Steel Cage
A traditional steel cage match is victory by escape. A steel cage is lowered around the ring; the first wrestler that climbs the cage and drops off the other side to escape the ring wins the match. During match selection you can choose to win by pin or "give up" if you wish as well.
Escaping the cage means keeping your opponent down for an extended period of time. More than likely you won’t be able to win a steel cage match quickly. Unless your opponent has suffered some damage, he or she will be able to get up quickly and knock you off the cage before you can escape. Solid finisher management pays off here. Bust a couple finishers on an opponent then scramble to the cage and begin the climb. Use the "R1" button to drop off of the cage if your opponent has gotten up and is about to knock you off. Otherwise you’ll be thrown off and vulnerable to additional moves. You can also perform dive attacks off of the cage if desired.
Don’t feel rushed. Battle your opponent like a standard singles match. The cage isn’t going anywhere. Build up your adrenaline and tactics meters so you have the maneuvers and power available to drop your opponent for an extended period of time so you have the opportunity to climb and exit the cage before interfered.
Submission
Win a submission match by forcing your opponent to give up or "tap out" during a submission move. There’s no need to pin your opponent; only a submission awards victory. The keys to winning a submission match lie in wrestler selection and location damage.
Regarding wrestler selection, it’s to your advantage to select a wrestler with a high submission rating. The higher the submission rating, the longer the wrestler can hold submission moves--as well as how quickly you can get out of submission moves, which is also important for this type of match. The WWE Smackdown vs. RAW wrestlers with a 9.5 submission rating or above also boast submission holds as their primary finishing move. Note that Bret Hart is a WWE legend and must be purchased from shopzone.
| Wrestler | OVR | Submission Rating | Finisher #1 | Finisher #2 |
| Chris Benoit | 90 | 10 | Crippler Crossface: Facing the groggy opponent | Sharpshooter 01: When opponent is on the ground, lower body. |
| Kurt Angle | 94 | 10 | Angle Lock 02: While opponent is on the ground, lower body | Angle Slam: Behind the groggy opponent |
| Ric Flair | 86 | 10 | Figure-4 Leg Lock 02: While opponent is on the ground, lower body | N/A |
| Bret Hart | 91 | 9.5 | Sharpshooter 01: While opponent is on the ground, lower body | Piledriver 03: Facing the groggy opponent |
| Chris Jericho | 87 | 9.5 | The Walls of Jericho 01: Facing the groggy opponent | Enzuigiri 04: Facing the groggy opponent |
Location damage is the second key to winning a submission match. Instead of haphazardly performing strikes and grapples, use moves the inflict damage to particular body parts. These top submission hold wrestlers all have a variety of holds in their move sets. To take advantage of the submission finishers, work the area of your opponent’s body that’s most impacted by the finisher. For instance, if you’re Ric Flair, work on damaging your opponent’s legs; if you’re Chris Benoit, damage the arms and head in preparation for the crippler crossface.
Table
The object of a table match is to set up a table and slam your opponent through the table. You can also set up the table in a turnbuckle and whip your opponent into the table. Climb onto the table using the run button while standing against the table. You can toss your opponent onto the table using an Irish whip. Once on the table, perform a grapple that slams your opponent down into the table for the win.
Royal Rumble
Thirty superstars enter but there can only be one winner. The royal rumble begins with two superstars (entrant #1 and #2) and 28 remaining superstars enter one after another. There are no pinfalls or submissions; to eliminate a competitor, he must be tossed over the ring rope.
WWE Smackdown vs. RAW features the new "ring out meter". Irish whip an opponent over the rope then strike or grapple to reduce their ring out meter. Once it’s exhausted, the competitor falls off the apron and is eliminated from the rumble. Regain some of your ring out meter by eliminating a competitor. Damage level seems to play a role in how fast your ring out meter goes down if you’re on the wrong end of elimination. Also, you can increase the rate of ring out reduction by double teaming a superstar that’s on the brink of elimination. If you’re on the wrong end of the ring out meter, you can use a finisher move (L1) to end the grapple and return inside the ring. Heavyweight wrestlers (and above) can toss smaller wrestlers out of the ring.
Strategies for winning a royal rumble are like other free-for-all matches. Pick your battles carefully. Avoid getting into a brawl with multiple wrestlers. Stick on the outskirts and look for an opportunity to strike at a weakened foe. Irish whip wrestlers with long ring out meter so you can get the elimination--particularly important once your ring out meter has been depleted. As the numbers dwindle, look for opportunities to gang up on unfortunate wrestlers being grappled on the apron. This can eliminate other wrestlers quickly and if you gain the credit, your ring out meter replenishes a small amount.
Also note that heavy damage negates the ring out meter. If you or your opponent has suffered heavy damage (lots of body parts) then an Irish whip close to the rope could send you or your competitor out of the ring entirely--even with a full ring out meter.
