Iconic 90's WrestleFest game re-released as home arcade cabinet

WWE's WrestleFest, a popular pro wrestling arcade game from 1991, has been re-released as a home arcade cabinet.

Released in October, it is being distributed by Basic Fun!, a designer and marketer of toys and entertainment products. The company's portfolio includes Disney, Hasbro, Mattel, Nintendo and Coca Cola, with toy brands including Care Bears, Lite-Brite, My Little Pony and Tonka Trucks. WrestleFest is the company's first foray into the home arcade cabinet market.

First released in arcades in 1991 as WWF WrestleFest, the game was a sequel to WWF Superstars. WrestleFest holds the distinction of being the first licensed WWE arcade game. Both games were created by Technos Japan, now known as Arc System Works, the same company that created the popular Double Dragon series. Technos also created what is recognized as the first true pro wrestling video game, Tag Team Wrestling, known as Big Pro Wrestling in Japan, in 1983. Yoshihisa Kishimoto -- WrestleFest's director -- also worked on Superstars and Tag Team Wrestling, and decided early that two vs. two for arcade releases made playing with a friend more fun.

"WrestleFest was such a turning point for wrestling games at the time, not only in the arcade but also overall," said MichaelBTheGameGenie, a YouTube game reviewer. "It's the first game that truly captured the pomp and pageantry of what we saw on TV every week with lifelike representation of characters, finishing moves, signature taunts and compelling gameplay."

WWE Superstar Johnny Gargano told ESPN that he first tried WrestleFest in 1993 or 1994 and remembers going to an arcade in Cleveland, Ohio, to play.

"Maybe it's just me speaking now as a nostalgic adult," Gargano said, "but the graphics to me, I know they're not like the best graphics. But there's just certain, there's like a certain dopamine nostalgia hit when you see that game."

Three sizes are being released: a single-player counter-cabinet that stands 16 inches high with an 8-inch screen, designed to sit on a table, currently $249.99 USD on Amazon; the Ultra series has a 17-inch screen and stands at 60.7 inches, and is currently priced at $599.99 on Amazon; and the Supreme series, which will stand at 68 inches and is scheduled for release in early 2026 with a price point to be determined.

Dan Westcott, senior vice president of global marketing for Basic Fun!, told ESPN that the company wanted to make a big impact entering the home arcade space. He said the process of bringing together the video game -- owned by Arc System Works -- and the IP, owned by WWE, was a challenge, but after examining the home arcade landscape, WrestleFest was the clear choice as the company's launch product.

The cabinet artwork features promo shots of Superstars in the game plus "WrestleFest" in liquid metal block letters -- reminiscent of that famous old-school WWF logo -- on a backdrop with neon lights beaming like light sabers.

Audun Sorlie, a gaming author, said WrestleFest became Technos' highest earning game by a wide margin and remained popular through the decades. Much like the jump in quality and playability from Street Fighter to Street Fighter 2 -- though not as massive a gap -- Superstars walked so WrestleFest could run. WrestleFest remains one of the most revered arcade games and is ranked high on enthusiasts' lists of games sought for collection.

"For its time? Damn near unbeatable," said Xavier Woods, a lifelong gamer and WWE Superstar who has been with WWE since 2010 and has hosted the gaming channel "UpUpDownDown" since 2015. "For [WrestleFest] to come out in '91 and still hold up against games from the late '90s and early 2000s, it's pretty awesome."

There have been previous reboots of WrestleFest. In 2012, THQ released a remake for iOS with Superstars like The Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. RetroMania, billed as a spiritual successor to WrestleFest, was released in 2021. Its roster included the Legion of Doom, Demolition, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and modern stars like Matt Cardona, who previously competed as Zack Ryder in WWE. But this is the first time the arcade classic has seen an officially licensed home release.

Game modes included in the Basic Fun! WrestleFest release are Superstars, Tag Team Wrestling (named Big Pro Wrestling in Japan), Super Dodgeball and Acrobatic Dog Fight.

"Arc Systems gave us a whole suite of games that we wanted to use," Westcott said. "But WWE didn't align to allow us to use all the games that we wanted to use. They were very specific about what we could put in there. So we had to take some things out that we initially wanted to put in, but we still think the suite of games are pretty sweet."

Foreman said the company knows that a lot of people want specific details. "We're not going to make everyone happy," he said, "but we're going to try hard."

Initial reviews on YouTube from the home arcade community have been mixed. Some have noted deficiencies in quality, such as a lack of a plastic deck protector where the joystick and buttons sit. The marquee looks washed-up when lit up, with YouTuber "James Hates Everything" saying in his review: "to the point that the colors lose punch."

Others noted minor screen tearing -- what looks like "glitching" or gaps in animation because of the amount of motion on screen. Content creator "PDubs Arcade Loft" lamented the lack of high-quality controls, but that casual players "probably won't care." The quality of the side art, said James Hates Everything, "side by side with another cab, it looks like someone left [WrestleFest] out in the sun for a year."

There is no WiFi in the Countercade and Ultra Series versions, which means no online play or ability to update or fix issues in the games. Westcott would not say whether WiFi would be part of the Supreme series. The Ultra Series does not include a faux coin door, a popular feature among collectors, but the Supreme Series does. Westcott said the company did all the right componentry, including bat joysticks instead of ball joysticks, true to the original game.

The biggest community complaint is the omission of certain superstars. The Legion of Doom and Sgt. Slaughter are absent from WrestleFest, while "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Andre the Giant do not appear in "Superstars." (Cutscenes involving those wrestlers were either modified or removed from the games.) Westcott said this was "not from a lack of trying" and is because of current WWE Legends contracts that are in place.

Since the Legion of Doom were the "final bosses" of WrestleFest, two wrestlers are selected at random as the team to beat for the tag-team titles, with their difficulty increased. The same occurs in Superstars, when Ted DiBiase is paired with a random wrestler in the title bout.