Blake Monroe, Trish Stratus & More Sizzle on Red Carpet During ‘WWE 2K26 Creator Fest’

Many of the top pro wrestling superstars walked the red carpet ahead of the release of the WWE 2K26 video game. It was all part of an unprecedented “Creator Fest” event on February 19 hosted inside WWE’s actual headquarters (get a look inside below) in Stamford, Connecticut. The March release features a series of covers with the standard edition being graced by WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk. The “Best in the World,” who is at the center of this year’s WWE 2K26 Showcase was among the names in attendance to celebrate the latest installment of the popular game series. 

Along with current talent, the game will also spotlight the past with a “King of Kings” edition covered by Paul “Triple H” Levesque. The WWE Chief Content Officer has enjoyed a Hall of Fame worthy 30-year career. Fans of the 1990s are also getting to jump back in time thanks to the “Attitude Era” and “Monday Night War” editions. During this era names like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chyna, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the nWo, Kane, and others were soldiers for either WWE or WCW on the battleground fighting for ratings supremacy.

Chelsea Green (WWE)

Always one to dress for the occasion, Chelsea Green stepped on the carpet paying tribute to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The inaugural United States Women’s Champion proudly rocked his trademark t-shirt. 

“I think the thing about nostalgia is that it’s so big right now so whenever I’m looking to wear something fun and trendy, the irony is it’s nostalgia,” Green explained. “So, we’re going back to the ‘Attitude Era.’”

The performer has many reasons to celebrate these days. A recent one was the fact her husband Matt Cardona formally returned to the company. “It’s so crazy because we wanted this for so long,” Green said. “We’ve been like ships passing in the night for 10 years. To be in the same company at the same time, it’s amazing. I’m so happy for him. He needed to be here. His story was never finished until he was back in WWE.” 

Green’s once AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship partner Ethan Page fielded interviews in a sharp red suit. The WWE NXT North American Champion and father of two was excited to be in a WWE game. A nice feather in the cap of accomplishments for “All Ego.” 

“They love their father and love to see me win,” Page said. “You know it’s very interesting because my son for much of his life has known his dad to be a champion. Him knowing I’ve been champion the whole time he has been alive, that’s pretty cool I bet.” 

This carpet had no shortage of big-time titleholders including WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Iyo Sky and WWE Undisputed gold carrier Drew McIntyre. The day was not lost on NXT Champion Joe Hendry, who recently signed with the company after a tremendous run in TNA Wrestling. Hendry will be available as a pre-order bonus alongside a roster of more than 400 legends and current superstars. 

“The last couple of years have been unbelievable,” Hendry reflected. “To be at WWE Headquarters with WWE 2K26 here  with the NXT Championship on my shoulder. I’d say it has been an incredible few years to be able to represent NXT and be in the video game is such a surreal thing for me as someone who got into wrestling through the video games. I feel a lot of gratitude.”

Breeze came up during NXT’s early years, which set up the roots for what is shown today on The CW. Despite seeing talent get even more opportunities on a bigger platform, Breeze wouldn’t have changed when he was part of the show. 

“I can’t say I wish I was coming up in this era as all the eras have been good, especially now. WWE is bigger than it has ever been. I came up during the black and gold era, which was one of those pivotal times, an innovative time with the roster we had,” Breeze explained. “I wouldn’t trade it for the other eras of NXT. Nothing against the current ones, but I loved the way we came up. I got to wrestle [Jushin Thunder] Liger in Brooklyn. So, I wouldn’t trade that.” 

NXT standout Blake Monroe lived up to “The Glamour” moniker in her fashionable best. She was also getting acquainted with the WWE machine over the last year. “It’s so surreal to me. These are bucket list things that happened so early in my career,” she said. “To be in a video game and also to have fans so excited about my introduction into the video game, I was trending next to Offset and the Super Bowl. To have someone be so hyped, it’s an amazing experience.” 

Tiffany Stratton (WWE)

Cameras captured Monroe posing with the legendary Trish Stratus. Perhaps, a future tag team in the making? The fellow bombshell had a fun and sporty look. Knowing the struggles women of her time endured, seeing the growth and evolution of the division brings pride. 

“To be in a video game, it still blows my mind,” Stratus said. “The fact I’m in an updated model. There was a while where it was the same outfit, the same Trish. It was like me back in the day and years and years. I got to come back and got some gear updated for this game. It’s never lost on me.

“The ‘Attitude Era’ was a special time. I don’t think you can ever get a time that has so many amazing superstars at once. You had The Rock, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Triple H, Trish, Lita, all these huge superstars. What an iconic time. Now that we are revisiting that and paying homage to that is amazing. And I got a cover out of it too, so that is pretty cool.” 

Related

WWE 'Royal Rumble': Roman Reigns & Liv Morgan Rule During Night of Shockers

Stratus continues to work and make appearances, recently celebrating her 25th year in the ring. She proved to be able to still deliver “Stratisfaction” at a high level. 

“I’m very blessed that I was able to celebrate my 25th year in the ring and do some great marquee matches and enter the mix with the current superstars,” Stratus said. “I took a break when my mom passed last year. So I took a little break from everything. This year I launched my ‘First Crush” tour. People have said I was their first crush, so I thought, ‘I’m going to go with it.’ We’re going to be doing that and meeting friends throughout the year. We have some exciting things planned alongside that.” 

One of Stratus’ opponents and tag team partners during her latest run was Tiffany Stratton. The former WWE Women’s Champion returned at the Royal Rumble and looks for it to be “Tiffy Time” once more. She was happy to be out and about again after being on the sidelines due to an injury. 

“I feel like people don’t realize how much being in a video game is iconic,” she said. “I feel like we’re on TV every single week and not a lot of people can be in a video game. That alone is such a flex.”

The WWE 2K26 Standard Edition will be released on March 13. You can get the “King of Kings,” “Attitude Era,” and “Monday Night Wars” editions on March 6. 

WWE Raw, Mondays, 8/7c, Netflix

WWE NXT, Tuesdays, 8/7c, The CW

WWE SmackDown, Fridays, 8/7c, USA Network