AlthoughDave ‘The Animal’ Bautista is more commonly seen on the silver screen these days, most wrestling fans know that it was in the ring that he really made a name for himself. Batista won numerous Championships during his time with the WWE, beating some of the biggest names in sports entertainment history in the process. One of The Animal’s most memorable wins came against John Cena at SummerSlam ‘08; a match that fans can now relive thanks toWWE 2K23’s fantasticShowcase Mode.
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The Animal’s Rage is the thirteenth match inWWE 2K23’s ShowCase Mode and has fifteen different objectives for players to tackle. Both Batista and Cena take a lot of punishment throughout the course of the fight, making this one of the most challenging matches that Showcase Mode has to offer. With great challenge comes great rewards though, with those who complete every objective being treated to the Batista ‘08 and John Cena ‘08unlockable Superstarsas well as the 2008 SummerSlam Arena.
Objective
Requirement
Batista went for the mind games right away, getting the fans on his side with a little Crowd Taunt!
Press Left on the D-Pad to perform a Crowd Taunt. As the taunt can take a little while to complete, it’s best to throw Cena out of the ring using a Hammer Throw before trying to pull it off.
With that out of the way, Batista initiated a lockup in the ring, looking for a Heavy Front Grapple!
Press Circle (PlayStation) or B (Xbox) to grab Cena and then press the X (PlayStation) or A (Xbox) button.
Batista didn’t like that, and he made me pay with a Release Back Suplex in the ring!
While Cena is standing in the ring, flick the right analog stick to the left or right to turn him around and then press either the Circle (PlayStation) or B (Xbox) button to initiate a rear grapple. Next, flick the left analog stick to the left and press the X (PlayStation) or A (Xbox) button.
Then he grabbed me, looking for a Sidewalk Slam in the ring!
Grab Cena from the front and then press Square (PlayStation) or X (Xbox) while flicking the left analog stick up.
While I was down in the ring, Batista grabbed my legs and put me in the Figure Four Leglock!
With Cena down in the ring, stand near his legs and press R2 + Circle (PlayStation) or RT + B (Xbox).
He was really looking to take my legs out, doing Big (Orange) Damage to them!
Knock Cena down and then press the grab button while standing near his legs. Next, press Square or X (PlayStation) or X or A (Xbox) to start dealing damage. Unlike with similar objectives where players need to fill a damage meter beneath the objective in order to complete it, they’ll instead need to keep targeting Cena’s legs until the legs on the indicator in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen turn orange.
I was wobbly, but still in it. Batista kept charging, looking to take me down with a Front Heavy Grapple in the ring!
While facing Cena in the ring, grab him by pressing Circle (PlayStation) or B (Xbox) and then press the X (PlayStation) or A (Xbox) button.
This one was up for grabs, and Batista knew it! He went for three (3) Combos (Light or Heavy) to get back in control.
Perform any three Light or Heavy Combos. To check Batista’s moves, players can pause the game and check out the COMBOS menu.
And when he hit me with his Signature Spinebuster, I didn’t know how much more I could take!
With the Signature meter filled, stand in front of Cena in the ring and press R2 + Square (PlayStation) or RT + X (Xbox).
But Batista was going to try and find out, as he set me up for his Batista Bomb Finisher in the ring.
Fill at least one bar of the Finisher meter and then press R2 + X (PlayStation) or RT + A (Xbox) while standing in front of Cena inside the ring.
Batista was losing this one, so he grabbed me and put me in a standing Bearhug Submission to wear me out and buy some time!
While Cena is standing in the ring, get in front of him and press R2 + Circle (PlayStation) or RT + B (Xbox) toperform a basic submission attack.
He kept building the momentum by being able to Reverse/Break my next attack!
Wait for Cena to throw a punch and then press the Triangle (PlayStation) or Y (Xbox) button when prompted. If he attempts a grapple instead, press whichever face button appears on the screen to Reverse it.
Then he got me seated on the Top Turnbuckle, keeping me rocked with a Front Heavy Attack!
Throw Cena into one of the four corners of the ring using an Irish Whip and then flick the right analog stick up to lift him onto the top turnbuckle. Once he’s up there, press either the X (PlayStation) or A (Xbox) button to trigger a cutscene.
He knew it, the fans knew it: one more Batista Bomb in the ring and this would be over!
With at least one bar of the Finisher meter filled, press R2 + X (PlayStation) or RT + A (Xbox) while standing in front of Cena in the ring.
Covering me for the pin was all that stood between Batista and the win!
While Cena is down in the ring, flick the right analog stick down to perform a pin. If players have already done enough damage to secure the three-count, they can do this while performing the Batista Bomb to speed things up a little.
WWE 2K23is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.
