WWE had an eventful first day at this year’s Comic-Con International. During their panel, WWE Champion CM Punk made a surprise appearance during the Mattel panel where the new head of the WWE, whom CM Punk referred to as a doofus during his already infamous shoot promo on Vince McMahon four weeks ago on Raw, was discussing the latest WWE toy line.

On the show floor, fans were treated to WWE Hall of Famer and legend, the Hitman Bret Hart and San Diego’s own Rey Mysterio doing an autograph signing at the Mattel booth. It has been a busy past week for Rey as on Monday night he defeated two men in order to advance in a championship tournament for the WWE Championship which Vince McMahon said he did not recognize CM Punk as champion as he was no longer a part of the company.

This upcoming Monday, the 619’s own biggest little man plans to take on the Real World alumni turned professional wrestler, the Miz. Both Rey and Miz have held a number of titles in WWE, including world championships, so the match looks to be something fans can really get behind on Monday night.

During our interview, Rey also mentions to us that this is actually his first ever Comic Con despite being a San Diego resident and how he has brought his kids to the show with him.

Take a look below at our interview with WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio below and stick to the Flickcast for more from the floor of San Diego Comic Con where way just might get a word tomorrow with WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly.

One of the most interesting aspects of THQ’s WWE game’s is their presentation and their storylines. Some have ultimate wrestling nerd nostalgia like when Edge and Christian reunited in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 before they did on real WWE programming.

Others are completely out of the realm of reality (We all remember the video of Kurt Angle being magically transformed into a woman by Candice Michelle from a few years ago). With the completely over the top style of WWE All Stars, there is certainly some intrigue in to the presentation of its story modes.

Each of the three modes will consist of a 10 match tournament for the player, much in the style of fighting games like Mortal Kombat or Marvel vs. Capcom 3 where players will eventually reach their championship match against either the Undertaker (Legends path), Randy Orton (WWE Superstars path) or D-Generation X (Tag Team path). Here is what we know so far about these three different paths in WWE All Stars:

Path of Champions, WWE Legends – Undertaker

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line at SummerSlam. Can you defeat 10 of WWE’s battle-hardened WWE Legends and defeat Undertaker? Paul Bearer welcomes you to his funeral parlor, as Undertaker emerges from a standing casket. He has a message for the player – “Rest in Peace!” There are plenty of surprises and more cutscenes along the way as you move your way up to face “The Phenom!”

In just over a week, THQ releases its newest WWE game, WWE All Stars. Departing from the realistic, television style of the SmackDown vs. Raw series, WWE All Stars chooses a more over the top style in both its animations and graphics. The beefed up Superstars and Legends more closely resemble Zangief from Street Fighter IV than their real life counterparts. But that certainly isn’t a bad thing.

WWE All Stars gives a good change of pace to the WWE video game brand without getting in the way of their top selling annualized franchise. Included in WWE All Stars will be a host of WWE Legends and current Superstars including friends of the Flickcast Kane and John Morrison.

Two somewhat surprising additions to the roster are Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Hogan, despite being known as a WWE icon is currently on the payroll of TNA wrestling, WWE’s closest competition. Randy Savage only recently just came back in to the WWE fold after a long absence where not even his name was mentioned on WWE programming for years since his departure from the company in the 1990s.

WWE’s SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 helped the franchise reach the momentous 50 million unit mark with sales. With SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, THQ and Yuke’s hoped to continue the sucessful tradition of the annual franchise by taking the franchise’s stalwart features like the godlike level of character customization and great in ring action and adding some new ones, most notably WWE Universe Mode, an expanded backstage arena during the Road to WrestleMania mode and the upgraded physics system.

Gameplay:

As we talked about in our review of last year’s SmackDown vs. Raw 2010,  the biggest strength of SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is how fun it makes the matches available to players. The control scheme proves itself to be easy to learn but a challenge to master allowing players of all levels of skill to enjoy bouts against the computer. This quickly changes however in player versus player combat where a novice has next to no hope against an opponent with more experience with the franchise.

New to this year’s in ring gameplay comes an improved physics engine. The physics in WWE games has varied over the years to the Gamecube days where contact with a ladder could take out a ring full to competitors to even last year’s SmackDown vs. Raw where instead of colliding with a ladder on a big fall, superstars would hit the ground and have the ladder gingerly slide over. Now, items like tables, ladders and chairs are interactive set pieces. Instead of moving aside when a competitor is aimed at it, tables shatter on contact and pieces will remain in the ring as the action goes on around it.

Wrestlers now react to being tossed on top of chairs and a kick to a ladder can send both it and the superstar climbing it to the floor. This feels like a step towards more added realism for the game’s in ring product. (And yes, we understand the irony of talking about realism in reference to professional wrestling… er, sports

With its release date under a week away, THQ has revealed a new trailer for SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 featuring all of the biggest moves in the WWE, the finishers. Much like the real WWE, in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 a match can be ended in an instant if a player is able to hit their big finish out of nowhere.

In the trailer below, you will see just how good SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 looks in action and how much effort was put into making the finishers look as realistic as possible.

Some of the highlights below include classic’s like the Undertaker’s Tombstone, Shawn Michael’s Sweet Chin Music, Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter and Jake “The Snake” Robert’s DDT. In addition, SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is doing a great job of highlighting some of WWE’s newer and younger talent with the likes of Santino Marella’s Cobra, Zack Ryder’s Zack Attack and Kofi Kingston’s Trouble In Paradise.

Make sure to take a peek below and stick to The Flickcast for more on WWE’s SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 including a review once the game is released.

Back in November, we gave you our review of WWE’s latest Smackdown vs. Raw 2010. Now, SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is on the horizon and WWE has just announced the superstars for the game’s cover as well as some of its key features.

In the US, John Cena, the Big Show and the Miz, the latest addition to the Money in the Bank club, will be gracing SmackDown vs. Raw’s cover art (seen above). If you scan down to the gallery below, you will also see the European cover art featuring the Undertaker, Randy Orton and Sheamus.

“WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is on track to deliver the most incredible WWE simulation experience to date in our storied franchise,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. “This year’s game will offer players a variety of intuitive new gameplay features, impactful upgrades, industry-leading creation and customization tools, as well as unparalleled freedom to experience their own virtual WWE moments in line with those seen weekly in WWE.”