All New Match Types In WWE 2K24, Explained

Highlights

• WWE 2K24 introduces fan-favorite match types like Gauntlet, Casket, and Ambulance matches from past eras for an immersive gaming experience.
• The game offers an expanded Gauntlet Match mode where players can face up to 30 superstars in different types of challenges for ultimate wrestling excitement.
• Special Guest Referee Match in WWE 2K24 allows players to take control of the match official, giving warnings, ejecting interfering parties, and switching between wrestler and referee mode for a unique gaming experience.

As WWE prepares for its biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania, players will be eager to finish their own stories in the company’s next annual video game installment, WWE 2K24. With an enormous roster of familiar faces, both present and past, and an array of game modes, there will be something for every type of wrestling fan.

Among the new additions to this year’s game, WWE 2K24 is bringing back a number of fan-favorite match types from the company’s immensely popular Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras. While these match types are not exactly new to WWE games, they’ve not been seen for a while and can almost be considered brand-new with the number of improvements they’ve undergone. For those eager for the game’s release, here are all the new match types in WWE 2K24.

Gauntlet Match

Create And Conquer Your Own Murderer’s Row Of Wrestling

While they’ve never been a particularly famous or commonly used special stipulation in WWE’s storied history, the Gauntlet Match fits perfectly into the video game space. Fans of fighting games will especially enjoy this game mode, as it enables you to go back-to-back against an array of opponents to test your skills, and cardio, as a WWE Superstar.

A standard Gauntlet match works more or less like a Royal Rumble, except that you need to pin or submit your opponent to eliminate them, and it is usually only when an elimination is made that the next competitor will enter. You’ll keep the same energy and damage levels as each new superstar enters, which adds another layer of difficulty with each new challenge.

The Gauntlet Match has undergone some improvements and expansions in WWE 2K24 to test the boldest of wrestling enthusiasts, allowing you to take on up to 30 superstars in succession in one match. Not only this, but there are three different types you can choose from;

• Gauntlet Match
• Gauntlet Turmoil Match
• Gauntlet Eliminator Match

In a standard Gauntlet Match, competitors go one-on-one with each other until there is an elimination, which will prompt the next one to enter. The winner is awarded to the wrestler that wins the final match once all other superstars have been eliminated, meaning entering toward the end of the match gives you a distinct advantage.

In a Turmoil Match, a single competitor will be pitted against one team, with each team member entering one by one, as is the case with a regular Gauntlet Match. It operates almost identical to a standard Gauntlet, except that the match will end early if the single competitor is beaten before all the team members have been eliminated. This may be the best way for Cody Rhodes to train for his Wrestlemania rematch with Roman Reigns, given the Bloodline’s history of involvement and the addition of the Rock to the faction.

A Gauntlet Eliminator, on the other hand, works most like a Royal Rumble with pinfalls and submissions. Two competitors begin the match and additional superstars enter at intervals until everyone is in the match. As the name suggests, the match is an eliminator and is not subjected to a single fall for a victory. The winner is determined by who is the last wrestler standing after everyone else has been pinned or forced to submit.

Casket Match

Send Your Rival To An Early Grave

As first made famous by WWE Icon, The Undertaker, the Casket Match is an extension of the Deadman’s terrifying character. The match was a major component of some of The Phenom’s most intense and storied rivalries, including Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Yokozuna, and even his own brother, Kane. The premise of the match is simple, if not a little heinous.

To win a Casket Match, you need to incapacitate your opponent to the extent that you are able to drag their body into a coffin and close the lid. There are no disqualifications, count-outs, pinfalls, or submissions, so you can use whatever brutal method you can think of to dispose of your opponent. In WWE 2K24, the casket is positioned at ringside at the bottom of the entrance ramp, but you are able to take the fight beyond the confines of the ring and even go into the crowd to deal some damage.

The mechanics for Casket Matches are not overly dissimilar to the previous occasions they have been included in WWE games. Your chance of success is largely determined by the health of your opponent, meaning you’ll almost never pick up a win from a healthy rival, and winning requires winning the virtual tug-of-war by repeating tapping the indicated button to swing the cursor in your favor and closing the coffin.

Ambulance Match

Put ‘Em In A Body Bag

Some of the best rivalries in wrestling are filled with passion and emotion, and quite a few of them spill over into expressing a pure hatred for each other. The Ambulance Match has historically been a great way for two superstars to go head-to-head with absolutely no regard for their rival’s safety and have included famous names like The Rock. In an Ambulance Match, your objective is to beat your opponent up so badly that they can be thrown into the back of a truck and be taken on an express trip to the local hospital. The general idea is quite similar to a Casket Match, but with a less gothic theme to it.

While the general idea from a gaming standpoint is largely the same for both Casket and Ambulance Matches, there are some key differences that set them apart and will make the latter an even more interactive match type for players to sink their teeth into. For starters, the ambulance itself can be interacted with in a number of ways. You can use the doors as weapons when your opponent is seated on the back of it, you can climb it, perform special grappling moves to send your opponent off the vehicle, and even use the truck as a platform to perform incredible, but high-risk, diving maneuvers.

The other major feature that sets the Ambulance Match apart from the Casket Match is the potentially game-ending mini game sequence. While you’ll only need to win the button-mashing sequence in a Casket Match once to win, you’ll need to do it twice for an Ambulance Match – one for each door. This offers the defending player a second opportunity to save themselves from losing the match and offers an extra layer of challenge for the attacking players, which will only make winning that much sweeter.

Special Guest Referee Match

Call It Down The Middle… If You Want To

While none of the new matches in WWE 2K24 are making their debut in a WWE game, they’ve all undergone some changes and improvements to coincide with 2K Sports’ desire to continue to improve on their product. This is especially true when it comes to the Special Guest Referee Match, which has been completely overhauled to give you the opportunity to call a WWE match like never before.

Special Guest Referee matches are more interactive than ever in WWE 2K24, with you taking the helm of the match official in a singles contest. Gone are the days of simply pressing a button to count a pin attempt or monitor activity outside the ring – now you’ll be able to give warnings to competitors for foul play, and even eject managers and interfering parties from the arena. Not only that, but this year’s 2K installment includes a function to switch between wrestler and referee mode, in case you want to briefly interfere and turn the tide of the match.

The Guest Referee matches have taken an impressive turn since their last appearance in a WWE game, and even provide somewhat of a challenge for budding officials to keep everything in line. Not only can you play as any member of the roster in either their regular attire or a referee shirt, but the likenesses of the WWE’s top officials have also been uploaded to the game. The pressure is on to ensure you don’t fill the negative actions meter in the corner of the screen, as the bosses backstage will send someone out to replace you if you don’t keep things under control. So, whether you’re a face or heel referee, you’ll want to ensure you don’t cross the line and lose your authority.