Another year brings another installment in the longstanding wrestling sim franchise, but the WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls aren’t anything that will feel particularly foreign to veteran players. With most of last year’s core gameplay intact, it shouldn’t take more than a quick refresher to be dominating over the top rope scenarios in no time.
While a standard battle royal can be a bit different, most of the tips and tricks in this WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls guide will still help lead you to success. With the possibility of a ring packed to the brim with opponents, there may be no more challenging match in WWE 2K23 than the Royal Rumble.
In this guide you will learn:
- The Royal Rumble controls and match options
- How to eliminate someone with a Royal Rumble finisher
- Tips and tricks to win a Royal Rumble or battle royal
WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls and match options
While you won’t have to worry about structural interactions like WarGames or Hell in a Cell, the WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls you need to know have more to do with the ways you’ll be looking to secure a win. Throwing your opponents over the top rope might sound simple, but there are tons of different ways to reach that step.
Very few controls are actually unique to the Royal Rumble, but the way you’ll use the WWE 2K23 controls for core gameplay definitely changes in an over-the-top rope environment. The most important things to know are how to start a grab, begin an elimination, hit your Royal Rumble finisher, and reverse your opponent’s offense.
Here are the basic WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls you’ll need:
- B or Circle (Press) – Grab opponent to set up Carry, Drag, or Strong Irish Whip
- B or Circle (Press) – Elimination attempt if opponent is against the ropes, in the corner, on the apron, or held in a Carry near the ropes
- RT + A or R2 + X (Press) – Eliminate your opponent with a Royal Rumble finisher while they’re leaning against the ropes, only possible if you have a finisher banked
- Y or Triangle (Press) – Reversal when prompted
- B or Circle (Mash) – If held in a Drag or Carry position by an opponent, tap to break free
- If you’ve struggled to tap quickly enough and escape these, try turning on held input for minigames in gameplay options from the main menu.
While those will get you started, there are a few key actions you can take once you’ve grabbed your opponent that will get you closer to an elimination. Here are the WWE 2K23 controls you need to know after you’ve got your opponent in a grab:
- RB or R1 (Press) – Initiate Carry
- If you move the Left Stick while initiating the carry it will choose one of four positions, but you can begin an elimination from any position.
- LB or L1 (Press) – Initiate Drag
- B or Circle (Hold) – Strong Irish Whip
- By default your opponent will be thrown in the direction your back is facing, but you can use the Left Stick while executing this move to throw them in a specific direction.
Once an opponent has been thrown over the top rope but hasn’t yet been eliminated, you can use a Light Attack or Heavy Attack on them. Depending on how much damage your opponent has taken, these attacks may actually trigger an elimination. However, less weakened opponents will easily be able to power out of or potentially reverse this offense.
You won’t have a ton of different match options for the Royal Rumble, but this is where you’ll be able to hand-select all of the various entrants or turn off created superstars when setting up your Royal Rumble. You will also be able to adjust the entrance interval in 30-second increments up to as long as five minutes.
How to do a Royal Rumble finisher to eliminate your opponents
While knowing the button combo for a Royal Rumble finisher is one thing, getting your opponent into position to hit one is very different. As the ring fills up with competitors, using these can become more and more challenging.
Most importantly, you won’t be able to utilize the Royal Rumble finisher unless you’ve done enough damage to fill your meter and bank a finisher. These can be countered, and the setup can take a moment, so your best bet is to make sure your opponent is in a stunned state before looking for your elimination finisher.
Once you believe an opponent is ready, you need to position them leaning against the ropes. A few strikes while they’re standing near the ropes can sometimes knock them into position, but the more likely scenario is you’ll want to use a Grab and Drag to move an opponent and place them against the ropes.
Once they’re in position, you should see the prompt show up to execute a Royal Rumble finisher. This is a move that can be reversed like any other finisher, so having your opponent in a stunned state will also keep them from executing a well-timed reversal.
Tips and tricks to win the Royal Rumble or a battle royal
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of the WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls, knowing how to utilize them inside that match is much more challenging. Even on lower difficulties, there may be no more difficult task in WWE 2K23 than winning a Royal Rumble if you were one of the earlier entries.
The earlier you enter, the more likely you are to be significantly low on health and stamina as the match progresses and more fresh competitors enter the fray. Even if you’ve been dominant throughout, taking significant damage over time can lead to a very sudden elimination at the hands of late entrants.
As a result, the most important thing you want to do is stay away from the ropes if at all possible. Running strikes while near the ropes can eliminate you with a single clothesline late in the match without even triggering the elimination minigame. Be extremely careful when running towards the ropes for an elimination, as a well-timed reversal could send you careening over your opponent and to the outside.
If you ever happen to be alone in the ring with only a single opponent, it may be better to keep them down and allow your superstar to regain necessary health and stamina by not moving. No matter what elimination interval has been chosen, eliminating the last superstar in the ring with you will immediately trigger the next entry’s 10-second countdown.
While they can be tempting to use throughout the match, save your Royal Rumble finishers for key moments like knocking out particularly nuisance opponents or weakening new entrants late in the match. As much as your instinct might be to avoid it, the elimination minigame is often the safest path to eliminating opponents in the Royal Rumble.
While the stamina and elimination factors don’t play into things as much, all of the controls and strategies outlined here will also be helpful if you’re playing any over-the-top rope battle royal. You can use the battle royal match rules for a Fatal 4-Way, 5-Man, 6-Man, or 8-Man match type, and the primary difference is that all competitors will begin in the ring.
Perhaps more than any other match in WWE 2K23, you can do everything right in a Royal Rumble only for a single mistake to end it all. With the strategies in this WWE 2K23 Royal Rumble controls guide, you’ll at least have given yourself the best possible chance of being the last superstar standing.