WWE 2K25's Season Pass gets you all of the DLC announced at launch, and of course I always buy the version that comes with a pass. But there was one DLC they announced that I was always going to make sure I owned. WWE 2K25's final DLC is the Saturday Night's Main Event Pack, featuring several athletes from the days when me and my cousin still thought all this violence was legit.
The headliner of this pack, as far as I'm concerned, is The Junkyard Dog. It's hard for me to explain just how over JYD was in the Southern United States during the 80s. Here's an anecdote though, courtesy of Jim Cornette and the excellent documentary series Dark Side of the Ring.
They were doing an angle in which the evil heel Fabulous Freebirds had blinded JYD. This was in the heart of the kayfabe era, when wrestlers would physically threaten people who asked if all this was fake. One fan believed it so much, he brought a gun to the arena and actually attempted to shoot one of the Freebirds. Police were thankfully able to subdue the fan before anything dangerous happened.
The WWE was always going to come calling. I can't wait to use JYD an unleash "The Big Thump" on people.
Last year, App Trigger told you that WWE legend Tito Santana would be arriving in the near future. With apologies to the retiring John Cena, that time is now. Santana signed a Legends contract in 2024, making his likeness available to WWE for T-shirts, action figures, and most importantly for the purposes of this article, video games. Here's hoping there's also an "El Matador" costume for Santana.
Jesse "The Body" Ventura became a household name for his political acumen after parlaying his film career into Minnesota's governorship. It was a perfect transition for a wrestler with the gift of gab. It made him a great commentator, actor, and now activist. And yeah, sometimes, he just has to throw hands.
Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff was always one of my favorites as a kid. Once I learned the truth about wrestling, I watched his matches and character work in a completely different way. Everything Orndorff was asked to do, he knocked out of the park. From going toe-to-toe with Hulk Hogan to his WCW career that saw him undergo a losing streak and consult a psychic to get his Wonderful ways back, Orndorff never failed to entertain.
Whether going by the moniker Sid Vicious or his WWE name, Sid Justice, he was one of the most intimidating big men you'd ever see in the ring. His huge stature and pronounced Southern accent commanded the screen whenever he was on it. And lord, did anybody deliver a powerbomb like Sid?