Suggest fun things to do

[Black Hammer]

So I've been meaning to pick up a wrestling game at some point to play just to get a little familiarity with it. I periodically run a tabletop RPG about pro wrestling, and figured I should know a little more. Also might pick up Fire Pro later in the sale, depending.

Reasoning aside, what sort of modes and setups are fun to start with if you're not super familiar with any of the names and storylines? I'm more than a little out of date, since I'm pretty sure Dusty Rhodes and Rick Flair fell off the scene long ago, so there aren't any names that jump out at me. As for game modes, are there any that are more of a baked-in tutorial?

[AllG]

The MyCareer Mode is probably a good place to start if you want to try to get the gist of some of the modern characters. You can make your custom superstar and work your way through the story where you'll meet various wrestlers. It may not be enough exposure to really get you invested in those guys, but it's the only mode that offers any character work outside of just seeing their entrances and moves. This can also be an okay tutorial, although it might have some harsh difficulty spikes.

The Showcase Mode is pretty good if you just want an in-depth look at one of this generation's most popular.names.

Alternatively, if you just don't care about the real wrestlers, you could always build your own show from the ground up in Universe Mode using custom characters and other aspects that you download or create for yourself. If you're hosting tabletop RPGs, then I'd bet that you have the imagination needed to come up with your own characters and story lines in this endless sandbox mode. You can even find ways to share your stuff with friends like what I do with screenshots and stupid little videos. Heck, you don't even have to get good at playing the game here when you can sometimes just sit back and watch events unfold.

[Black Hammer]

Is there any recovery mechanic for if you get knocked down? Seems like once I go down, the AI just pounds the crap out of me with their seemingly endless reversals (do theirs recharge faster?) and the only option I have is a slowly recharging reversal that only works half the time.