You remember that feeling. It’s late October 2010. You just popped the disc into your Xbox 360 or PS3, and the "This is Your World" tagline flashes across the screen. There was something uniquely gritty about the WWE SvR 2011 roster. It wasn't just another yearly update; it felt like a snapshot of a company in total flux. We were right on the edge of the PG Era’s peak, but the game still felt like it had one foot in the Ruthless Aggression door.
Honestly, looking back at this lineup is like staring into a time capsule. You’ve got the old guard like Shawn Michaels and Triple H sharing space with a very "green" Sheamus and a "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. It's a weird, beautiful mess.
The Names That Defined the Game
The core WWE SvR 2011 roster was split between the Raw and SmackDown brands, though the game let you ignore that pretty quickly in Universe Mode. On the Raw side, John Cena was the obvious front-runner, but this was also the year of The Miz’s massive push. You had Randy Orton at the height of his "Viper" persona and a retiring Shawn Michaels who, let’s be real, we all kept in the main event anyway.
SmackDown felt a bit more experimental. This was the era of "Straight Edge Society" CM Punk—complete with the mask if you played through the right modes. You had the powerhouse Kane (before he went back to the mask), Rey Mysterio, and the Big Show.
The Full Playable List (Base Game)
I’m not going to give you a boring table. Just look at the variety here. You had guys like Evan Bourne and Yoshi Tatsu for the high-flyers, and absolute tanks like Mark Henry and Vladimir Kozlov.
- The Main Eventers: John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, Edge, Chris Jericho, and The Undertaker.
- The Rising Stars: Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and the Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith).
- The Mid-Card Staples: Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Goldust, and MVP.
- The Women’s Division: Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and the Bella Twins. It’s wild to think how much "Diva" DNA was still in the game compared to the modern 2K titles.
The Ratings Drama (Who Was Actually the Best?)
Ratings in these games always spark a fight. In 2011, THQ didn't hold back on the legends. The Undertaker sat at the very top with a staggering 98 overall. If you tried to beat him in the "Vs. Undertaker" Road to WrestleMania, you know exactly why that number was so high. He was a brick wall.
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John Cena, Randy Orton, and Triple H all hovered around the 95 mark. Interestingly, Batista was in the game despite having left WWE earlier that year, and he was clocked at a 92. The lowest-rated character? Probably Hornswoggle, but since he wasn't fully playable in standard matches (he was more of a manager/interference character), the "honor" usually went to Santino Marella or Primo, who sat in the mid-70s.
The "Secret" Roster and the Cuts
This is where things get interesting. The WWE SvR 2011 roster had some serious ghosts in the machine. Because development cycles for wrestling games are so long, people get fired or quit while their digital clones are still being polished.
Take The Hurricane (Gregory Helms). He was released in early 2010, but he’s all over the Road to WrestleMania mode. He even has a secret match you can trigger in Rey Mysterio’s story. But can you select him on the character screen? Nope. He’s a "hidden" NPC that fans spent years trying to hack into the playable roster.
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Then there’s the DLC. This was the first time it felt like WWE games were really leaning into post-launch content. We got the "Nexus" guys—Wade Barrett, David Otunga, and Justin Gabriel—which was huge because they were the hottest thing on TV during the game's release. We also got legends like Lex Luger and the British Bulldog.
The Legend Tier
You couldn't talk about this game without the legends. It was a stacked deck:
- The Rock (97 Overall) – Still the GOAT in most fans' eyes back then.
- Stone Cold Steve Austin (96 Overall) – A permanent fixture.
- Bret Hart – This was a big deal. He had just returned to WWE in real life, and his inclusion (initially as a Best Buy pre-order) was a massive selling point.
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why anyone cares about a 15-year-old game roster. It’s about the physics. SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 introduced the "Havok" physics engine. This was the first time tables broke exactly where you slammed someone. If you threw a chair, it didn't just disappear; it bounced.
The WWE SvR 2011 roster was the last one to truly benefit from that "arcade-sim" hybrid feel before the series started moving toward the hyper-realistic (and sometimes clunkier) style of the 2K years. It was fast. It was chaotic.
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Also, it was the final SmackDown vs. Raw branded game. After this, we moved to WWE '12, which changed the controls and the "feel" entirely. For many of us, this roster represents the end of an era.
How to Get the Most Out of the Roster Today
If you're digging out your old console to play this, don't just stick to the exhibition matches. The real magic of the WWE SvR 2011 roster is in the Story Designer.
Unlike modern games that restrict what you can do, the 2011 Story Designer was a lawless wasteland of creativity. You can script a 52-week calendar using these specific versions of the characters. Want to make Vance Archer the WWE Champion? You can. Want to have a year-long feud between a masked CM Punk and a prime Edge? Go for it.
Actionable Tips for Retro Players:
- Unlock the Druid: Finish all the Road to WrestleMania stories. He’s basically a blank slate with a cool move set.
- Search for Fan Saves: If you’re on an emulator or have a way to transfer files, the "Community Creations" for this game are technically dead, but many forums still host "CAW" (Create-A-Wrestler) data that adds the missing 2011 talent like Alberto Del Rio or Daniel Bryan.
- Max Out Your CAW: Don't forget that your created superstars start with low attributes. You have to grind them up in the Career/Universe mode or use the "Attribute Compressor" if you have the DLC.
The 2011 roster isn't just a list of names. It’s a snapshot of a time when WWE was trying to figure out its future, and THQ was trying to push the hardware to its absolute limit. It’s imperfect, it’s missing a few key people, and some of the ratings are questionable—but that’s exactly why we’re still talking about it.