WWE 2K17 aims to bring the best wrestling gaming experience to users with a roster full of wrestlers present in WWE’s stable of Superstars. Some Superstars though end up being excluded from the game as they are introduced to the WWE after the planning and development stage of the game has been completed.
In order to compensate for such exclusions and also allow gamers to make their own, personalised wrestlers, the 2K series introduced in its games the Create A Wrestler (CAW) feature. This feature allows gamers to not only recreate their favourite wrestlers who have missed out on the video game rosters but also make wrestling avatars of celebrities and pop culture figures.
This feature has previously seen wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Chris Benoit being created and made available for download to the entire 2K17 community, in spite of them not being in the WWE as wrestlers.
The CAW feature has also seen celebrities and superheroes earn their wrestling stripes. The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump is one such icon who has made his debut in the virtual WWE 2K17 ring.
Other popular CAWs include stars like Batman, Superman, Goku and so on. The CAWs are available for download to any member of the 2K community and are often downloaded thousands of times.
With a myriad variety of iconic wrestlers and characters on the CAW list, we list out those WWE 2K17 CAWs which are most downloaded by users of the game series.
#1 Maryse
Maryse is the real-life wife and manager of WWE wrestler, The Miz, and her appearances in the WWE are restricted to roles in that capacity. Her fans were obviously unhappy with the two-time Divas Champion’s role on WWE 2K17 being restricted to managerial duties, and a community user, LatrellGames decided to take matters into his own hands by creating an active wrestling Maryse CAW.
Maryse is given an overall rating of 81, which is certainly on the higher side when compared to other wrestlers in the Women’s Division and is on an equal footing with Nia Jax, who is one of the better fighters in this category.
In spite of the 2K series’ recurring problems with hair modelling accuracy, the Maryse CAW commendably bears an uncanny resemblance to her real life version.
The Maryse CAW seems to be an impressive fighter compared to her peers. Versatile in the ring, Maryse’s abilities include Taunting, Dirty Pin, Ring Escape and Pin Combo, among others.
Her physical attributes are all rated 70 or above with strength, stamina and arm power being her strongest points with ratings of above 70. Such a combination of in-ring ability and impressive physical attributes make her a fearsome opponent in WWE 2K17.
#2 Karl Anderson
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have entered into a fruitful tag team partnership and are the current RAW Tag Team Champions. Anderson spent most of his career in Japan as a tag-team specialist and joined the WWE in 2016.
In spite of joining the company in 2016, the wrestler does not feature in the 2K17 release as the development of the game was already underway by the time he joined the company.
The Anderson CAW has for some reason seen a higher number of downloads than his partner Luke Gallows, which is puzzling because the two should ideally be downloaded together as they are a tag team. Also, Gallows is rated higher than his more downloaded partner, making Anderson’s download numbers puzzlingly illogical.
Rated at a pretty impressive overall skill of 81, his abilities include Ring Escape, Diving Pin Combo, Teamwork and Ruthless aggression, which might be the reason for the number of downloads he has received.
The CAW version of Anderson prefers to finish off opponents with the iconic RKO or the painful Torture Rack Neckbreaker, making him a supremely fun CAW to play with.
#3 TJ Perkins
The Filipino-American wrestler is currently a part of the RAW roster on the WWE and is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He is known for his iconic entrance which is a tribute to the Nintendo Entertainment System, a memento from his time in Japan.
The most downloaded CAW version of TJ Perkins looks nowhere close to the real thing but edges out other similar CAWs, with its accurate portrayal of the in-ring gear used by him at his Clash of Champions debut. This version of TJ Perkins is highly rated with an overall score of 89.
Perkins’ highly rated attributes include a maximum agility rating of 100 while the abilities in his locker include Fan Favourite, Rope Break, Brawl and taunting his opponents. The wrestler, in his CAW avatar, is a power-packed performer using the Samoan Driver to finish off opponents.
A must-have in the game, it is a pity that his Nintendo dedicated entrance cannot be incorporated in the CAW format.
#4 CM Punk
A huge hit with the WWE fans during his time with the company, CM Punk currently fights in the UFC after his acrimonious exit from the promotion. In a successful stint with the WWE, Punk was WWE Champion for a record 434 days, which is the longest title reign in the modern era.
Inspite of his exit, Punk’s evergreen popularity with the WWE faithful, sees him consistently linked with a return to the WWE.
Since he is such a huge fan-favourite, it’s no surprise that the CM Punk CAW is high on the most downloaded list. Given an overall of 95 as a CAW, Punk, if downloaded, is likely to be one of the best fighters on your roster with abilities like Move Thief, Diving Pin Combo and Fan Favourite.
Punk’s finishers include G.T.S 1 and G.T.S 3 and the CAW feature is the only way to play with Punk until the 2K series decide to include him in the game as a legend or story mode character.
#5 Jeff Hardy
One of the most iconic WWE wrestlers of all time, Jeff Hardy, along with his brother Matt revolutionised tag team wrestling in the WWE. His recent links with a return to the WWE have excited fans and could be one of the many reasons behind Jeff being the most downloaded CAW on the game.
The Jeff Hardy CAW is one of the few such creations which bear an uncanny resemblance to their real life wrestler counterparts. Not only is his in-ring attire spot on; Jeff Hardy’s facial features have also been accurately constructed.
The creator of the CAW has also managed to incorporate Hardy’s two iconic finishers, the Swanton Bomb and the Twist of Fate, moves which will attract diehard fans of the attitude era.
Given an overall rating of 90, the Jeff Hardy CAW scores high on agility and possesses in-ring attributes of Ruthless Aggression, Taunt, and Fan favourite. Jeff Hardy having the highest number of downloads shows his enduring popularity with the WWE faithful who are eagerly awaiting his return to the WWE.
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