WWE Star wants to remake SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain

I don’t claim to be a WWE expert, but I do have a few related core childhood memories. The main one being the fact that Boogeyman gave me actual nightmares. I didn’t like worms very much as a child anyway, so the fact that this guy ate them? Shudder including. Personal nightmares aside, I also know that SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain was a very popular game.

Released in 2003, Here Comes The Pain was the final game in the original SmackDown! series. It’s not as if we’ve been short of WWE games since then but there’s just something about the WWE 2K run that doesn’t quite hit the same nostalgic beats. The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and The Rock were all in their prime back in 2003. Ah, good times. Well, did you know that one WWE star would actually like to remake the game?

Want a journey down memory lane? Take a look at our top 10 favourite PlayStation 2 games.

As reported by PSU, WWE star Karrion Cross would love to see SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain get the remake treatment. How do we know? WWE is set to release a new video series taking a look at the legacy of the title. In the short teaser trailer, Carrion said, “I personally would love to see a remake of this. Do you like money, video game developers? This is a gold mine.” I think he’s got a point.

As someone notes in the video, “This was the wrestling game.” You could play as current wrestlers, legends, recreate iconic wrestling moves, stack finishers, create your own wrestler, buy new theme music .. you name it. What’s not to love?

Will a SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain remake ever see the light of day? It’s hard to tell. Visual Concepts seem to have gotten into a new swing with the 2K series. If you haven’t yet checked out WWE 2K22, it’s a solid entry - landing a respectable score of 77% over on Metacritic. Even still, give me that sweet 2003 nostalgia.