The best versions of Powered By the Apocalypse games are the ones that also serve as useful guides to the genre they are emulating. Even if you never use Monster of the Week, Dungeon World or Urban Shadows they are still chock full of great advice on how to create smart storylines and compelling monsters. One of the best of the best is World Wide Wrestling, Nathan D. Paoletta’s game about professional wrestling. Not only does the game explain terminology like kayfabe (the fake nature of the presentation as a sporting contest) and mark (rabid fans who will believe anything), it’s also filled with several thoughtful essays about wrestling as performance. The game is back on Kickstarter looking to reprint the book and give long-time fans a chance to upgrade their dog-earned books to hardcover.
“This ‘Repackage’ campaign has a pretty utilitarian origin,” said Paoletta. “Earlier this year I ran the numbers and saw that I was going to sell out of World Wide Wrestling, and that reprinting it would cost a lot of money. Design-wise, I think the game is solid and there isn’t anything I want to change in how it looks or plays; publishing-wise, there’s a couple of things I’ve never done that reprinting creates an opportunity for. So, the concept of “reprint, with the addition of the never-before-seen hardcover option” became a solid enough core for the project that I was able to commit to making it happen.
The game has been around for over 10 years. In that time, wrestling fandom and the industry has changed. For many years there were the big leagues of national companies like WWE, a handful of regional promotions and a whole lot of local places featuring a mix of up-and-comers and beaten down veterans. World Wide Wrestling has always found sympathy for these little guys. The latest version makes creating the scale of the company part of the process.
“It feels like a totally different landscape to me, honestly,” said Paoletta. “The first edition was designed in 2013/2014 and released in 2015; the second edition was designed mostly in 2019, completed crowdfunding right before March 2020, and came out towards the end of that year. I think the biggest change is the growth of a viable, televised alternative to WWE. AEW was just getting off the ground when WWW2E was coming out; now I think it’s the best example of the kind of wrestling the game generally evokes, with a diverse roster that showcases lots of different styles in the ring but with a distinct voice in presentation and storytelling priorities.”
What makes the game work is the focus on the showmanship of the experience. Successful rolls aren’t about inflicting damage. They reflect how well characters connect with the invisible audience which increases their fame and pull in the locker room. Complications arise from the real life drama that often occurs backstage and bleeds out into the show.
“I’ve heard from some wrestlers who’ve played that it captured their experience well,” said Paoletta, “which I think is the highest compliment I could get. I’ve also had some great conversations with players who were able to play out issues about constructing identity and pursuing big goals in a safe way through the lens of wrestling, which really sticks with me.”
The game makes it easy for groups full of wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans to play together. In addition to explaining terminology, there are illustrations of moves that players can use to describe the action in the ring. Even if specific characters are different, the archetypes in wrestling are classic.
“I think it’s an approachable concept that ends up feeling really natural as you get into your storylines,” said Paoletta. “because wrestling storytelling uses a lot of the same skills as tabletop roleplaying! You always have an idea of what you should be doing next, or what your character would want to do next, which keeps the energy up. It accommodates different playstyles, as well. The mechanics support players who have good improv speechifying skills and players who are more third-person, describing what their character does but not necessarily talking in their voice. The dice tell you how well your moves connect with the audience, not whether they’re “good” or “successful,” so that quiet moment can be a big hit, or that beautiful speech can be just so much hot air – and both outcomes drive your storylines to new places!”
The enthusiasm flows both ways. Wrestling fans who think that RPGs are just D&D are excited to play out their own storylines in a genre they love. Few games have a greater sense of giving multiple fandoms a chance to play together.
“It’s a great way to explore your creative side,” said Paoletta, “and you can turn your fantasy booking into satisfying life at the table! Wrestling fans are always trying to guess what happens next or forecast what the best ending to a feud should be, and I think roleplaying is a space where you can exercise those muscles that also gives you some insight into how even the best plans can go awry due to an unfortunate roll of the dice. Maybe this is just me, but it’s easy to get stuck on the stuff that you don’t like in what you’re currently watching from the big companies, and playing the game is a way to put the “fun” back into the fundamentals. Highlight the core stuff that you really love in pro wrestling, and ditch the rest; after all, Only Wrestling Is Real!”
World Wide Wrestling Repackaged runs through October 14th, 2025.
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