by 
A 1983 tag team wrestling game from Technōs Japan and Data East is making its way to consoles later this week, courtesy of Hamster's Arcade Archives series.
Tag Team Wrestling (also known as The Big Pro Wrestling! in Japan) hit the arcades in the early '80s and is widely considered to be the first wrestling game ever created. It gives players the opportunity to control a babyface tag team of identical wrestlers wearing orange trunks (called Sunny and Terry in the Japanese version, and Spike and Jocko in the US version) as they battle a bunch of heels, with the ultimate goal of becoming world champions and holding onto their titles.
Before the very first match, players can create a short nickname for their team and then participate in a number of matches, using various moves and holds on their opponents, which are accessed via a menu in the game's UI. It's even possible to fight outside of the ring, and there's even the potential for run-ins from other fighters to make things harder.
Following its release, the game proved to be a huge success, becoming the top-grossing new table arcade cabinet, according to Game Machine. As a result, it was ported to the Nintendo Famicom/NES in 1986 by Data East and Sakata SAS (becoming one of the earliest North American third-party games in the process), and was also brought to the IBM PC, C64, and Apple II by another company, Quicksilver Software, in the mid-to-late '80s.
Here's the official description of the game from Hamster:
"The Big Excite Series finally begins!!
"TAG TEAM WRESTLING" is an action game released by Technos Japan in 1983.
Enjoy the world of professional wrestling as you control the hero wrestler and aim to become world champion. Quick move selection and the skillful tag team work unique to tag matches are the keys to victory! Sometimes brawls spill out of the ring, and unexpected intruders might even show up!?"
What's important to note is that this wasn't the last wrestling game Technos Japan worked on. One year after Tag Team Wrestling, it would develop the sumo-inspired wrestling game Shusse Ōzumō for the arcade, which was later followed by other titles like Mat Mania and Mania Challenge, as well as licensed titles like WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestlefest.
Tag Team Wrestling will be released tomorrow (May 21st, 2026) on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and will include a bunch of new quality-of-life features, such as screen filters and additional modes. The Arcade Archives version for Nintendo Switch and PS4 will be priced at $7.99, while the Arcade Archives 2 version for PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S (which typically comes packed with slightly more features) will cost $9.99.
Also, in case you're wondering what this week's Console Archives release is, Hamster has revealed it will be bringing the 1987 Nintendo Famicom title Toujinmakyouden Hercules no eikou (often translated online to Legend of the Fighting Demon's Lair: Glory of Heracles) to Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5, this week, on May 21st. It will cost $7.99 across both systems and, due to being released exclusively in Japan back in the day, won't include an English localisation.