WWE 2K23: How to Climb a Ladder in Ladder Matches

by Mike Alexander / WWE 2K23 Guides, Articles / 23 Mar 2023

There’s no doubt that ladder matches can get pretty intense. They’re stressful enough in a televised wrestling match, but in a video game you can get up to waaaay more dangerous stunts.

Thankfully, my beloved ladder matches have returned in WWE 2K23 in all of their ladder-climbing and smacking glory. If you don’t have as much experience with ladder matches in WWE 2K games, that’s ok! I’m not going to hold it over your head. Instead, I’m going to help you get to my level, so we can all enjoy the best parts of this game.

So get your gloves on and prepare to be hit with some heavy metal, because in this guide we are going to cover the ladder controls for the ladder matches in WWE 2K23.

Climbing and Relocating

In order to actually climb a ladder, you don’t need to think too hard! All you need to do is line up your wrestler so they are directly in front of a ladder and then press the right bumper on Xbox or the R1 button on PlayStation to mount it. This process remains the same for ladder matches.

Now if you want to get a little crazy with the ladder, you can do some pretty interesting things with it. To pick up a ladder, you can press the left bumper on Xbox or the L1 button on PlayStation. This will allow you to move the ladder to another location. Once you’ve decided on a new home for the ladder, you can press the A button on Xbox or the X button on PlayStation to set it back down.

If you want to lean a ladder on a corner of the ring for some shenanigans, you can press the same button while you are positioned in the corner you want to set the ladder down in. If you want to adjust the ladder after you have set it down, just hold the left bumper on Xbox or the L1 button on PlayStation and use the right analog stick on both to rotate the ladder.

Ladder Finishers

Now for the REAL fun. If you want to finish off your opponent with a ladder move here is the process you need to follow. You’ll need a finisher slot stored and ready to go, and you’ll need to lure your opponent to the top of the ladder with you on the opposite side. Then, press the right trigger and A button on Xbox or the R2 and X button on PlayStation to perform a ladder finisher. Just a quick note, you’ll need to assign the ladder finisher in create-a-moveset in order to perform this move.

Here is a quick list of the different ladder finishers that are possible in WWE 2K23:

Attitude Adjustment 5

Double Knee Facebreaker 2

Neckbreaker 11

RKO 3

Rock Bottom 3

Suplex 12

Twist of Fate 3

White Noise 1

For right now, you can’t do anything that requires you to jump from the top of the ladder, like a Frog Splash or Swanton Bomb. Bummer.

Ladder Bridge

If for some reason you want to create a bridge between the ring and the announcer’s table with a ladder, that’s pretty simple to do. All you have to do is press the right trigger and left bumper on Xbox, or R2 & L1 on PlayStation, and your wrestler will set up a ladder bridge.

That’s all the important stuff, but here are a few extra notes: you can set up six ladders in the weapon wheel in an Extreme Rules match, there are no ladders available in Hell in a Cell, and you can’t taunt with a ladder, unfortunately.

Mike Alexander

Mike has been playing video games since he was able to hold a controller, having been fascinated by Sonic 2 on his mom’s Sega Genesis. That fascination and passion for the art form has grown exponentially nearly 30 years later, and he doesn’t see that fading away anytime soon.
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