Last week, WWE announced that Seth Rollins would grace the cover of WWE 2K18, the latest addition in WWE’s yearly wrestling simulation video game series. Since the games are released yearly, the roster changes to align with what is happening on television. However, since a lot of work (and time) goes into virtually recreating each WWE Superstar, 2K Games looks more towards the beginning of the year to determine the new roster. That brings up the question, “Who should make this year’s roster?”
These entries are going not going to be based on what is happening now, but instead, what was happening a few months ago. Since creating the Superstars from scratch takes a lot of time, 2K Games sets its roster early in the year so it will be ready to ship by October. WWE 2K17 had over 130 playable Superstars, but this list is just recommended those Superstars that should definitely be included.
Alexa Bliss
Over the past year, Alexa Bliss went from being an NXT Superstar that was never featured on a Pay-Per-View to the most prominent woman on the main roster. She feuded with Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship and became the first woman to hold the title twice (the second being the current champion, Naomi). Bliss then moved to Raw where she became the first woman to hold both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships. For someone who has made so much history in such a short period of time, she is practically guaranteed a spot in the game.
Braun Strowman
Here is another Superstar that skyrocketed over the last year. In early 2016, Braun Strowman was still a part of the Wyatt Family, where he could not develop very much. After the brand extension, Strowman left the Wyatts to become his own character and he changed for the better. After essentially launching the career of James Ellsworth by destroying him, Strowman has had two high-profile feuds with Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns while being portrayed as an unstoppable force.
The 205 Live Roster
It’s one thing to split the roster into two shows, but it’s another thing entirely to create a third brand out of brand new Superstars. While it has had its ups and downs, 205 Live has been a great weekly show for WWE featuring nothing short of great in-ring action. TJP, The Brian Kendrick, and Rich Swann put their names in the record books by capturing the Cruiserweight Championship. On top of champions, there are phenomenal athletes like Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Gran Metalik, and Jack Gallagher who would provide a very fun move set variety that works well in a video game format.
Daniel Bryan
Before becoming SmackDown Live General Manager, Daniel Bryan was forced to retire from in-ring action due to a history of neck issues and concussions. Bryan has gone on the record stating that he would wrestle for another company when he leaves WWE, whether it is good for his health or not. While the WWE Universe will never see Bryan compete in a WWE ring again, 2K Games can fulfill that pipe dream virtually by including Bryan in the game. Bryan should be a yearly entrant, like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or The Rock.
British Strong Style
In January of this year, WWE set the stage for a new brand with the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Some of the best wrestlers from the United Kingdom competed and wowed the fans, but three of them stood above the rest: Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, and Pete Dunne. In Progress Wrestling, they are in a group known as British Strong Style that has ruled the promotion for a while, but they have a bunch of WWE success as well. They have all competed numerous times for NXT, while Bate and Dunne have both captured the UK Championship (by defeating each other). Adding them to the game would be a great indication of what’s to come for the UK brand.
These are just a few suggestions for what WWE Superstars should be included in this year’s WWE 2K18. Be on the lookout for who we think should not be included in the game before the full roster reveal, which should take place around the time of SummerSlam.
