In the NES game Pro Wrestling, the single‑player campaign is split into two distinct phases. First, you battle a series of increasingly tough CPU opponents, and after five victories you earn a shot at King Slender, the reigning Video Wrestling Association (VWA) Champion. If you chose King Slender as your character, the title match instead pits you against Giant Panther, though a known bug sometimes forces you to win more than five matches before the challenge appears. Winning this bout crowns you the VWA Champion and launches the second stage of the mode.

As the new champion you must defend the belt ten times, facing each of the five remaining wrestlers twice. Successful defenses trigger a final showdown with the Great Puma, the Video Wrestling Federation (VWF) champion. Defeating Puma unites the VWA and VWF titles, making you the inter‑promotional champion and concluding the game.