WWE 2K should feature Rhea Ripley as the cover wrestler

Being on the cover of anything is a big deal. Especially with sports games. NBA 2K and Madden NFL are among the top sports video games of all time. It's become an honor to grace the cover. Fans of the sport know who the people featured are. However, if you’re only a fan of the games, being on the cover gets the person recognition. It usually leads to people trying to find out more about the person being promoted. That can lead to money for the company and the athlete. This is no different for WWE games.

When SmackDown, No Mercy, and now WWE 2K have always highlighted the best in the company. The Rock, Brock Lesnar, and Kurt Angle have all been there. If they weren’t champions at the time, it served as an omen that a title reign was in their future. 

Recently, WWE posted a couple of cryptic pictures on their social media pages. One was a picture of a sleeveless referee shirt with WWE 2K24 on the chest. There’s another with Undertaker’s casket. Both are followed with a caption saying that more news is coming on January 22. It’s obvious that a release date is on its way. It should also follow with the WWE Superstar that will grace the cover. While the Undertaker will probably have the Legends cover, Rhea Ripley should be on the official WWE 2K24 cover.

No one had a better 2023 than Rhea Ripley. First, she won the Royal Rumble and made good on her promise to win the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. After winning the title, Rhea continued to defend her championship on Raw and live and premium-live events. Despite being a heel, Rhea didn't dodge opponents. She fought them in whatever matches were thrown her way.

Sure, Roman Reigns is on his way to holding his title for a record-breaking amount of time, but he wasn’t Rhea Ripley. Roman didn’t complete as Rhea did. She wasn’t just on Raw. WWE’s social media had videos and pictures of her at live events. Even when she didn’t compete, she was at ringside with the Judgment Day (usually with Dominik Mysterio). There was even a time before Survivor Series: WarGames when she was on both shows

There have been women on WWE game covers. 2K20 featured “The Man” Becky Lynch. It came at a time when she was the biggest thing in sports entertainment. It was a well-deserved nod for all of her hard work. Rhea should be given the same privilege. 

There aren’t many WWE stars that deserve to be on the cover of 2K24. Roman Reigns is an obvious pick, but he was on the cover a few games ago. “Main Event” Jey Uso is a good option, but he doesn’t have the juice and popularity that Rhea Ripley does. The only other option would be CM Punk. However, because of how he left the company ten years ago, coming back and getting on the cover doesn't seem like a smart business move. It could cause turmoil within the company. That only leaves Rhea Ripley as the most deserving. That, and because Mami is always on top. 

Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out who's on the cover of WWE 2K24.