This page details pre-release information and/or media for WWE Raw 2.

WWE Raw 2 is the sequel to WWE Raw, and went through significant changes during development.

Press Release

The official press release is on IGN and is dated the 22nd of September 2002. Some noteworthy things can be spotted in it.

• DDP was going to be part of the roster. (DDP left WWE in April 2002 when he picked up a major neck injury from wrestling Hardcore Holly on SmackDown. He would have been removed later in 2002.)
• There were going to be more backstage arenas.

1

Official Roster

The official roster list was revealed on IGN and is dated the 7th of July 2003. Two wrestler names stand out.

• Chief Morley (Val Venus was under his Chief Morley gimmick from November 2002 to early May 2003. Around the time of E3 2003, he reverted back to just being Val Venis for the rest of the year.)
• Jeff Hardy (Jeff Hardy was released in April 2003 so he would have been removed later in 2003.)

2

Very Early Trailer/E3 2002 Trailer

Watch on YouTubeA gameplay trailer from May 2002. The game was going to reuse the WWF Raw engine, but it was reworked from scratch a few months into development. A ton of differences can be seen. What is presented here reflects the programming going on at the time.

• The NWO titantron is visible. (The NWO storyline had ended in July 2002 after its members drifted apart.)
• Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash's facial models are different.
• Originally, Jeff Hardy was supposed to be playable, but was cut before the game's completion for drugs and alcohol reasons, as well as refusing rehab. They even removed an animation of him doing a swanton bomb from the ladders, like he does in real life as a result of his carelessness.
• Scott Hall was also supposed to be playable, but he was removed from the game for similar reasons as Jeff Hardy.
• The Raw arena from the previous game was to be accessible as well as a 2001 version of the SmackDown arena. They were replaced in the final game by the 2002-2005 Raw arena and the 2002-2007 SmackDown arena.
• Stacy Keibler is with the Dudley Boyz and is in her Duchess of Dudleyville attire.
• Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy are in their Hardy Boyz attire.
• Booker T has two different models, one of which is his WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth model.
• The Dudley Boyz are in their classic attire.
• The Rock is in his "pre-Hollywood Rock" persona and his model is different. His Get Ready shirt is noticeable too.
• Kurt Angle has his hair and his attire was very different. His head was shaved at the Judgement Day PPV on the 19th of May 2002, meaning that they weren't changed yet after that happened.

Early Preview

Watch on YouTubePreview footage from mid 2003. It looks much closer to the final game, but has some differences.

• Much like in the previous game, Christian, Kurt Angle, and the Rock would've had their previous hairstyles. They also have different attires. Also, Matt Hardy would have looked no different from how he looked in the first game. In addition, the graphics were also a bit more bland, like the previous game, before going with the final over-exaggerated sheen, making all the WWE superstars look like something straight out of Street Fighter IV despite the shows taking place at night.
• Big Show is in his Survivor Series 2002 attire.
• Rey Mysterio has a different attire.
• The prompt to skip is a different command and in a different position.

E3 2003 Camera Footage#

Watch on YouTubeThis is very high quality footage of the games E3 2003 Booth that was uncovered in a Spanish THQ E3 2003 Compilation video.

• Kurt Angle's is in his American Hero attire.
• The prompt to skip is a different command and in a different position.
• Rey Mysterio has a different attire.
• Debug text can be seen at 2:06.

E3 2003 Smacktalk Footage

Watch on YouTubeThis is low quality footage of the games E3 2003 Booth that was uncovered on the smacktalk website through the wayback machine. It matches what was shown in the preview footage and would appear again in later videos.

• Kurt Angle is in his American Hero attire.
• Rey Mysterio has a different attire.
• The prompt to skip is a different command and in a different position.

September 2003 Trailer

Watch on YouTubeThis trailer is from September 8, 2003, a week before the game was released. It has most of the same differences from the previous videos whilst having some of their own.

• There is no HUD.
• There is no command prompt to skip the entrances.
• Some sound effects are slightly different.

Exhibition Trailer

Watch on YouTubeThis trailer came from Xbox Exhibition Volume 4 Demo Disc, dated November 26, 2003, two months after the game was already released in America on September 15 and a month after it was released in Europe on October 10. It has some weird and very noticeable differences, the majority of which can already be seen in the previous videos.

• The Rock is in his "pre-Hollywood Rock" persona even though he was a heel in 2003 and his model is different.
• Big Show is in his Survivor Series 2002 attire.
• Kurt Angle is in his American Hero attire.
• Rey Mysterio has a different attire.
• Christian is in a red singlet and has long hair.
• Jeff Hardy is present and his model is his WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain one.
• The prompt to skip is a different command and is in a different position.