WWF WrestleMania 2000

WWF Wrestlemania 2000 is a big hit for wrestling games which was released for the Nintendo 64, tuning the engine from WCW/nWo Revenge and putting a WWF face on it. It featured one of the easier to use and better create-a-wrestler modes at the time, mostly due to the wide array of moveset options. Everything from favored moves the AI would use to ringside taunts were customizable. A much-improved sequel was later released the following year: WWF No Mercy.

This was the first game developed by AKI and published by THQ that was released under the WWF license. It was released almost hours after WWF's previous deal with Acclaim Entertainment expired.

Gameplay
WWF Wrestlemania 2000 featured an improved grappling engine taken from AKI's WCW/nWo Revenge, another Nintendo 64 exclusive wrestling game. In it, characters have to engage in grapples before pulling off moves that weren't basic punches & kicks. There are two kinds of grapples: Strong grapples, and light grapples. Light grapples are initiated by tapping the A button. They will grab the nearby opponent quickly and catch them in a grapple. From there, the player uses either the A button (for weak moves) or the B button (for stronger moves) in combination with a direction. All A-Button moves are weak moves, such as a basic bash to the back for the head, or a knee to the gut. Despite being weak, they are very hard to counter or reverse. They are intended to be used for wearing down your opponent.

Strong grapples work like weak grapples, but make you hold down the A button. The player will take a second longer to grab the opponent in a grapple, giving the opponent a warning that a grapple is coming, thus making it easier to counter. The strong grapples also have the option of using A-button weak moves and B-button strong moves, but the A-button moves can be the equivalent of light grapple B-button moves, while the strong grapple B-button moves are entirely different.

But the B-button moves show off the wrestlers signature moves. They are also the coolest-looking and do the most damage. For grapples alone, that means there are about 20 moves each, which is odd, since in American pro-wrestling, performers rarely use more than 3 or 4 moves. Couple this with various weak & strong striking moves, running moves, turnbuckle grapples, flying turnbuckle moves, flying moves to the outside of the ring and taunts, each wrestler can have a huge arsenal of moves.