40 Fun Facts About WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain

Which future UFC Heavyweight Champion is the cover athlete of WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain?

Brock Lesnar leads the box art, and a 2003 WWE DVD about his career carries the same Here Comes the Pain title. He is the game's second-highest rated character at 91.

Which Here Comes the Pain Raw star had already played the lead in the 2002 film The Scorpion King?

The Rock is rated 87, with only two Raw wrestlers scored higher. The Scorpion King, a spin-off from The Mummy Returns, gave him his first leading role.

Which Here Comes the Pain star lost at WrestleMania XIX and did not wrestle again for 19 years?

Steve Austin is rated 85 on the Raw roster, in a game released seven months after knee and neck injuries forced him out of the ring.

Which rapper character from the SmackDown brand joined the game series for the first time in Here Comes the Pain?

John Cena wore jerseys, backwards hats and a padlock chain as the Doctor of Thuganomics. All four of these wrestlers were new to the series, and he is rated only 75.

Which Here Comes the Pain newcomer later played Drax in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy films?

Batista joins the Raw roster rated just 72, having entered the Evolution stable that January. He first played Drax the Destroyer in 2014.

Which masked high-flyer billed from San Diego is on the North American cover of Here Comes the Pain?

Rey Mysterio had joined WWE only in 2002, so this was his first game in the series. His 619 kick is one of his two finishers in it.

Which wrestler, unmasked on Raw in June 2003, first appears bare-faced in Here Comes the Pain?

Kane lost a title match to Triple H with his mask at stake, then took it off on the June 23 Raw. No earlier game had shown his face.

Which wrestler appears twice in Here Comes the Pain, as a biker and as its top-rated Legend?

The Undertaker is a SmackDown star in biker gear rated 85, and also a Legend in his original Deadman look rated 93, the highest score on the roster.

Which star and masked alter ego Mr. America were cut from Here Comes the Pain after a 2003 WWE exit?

Hulk Hogan was in early beta builds in three guises, including his 1980s look. The idea of several versions of him in one game was realised two years later.

Which WCW star billed with a 173-0 unbeaten streak joins the series for the first time in Here Comes the Pain?

Goldberg signed a one-year WWE deal in March 2003 and enters the game on Raw rated 90, with the Spear and the Jackhammer as his finishers.

Which Osaka studio, later majority owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, developed Here Comes the Pain?

Yuke's was founded in 1993 by Yukinori Taniguchi and kept making WWE games until 2019, when development moved to the California studio Visual Concepts.

Which California publisher, bankrupt by the end of 2012, released Here Comes the Pain outside Japan?

THQ filed for Chapter 11 in December 2012 and began selling off its assets the next month. In Japan the game's developer published it itself.

Which Sony console was the only platform Here Comes the Pain was ever released on?

PlayStation 2 was the game's only format, with no Xbox or GameCube port. It reached North America in October 2003 and Japan the following January.

Under which title was Here Comes the Pain sold in Japan, where its developer was also its publisher?

Exciting Pro Wrestling 5 was the Japanese name, carried over from the earlier games in the series. Japan's Famitsu magazine scored it 29 out of 40.

Which caged match, first held at Survivor Series 2002, made its game debut in Here Comes the Pain?

Elimination Chamber joined the game as a six-man match. WWE built the real thing by mixing a giant enclosed cage with the timed entrances of the Royal Rumble.

Which 2002 game, the first in the series under the WWE name, did Here Comes the Pain directly follow?

Shut Your Mouth was the fourth SmackDown! game, released months after the company changed its name from WWF. Here Comes the Pain was the fifth and last before the series was renamed.

Which cable channel's first Video Game Awards, in 2003, named Here Comes the Pain Best Fighting Game?

Spike TV held the show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where the game beat Soulcalibur II and Def Jam Vendetta to the fighting prize.

Which 2004 Konami wrestling game reused the engine built for Here Comes the Pain?

Rumble Roses has an all-female cast, each wrestler with a good and a bad persona. The two games also share a producer, Norifumi Hara.

Which Here Comes the Pain star won Olympic freestyle wrestling gold in 1996 with a broken neck?

Kurt Angle is the SmackDown brand's second-best wrestler at 89, behind only the cover athlete. His two finishers are a slam and an ankle lock that both carry his name.

Which Here Comes the Pain Legend played the lead in John Carpenter's 1988 film They Live?

Roddy Piper is among the first Legends the series ever had, rated 84, with a Sleeper Hold as one of his finishers.

Which Fiji-born Legend in Here Comes the Pain was famous for leaping off the top of a steel cage?

Jimmy Snuka, nicknamed Superfly, made his most famous cage leap onto Don Muraco at Madison Square Garden in 1983. One of his finishers in the game is simply called Superfly.

Which Here Comes the Pain Legend also became a character in the G.I. Joe toy line and cartoon?

Sgt. Slaughter played a former Marine drill instructor in a campaign hat. His finisher in the game is the Cobra Clutch, and he is rated 85.

Which Here Comes the Pain Legend won the WWF title in 1983 and has the Camel Clutch as a finisher?

Iron Sheik is rated 83 in the game. Born in Iran, he had been a bodyguard for the Shah's family before moving to the United States to wrestle.

Which Here Comes the Pain Legend created his own diamond-studded Million Dollar Championship belt?

Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, made the belt after failing to buy or win the real WWF title. His finishers in the game include the Million Dollar Dream.

Which tag team, with spiked armour inspired by Mad Max, do Hawk and Animal form in Here Comes the Pain?

Legion of Doom was the name the Chicago pair used in the WWF. Both members are Legends rated 90 in the game, level with Triple H.

Which former WWF champion was dropped from Here Comes the Pain over legal issues after beta builds?

Ultimate Warrior was pulled before release, while unfinished data for other cut wrestlers such as Al Snow and William Regal is still on the disc.

Which former WCW boss, Raw's general manager in 2003, is a playable character in Here Comes the Pain?

Eric Bischoff makes his series debut rated just 52, the lowest of any man on the roster, with kung-fu strikes for finishers.

Which Here Comes the Pain cover star's brother Jeff was cut from the game after leaving WWE in 2003?

Matt Hardy stayed on SmackDown with his acclaimed Version 1 character, while his brother was released by WWE in April 2003. He is rated 70 in the game.

Which former Miss Galaxy winner is the only woman on Here Comes the Pain's North American cover?

Torrie Wilson shares the box with five male wrestlers. She won the Miss Galaxy fitness title before signing with WCW in 1999.

Which Canadian former fitness model is among the Raw Divas on the Here Comes the Pain roster?

Trish Stratus took up fitness modelling after studying at York University to become a doctor. She is rated 50 in the game, the joint-highest score among the Divas.

Which Raw Diva in Here Comes the Pain was once a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader and WCW Nitro Girl?

Stacy Keibler danced on WCW's Monday Nitro under the name Skye before becoming a valet. She later finished third on Dancing with the Stars in 2006.

Which Raw veteran in Here Comes the Pain is recognised by WWE as a 16-time world champion?

Ric Flair, the Nature Boy, has the Figure-4 Leg Lock for both of his finishers. He is rated only 75 in the game, late in a career that began in the 1970s.

Which Raw star in Here Comes the Pain had returned to wrestling in 2002 after retiring in 1998?

Shawn Michaels, the Heartbreak Kid, is rated 80 in the game, and both of his finishers are versions of the Sweet Chin Music kick.

Which Raw star in Here Comes the Pain became lead vocalist of the metal band Fozzy in 1999?

Chris Jericho is rated 85 in the game, with a submission hold named after him as a finisher. In 2001 he had become the first Undisputed WWF Champion.

Which Raw star in Here Comes the Pain won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five times?

Booker T was the last man to hold that title under the WCW banner. He is rated 81 in the game, with the Book End among his finishers.

Which Raw star in Here Comes the Pain once held the ECW Television Championship for 700 days?

Rob Van Dam held the belt from April 1998 until an injury made him give it up in March 2000. Both of his finishers in the game are the Five-Star Frog Splash.

Which former WCW star nicknamed Big Poppa Pump makes a series debut in Here Comes the Pain?

Scott Steiner is on the Raw roster rated 80, with the Steiner Recliner as a finisher. He first found fame in a tag team with his older brother Rick.

Which Here Comes the Pain star wrestled in WCW as The Giant before joining the WWF in 1999?

Big Show was first introduced in WCW as the son of Andre the Giant. He is a Super Heavyweight rated 81 on the SmackDown roster.

Which masked Japanese SmackDown newcomer in Here Comes the Pain once held ten titles at the same time?

Ultimo Dragon held all ten belts for a week across 1996 and 1997, a record that stood until 2025. He signed with WWE in the spring of 2003.

Which Raw wrestler in Here Comes the Pain wore a superhero costume and had a sidekick called Rosey?

Hurricane was the persona of Gregory Helms, a comic book fan whose favourite characters include Green Lantern. He is rated 68 in the game.