WWE 2K17 has been on the shelves for almost four months now and last week, it was released for PC as well. WWE releases a new version every year with career modes, updated characters, match options and a lot of other new features, which sets it apart from its predecessors.
The popularity has soared with every instalment of the video game and the next one, WWE 2K18, is expected to be released and available on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One by the end of 2017. The game’s immersive experience eats up a lot of hours of the gamer.
One of the most important features of the game is the roster and with every new instalment, there are a few new additions and a few omissions. Here we will take a look at four wrestlers who, according to our sources, might not feature in WWE 2K18.
#1 Alberto Del Rio
José Alberto Rodríguez or as he is known by his ring name, Alberto Del Rio, is a Mexican professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is, perhaps, best known for his two tenures in WWE.
Del Rio is a seven-time world champion in professional wrestling, having held both the WWE Championship and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice each. In 2011, he also won the Royal Rumble and the Money in the Bank ladder match, thereby becoming the first and only professional wrestler to win both in the same calendar year.
He had featured in WWE 2K17 and was one of the favourites to be included in the 2K18 roster. However, following a suspension for wellness policy violation in August last year, the WWE fired Del Rio in September. In an official statement, they announced that he will no longer be with the WWE.
Del Rio was previously let off for unprofessional conduct in 2014 but later returned to the organisation. This time, though, the chances of a return are slim. Our sources say that as a consequence of his actions, the star might be dropped from the WWE 2K18 roster.
#2 Stardust
Cody Garret Runnels or Cody Rodes or simply Cody, who is a prolific tag-team wrestler, is the son of late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and the half-brother of WWE wrestler Goldust. He, later on, adopted the ring name Stardust.
After being elevated to the main roster, Cody became a two-time Intercontinental Champion. He also won six Tag Team Championships, including three World Tag Team Championships and three WWE Tag Team Championships, with four separate tag team partners.
Along with his half-brother, Goldust, he went on to win the 2013 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award.
After a successful partnership with WWE spanning nine years, it was announced in an official statement that the company had reached an agreement with Cody as to his release in May 2016. However, no reason was stated in the announcement.
Apparently, the wrestler himself had requested a release citing frustrations with WWE's creative department and his position within the company. Now, according to our sources, despite being a popular character in WWE 2K17 Stardust is unlikely to feature in WWE 2K18.
#3 Lita
Amy Christine Dumas, better known as Lita, is a former professional wrestler who was most recently signed by WWE as an analyst. She performed from 2000 to 2006 and has since made part-time appearances with the company.
She signed with WWF (which later came to be known as WWE) in 1999 and was originally paired with Essa Rios. However, she achieved her greatest push at Team Xtreme alongside Matt and Jeff Hardy.
Lita went on to win four WWE Women’s Championship four times throughout her career. On April 5, 2014, she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
After her retirement, she made some part-time appearances with the company. However, in December 2016, legendary wrestling commentator Jim Ross stated that Lita was “no longer with the company.” She had been taken off WWE TV programming earlier and Ross confirmed it in December.
Although she was on the roster in WWE 2K17, our sources inform that she will not retain her place in the roster in WWE 2K18. Honestly, this does not really come as a huge surprise for the fans of the video game.
#4 Booker T
Booker T is a former professional wrestler and promoter signed with WWE. He is best known for his time with WCW and WWF (later on, WWE).
The American wrestler is a six-time World Champion in professional wrestling. He has won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five times (four times in WCW, and once in the WWF) and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. Booker T is also the first non-mixed race African American to become a world champion in WWE.
In 2013, he was voted the greatest World Heavyweight Champion in a WWE viewer poll. He was also the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2006, the eighth Grand Slam Champion and the sixteenth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history. On April 6, 2013, Booker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In August, he finally retired from professional wrestling after conceding that his elbow had been damaged after two decades of performing the Spin-a-roonie. Our sources claim that the former Superstar will not be a part of the WWE 2K18 game.
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