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WWE 2K26 Leak Includes A First-Time Ever Match Type For The Series

Originally posted on The Sportster | By Josh Coulson | Last updated Jan 19, 2026 11:22 AM ET

Even though 2K hasn't confirmed or revealed anything about WWE 2K26 yet - it hasn't even given its next game an official release window - the leaks about what we can expect from the next WWE 2K title have been coming our way thick and fast. Those leaks include four interesting match types that will reportedly be a part of the game, one of which has never been part of a WWE game before.

Dumpster Matches Rumored To Make Their Debut In WWE 2K26

According to a leak courtesy of Insider Gaming, the four new match types coming to WWE 2K26 are Three Stages of Hell, dumpster, inferno, and I Quit. All of those matches have been missing from the series for at least 13 years, with the dumpster match making its WWE video game debut if the leak is accurate.

The finer details of how dumpster matches might work in WWE 2K26 haven't been revealed. However, the expectation is that they will function much the same way as ambulance and casket matches, both of which were added to the series in WWE 2K25. For those unfamiliar, the match types require you to put your opponent in an ambulance, casket, or, in this case, a dumpster, and win a minigame to shut the door and win the match.

Three Stages Of Hell Matches Are Reportedly Back On The Menu

Three Stages of Hell returning to a WWE video game in the coming months is rather fitting, as earlier this month Drew McIntyre beat Cody Rhodes in what was the first Three Stages of Hell match since 2013. The match type has been missing in video game form for evern longer as, if this leak is accurate, it will be the first time it has featured in a title since 2K took over development duties from THQ.

The other two match types, inferno and I Quit, haven't been missing for quite as long, but interestingly got cut from the series after the very first WWE 2K game, WWE 2K14. It's unclear why both have been omitted for such a long time, particularly the I Quit match, which has such a rich history in WWE.

There's always a question each year regarding how 2K can make the next game feel new just 12 months after releasing the old one. Sitting on these match types for so long is one of the ways it's able to pull that off. While the dumpster match isn't all that exciting, it's cool to see a match type that has still somehow never been used after all these years. All three of the other returning match types will also be very welcome and contribute to making WWE 2K26 feel like it's different enough from WWE 2K25 that it'll be worth the $70 price tag.

This article first appeared on The Sportster and was syndicated with permission.

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