WWE Wrestling Pokies and the Future of RealMoney Skill-Based Games

There’s no questioning the fact that today’s pokies, online or otherwise, are being taken in a whole new direction. From the mechanical 3-reel drums of old, to today’s RNG-infused, electronic reel spinners, developers have finally acquiesced to the fact that millennials simply aren’t interested. They want fast-paced action, they want a challenge, and they want impeccable graphics to go along with it.

Which brings me to my real point – WWE Wrestling! Okay, I know online pokies and wrestling don’t seem to have a lot in common. But they should, and if we look at some of the interactive, real money games released over the last few years, wrestling pokies aren’t exactly a new concept.

The beloved Andre the Giant Pokies was developed and released by NextGen in 2011. It featured genuine footage, comical graphics and larger-than-life wild symbols of Andre the Giant himself; wilds that would expand across an entire reel, mimicking his massive size and unparalleled dominance in the ring.

The following year, a lesser known software company by the name of Endomel Gaming raised a lot of eyebrows when it released its Hulkamania Pokies. Themed around none other than Hulk Hogan – the leading rival of Andre the Giant, and the man who broke his 14-year winning streak (1973-1987) at an epic Wrestlemania III match in 1987 – the hero actually had a hand in making his own poker machine, adding to his retirement legacy of multi-million dollar self-marketing.

In 2015, Real Time Gaming (RTG) hopped on the ‘wrestling reels‘ band wagon with its creation of Lucha Libre Pokies, bringing the ferocious popularity of Mexican wrestling to fans of pokies online.

Time For Skill-Based Wrestling Pokies

Clearly, like most popular sports, wrestling has a earned a dedicated position in the hearts of real money pokies players, but modern times call for modern innovation, and that means incorporating elements of skill into these games.

Imagine a typical match on WWE Legends of Wrestlemania for the Xbox or Playstation. Now imagine spinning the reels of a typical poker machine, with symbols that depict classic stars of the ring, like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Rod Piper, Junkyard Dog and The Ultimate Warrior, just to name a few. Combine the two, and you’d have an action-packed challenge that any true wrestling fan would be more than happy to spend a few dollars on.

One the one hand, you could view wrestling pokies as mere gambling devices. But with bonus rounds that invoke the actual skill of the player, letting them assume the role of their favorite wrestling superstar to compete in the ring, just like the experience provided by the video games they grew up on, it would become far superior to any of the pokies online today.

In reality, these poker machines – and just imagine all the possibilities; car and motorcycle racing, sports themes, social gaming, etc. – would be more like a virtual arcade. Except, unlike the arcades of old, instead of spilling quarters in the machine with nothing but a good time to gain, payers could actually win real money for being more adept at the skill-based pokies they choose to play.

So to all you interactive gaming software companies looking to produce the ‘Next Big Thing‘ in real money online pokies – preferably available on dual desktop and mobile platforms – please, consider the above. Thank you – that is all.