Crimson Desert lets you RKO your enemies (from nowhere)

Crimson Deserta new medieval fantasy action-adventure game from Pearl Abyss, allows players to perform one of WWE's most famous moves, the RKO, on enemies. Most players probably don't think of wrestling moves when medieval combat comes into play, but Crimson Desert players find that the game is unexpectedly overcrowded with them, and this discovery hits them out of the blue.

Released March 19 Crimson Desert makes a pretty strong first impression, with a top critic average of 79 on OpenCritic and a mostly positive user rating of 73 percent on Steam. Fans applauded its huge open world, gameplay variety, and even immersion in a live simulator, though there were complaints about Crimson Desertcontrol in combat. A patch is coming soon to fix this problem, and fans who have already worked their way up to the controls are finding that there are a surprisingly large number of ways to dispatch enemies, including ones that are bound to turn the heads of professional wrestling fans.

Crimson Desert will not have difficulty options or be easy, says its developer.

“Hell No” Crimson Desert addresses whether it's easy and whether or not it's going to struggle with the launch options

Pearl Abyss clarifies how hard players can expect Crimson Desert to be and whether it will have difficulty options ahead of its March 2026 release.

Crimson Desert's Kliff is a surprisingly great professional wrestler

Just a few days after its release, some players are discovering Crimson Desert Protagonist Kliff appears to be a true wrestling aficionado, as his grappling skills are shown to include a repertoire of moves that look like they were taken straight from WWE and AEW. These impressive hand-to-hand combat abilities have been captured in action by players, including Reddit user Intelligent-You-7002, who shared a short video detailing some of the special unarmed moves featured in the game. During the 56-second clip, Kliff approaches a group of enemies and knocks down three of them at the same time with a flying dropkick, and if the one in front doesn't fall, he finishes him off with an RKO. He then leaps over the fourth enemy, knocking them down with a German suplex before running over to the next group and taking them out with moves that include a standing powerslam, an enzuiguri and several diving lariats.

For those who don't know, the RKO is the finishing move of WWE Superstar Randy Orton, a 14-time world champion and one of the company's longest-running active stars, debuting in 2000. The RKO's modified and stylized jumping cutter involves Orton jumping onto the opponent, grabbing them around the neck, hitting a flat bicep, and falling to the ground. It's a versatile move designed to be used on opponents of any size, and its lightning-quick application has produced some shocking WWE moments. The move's popularity is felt in pop culture and outside of professional wrestling fandom, as its meme-worthy appeal has resulted in tons of videos of people falling on their faces, with footage of Orton and actual WWE audio commentary accompanying the announcement of the move's name, often ending with exclamations of “out of nowhere!”

WWE 2K25 Randy Orton hits an RKO through the table

Grappling is just one type of combat included Crimson Desert. Kliff is able to equip a variety of one-handed swords, maces and daggers, two-handed axes, hammers and greatswords, and ranged weapons that include bows, rifles, pistols, and hand cannons. Meanwhile, grappling offers an unarmed combat option that both Kliff and Damine will learn, and leveling up the skill tree will allow players to unlock additional moves.

Professional wrestling grapples aren't the only unconventional medieval tools at Kilff's disposal. While the game features fantasy-inspired mounts such as horses and dragons, players can also unlock ATAG rocket mechs. Crimson Desert during its 10th chapter. Additionally, Kliff's Axiom Force ability allows him to shoot a gravity beam of light from his hand attachment, and some players have noted that this makes him look a bit like Metroidis Samus Aran.