THQ has announced the pre-order incentives for WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2011, and, as usual, putting money down at different retailers will earn you different bonuses.  What’s not usual is the selection of participating retailers, particularly the exclusion of one of them; GameStop.

WWE fans who pre-order at Walmart will receive the “Tribute to the Troops Arena,” presumably based on a ring used during one of the WWE’s many USO shows.  Reserving the game through Amazon.com will unlock three new costumes for Randy Orton (T-shirt, suit, and referee’s uniform), while Toys R Us is offering an alternate “Ministry of Darkness” costume for the Undertaker.  The real deal, however, is at Best Buy, where a pre-order will unlock Bret “The Hitman” Hart.  Not sure if it’s current, saggy, needs the money Bret Hart, or bad-ass, pink-sunglasses wearing “Excellence of Execution” Bret from the 1980s and 1990s, but I’m hoping for the latter.  While the Orton outfits and "Tribute" arena will be available for all home consoles, the other two incentives will only be on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

So where is GameStop in all this?  The gaming giant is almost always included in pre-order incentive programs like this, but with THQ recently adopting EA’s “Project Ten dollars” program, perhaps this is a direct, intentional slap in the face to the company whose after-market sales have made publishers adapt their business models.  Toys R Us also does used game sales and trade-ins, but their contribution to the secondary market is a drop in the bucket, whereas GameStop is the bucket.  THQ is something of a maverick company, with the corporate image of a drunken tailgater, so a middle finger by way of exclusion would fit their M.O.  It will be interesting to see if THQ continues to leave GameStop out of the loop for future pre-order bonuses.  I suspect we'll find out once Saints Row 3 information starts popping up, probably early next year.