After a year off to figure things out, the WWE 2K franchise is back - but can it bounce back after a disastrous outing in 2020? "WWE 2K20" was the Universal Champion of being hated, by gamers and critics alike. They've touted a completely rebuilt experience and it looks promising, but only time will tell.
Before the game launches its early access at 10 PM Mountain Time tonight, which we'll certainly be participating in, let's break down the "2K22" roster, which is drastically different than the last game and includes some surprising changes, including a handful of characters that were recently released by WWE. Here's who's out, who's in and who surprisingly made the cut:
Who's out?
- Legends
- Brie Bella
- Brutus Beefcake
- Dusty Rhodes
- Lita
- Mankind
- Molly Holly
- Nikki Bella
- Paige
- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
- Still with the company, not enough TV time
- Drake Maverick
- Mark Andrews
- Noam Dar
- Ronda Rousey
- Zelina Vega
- No longer with the company
- Adam Cole
- Akam
- Aleister Black
- Alicia Fox
- Andrade
- Big Show
- Bo Dallas
- Bobby Fish
- Bray Wyatt
- Christian
- Curt Hawkins
- Curtis Axel
- Daniel Bryan
- Dash Wilder
- EC3
- Eric Young
- "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher
- Harper
- Heath Slater
- Jaxson Ryker
- Kairi Sane
- Karl Anderson
- Kassius Ohno
- Kurt Angle
- Lars Sullivan
- Luke Gallows
- Maria Kanellis
- Mark Henry
- Mike Kanellis
- Mojo Rawley
- No Way Jose
- Rezar
- Rowan
- Rusev
- Samir Singh
- Sarah Logan
- Scott Dawson
- Shane Thorne
- Sin Cara
- Sting
- Tony Nese
- Zack Ryder
- Alternate attires
- Aleister Black "Wicked"
- Bayley '15
- Bayley '17
- Bray Wyatt "The Fiend"
- Bray Wyatt "The Swamp Father"
- Charlotte '17
- Charlotte '18
- Finn Blaor "Demon King"
- "Frankenstrowman"
- Kassius Ohno (Zombie)
- Kurt Angle alternate attire
- Natalya '14
- Natalya '16
- Nia Jax '17
- Nikki Bella '15
- Nikki Bella '16
- Randy Orton "Unleashed"
- Ric Flair alternate attire
- Robert Roode (Zombie)
- Sasha Banks '15
- Sasha Banks '16
- Sasha Banks '17
- Sasha Banks (Zombie)
- Shawn Michaels alternate attire
- Sting alternate attire
- The Rock "$500 Shirt"
- Triple H alternate attire
- Undertaker alternate attire
- Undertaker alternate attire
- Story Mode characters
- Brooklyn Von Braun
- Cole Quinn
- El Mago Jr.
- Josie Jane
- Reilly Flash
- Ribbie
Who's in? (* denotes characters available via DLC)
- Main Roster
- Angel Garza
- Austin Theory
- Damian Priest
- Dominik Mysterio
- MACE
- Mansoor
- MVP
- Shotzi
- T-BAR
- NXT
- Cameron Grimes
- Dexter Lumis
- Fabian Aichner
- Joaquin Wilde
- Jordan Devlin
- Kay Lee Ray
- Kushida
- LA Knight*
- Marcel Barthel
- Raquel Gonzales
- Raul Mendoza
- Santos Escobar
- Timothy Thatcher
- Walter
- Legends/Other
- Cactus Jack*
- Eric Bischoff (nWo)*
- Farooq
- Machine Gun Kelly*
- Road Dogg Jesse James
- Rob Van Dam*
- Stacy Keibler*
- Yokozuna*
- Managers
- Triple H
- Alternate attires
- Dolph Ziggler '09
- Kane '08
- Kevin Nash (nWo)*
- Rey Mysterio '05
- Rey Mysterio '06
- Rey Mysterio '08
- Rey Mysterio '09
- Rey Mysterio '11
- Rey Mysterio Jr. (Starrcade '96)*
- Scott Hall (nWo)*
- Seth Rollins '20
- The Miz '11
- The Undertaker '02
- The Undertaker (Ministry of Darkness)
- The Undertaker (Phantom Mask)
- The Undertaker (Boneyard Match)
- New to the game but no longer with the company
- Alexander Wolfe
- Danny Burch
- Ember Moon
- Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
- John Morrison
- Karrion Cross
- RECKONING (Mia Yim)
- Scarlett (manager)
- SLAPJACK
- Tegan Nox
- William Regal
Everyone in the game but no longer with the company
- Alexander Wolfe
- Arya Daivari
- Billie Kay
- Braun Strowman
- Cesaro
- Danny Burch
- Ember Moon
- Fandango
- Gran Metalik
- Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Jeff Hardy
- John Morrison
- Johnny Gargano
- Kalisto
- Karrion Cross
- Keith Lee
- Kyle O'Reilly
- Lana
- Lince Dorado
- Mia Yim
- Murphy
- Nia Jax
- Oney Lorcan
- Peyton Royce
- RECKONING (Mia Yim)
- Ric Flair
- Samoa Joe
- Scarlett (manager)
- Shane McMahon
- SLAPJACK
- Tegan Nox
- The Brian Kendrick
- Toni Storm
- Tucker
- Tyler Breeze
- William Regal
By the Numbers
"WWE 2K22" includes:
- 169 unique, playable characters (if our math is correct), including DLC but not including managers and alternate attires
- That's 17 less than "WWE 2K20."
- 195 playable characters, including alternate versions of superstars
- That's 30 less than "WWE 2K20."
- 41 unique, playable women
- That's six less than "WWE 2K20."
- 201 total characters, including managers and alternate versions of superstars
- That's 37 less than "WWE 2K20."
Roster take-aways
It looks like this year's roster will be significantly smaller than the last game but, considering how many people WWE has let go since COVID, I'm surprised they have this many still in the game. There are also a handful of wrestlers that I'm glad are still there, like John Morrison, who is one of my favorites. I think that the most notable omissions at the time of launch (the Bellas, Paige, Lita, Ronda Rousey, Zelina Vega and a handful of other legends) will likely be added as upcoming DLC, as well as a lot of NXT standouts, so I'm not too worried about them right now.
What else is new?
Three major game modes are being introduced or revamped for this year - most notably, GM Mode, which returns to the franchise after about a decade's absence. I, for one, cannot wait to get my hands on GM Mode, which was one of the most popular features of the "SmackDown! vs RAW" era of WWE video games. The other two major modes are called MyFaction and MyRise. We haven't looked too far into those modes yet, but MyFaction seems like fun and MyRise essentially seems like a fancy new name for "Story Mode," which has recently been the worst aspect of any games put out under the "2K" banner.
A major focus will be placed on cover athlete Rey Mysterio this year. He replaces the "2K20" spotlight on the Women's Revolution. Players will have the opportunity to relive iconic milestones from Mysterio's illustrious career, so if you're a fan of cruiserweight action, you might be excited about that.
Quick Q&A
We did this in our last "WWE 2K" post, so we'll ask the same questions and see how our answers have changed.
- Who will be the first wrestlers you play with in "2K22"?
- John Morrison, John Cena and the nWo. We'll also acknowledge Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief and Head of the Table pretty early on, as well.
- Are there any superstars that you are more excited to play with in "2K22" than you have been in the past?
- Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar (shockingly). Sonya DeVille and Dakota Kai come to mind on the women's roster.
- Are there any superstars that you are less excited to play with in "2K22" than you have been in the past?
- Rey Mysterio lol
- Are there any superstars that you have no intention of playing with in "2K22"?
- Anyone who has left the company for AEW. Screw them.
- Who are you most looking forward to beating up?
- Anyone who has left the company for AEW and Braun Strowman.
- What is your weapon of choice?
- Always the kendo stick, unless they let you do that spinning thing when you put a ladder over your head. That is the absolute best.
- What feature are you most looking forward to?
- GM Mode, hands down. Not even close.
The Bottom Line:
There's no way it can be any worse than "WWE 2K20." It looks really good, though, and we've got high hopes.
To take a look at our previous WWE content, click here. You can also leave a comment on this post, follow us on Twitter (here and here) or find us on Facebook, if you know where to look.
See you in the ring, jabronis.
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