'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Earlier today, we reported on a story for the full WWE 2K18 roster that IGN revealed. PWInsider provided a list of current WWE and NXT Superstars that were not included on the overall roster reveal with no really notable surprises.
In case you didn't know...
The WWE 2K series of video games was first published by the now-defunct company THQ.
The first release in this series was WWF Smackdown! in March of 2000. 2K took over developing the game in 2013 with WWE 2K14.
The heart of the matter
On Monday Night Raw, only Elias and The Hardy Boyz are not on the WWE 2K18 roster. All of these guys made their main roster debut in April, so there wasn't enough time to get them on-disc.
For Smackdown Live the following are not included on-disc: James Ellsworth, Lana, Mike & Maria Kanellis, Shelton Benjamin, and The Singh Brothers.
Lana didn't start wrestling as a singles competitor until June; while Mike and Maria and Benjamin are new additions to the roster. Ellsworth and the Singh Brothers are more managers than in-ring talent at this point; which is probably why they are not included.
205 Live and NXT will probably have lesser roles than Raw and Smackdown in the game, so their list is a little bigger.
Those wrestlers include: Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, Lince Dorado, Mustafa Ali, Tony Nese, Adam Cole, Aleister Black, Andrade "Cien" Almas, Street Profits, Bobby Fish, Drew McIntyre, Kyle O'Reilly, Lars Sullivan, Liv Morgan, Heavy Machinery, Ruby Riot, Sonya Deville, Velveteen Dream, and Zelina Vega.
With NXT, many of those superstars are newer or are not prominent on the brand quite yet; which could very well explain their absence from the on-disc roster.
What's next?
The release of WWE 2K18 is just around the corner as it will come out on October 17th. This game will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Author's take
I am not overly surprised at any of these wrestlers not being on the initial roster at release. 2K locks in these rosters months ahead of time for the development cycle, and anyone that debuts after WrestleMania or later will likely not in the game at the start, but there is always the chance they could be DLC down the road.
