Finally, WWE 2K22 has been released to the masses and the game has received mainly positive reception especially compared to its predecessor WWE 2K20.
One thing that people have been curious about is the game’s roster since last year over 80 superstars were let go from their contracts in the last year alone.
When the game came out for players who pre-ordered the Deluxe, Cross Gen, or NWO 4-Life Game Editions, the roster did have a nice blend of current-day stars, legends, and some of the released talent.
However, there were superstars that were shocking left out of the game who were either still under contract with the company or who don’t have a contract with a rival promotion, most of them being female superstars such as The Bella Twins, Paige, and Lita.
There were also some superstars who have been either on the main roster or down in NXT for over a year and they have missed out as well as DLC Roster inclusions in WWE 2K22.
Many players did think that those superstars would be added back in via the WWE 2K22 DLC Packs, but instead the DLC this year seems to focus on superstars from the Ruthless Aggression Era such as Umaga and The Boogeyman.
Along with them, we also have several celebrities making their video game debuts via these DLC packs such as WWE 2K22’s Music Producer Machine Gun Kelly, Hall of Famer Mr. T, and the most surprising inclusion Youtuber Logan Paul.
As for current superstars, we will see in the coming months they are:
- NXT Superstars MSK, Indi Hartwell, Kacy Catanzaro, Sarray and LA Knight
- Main Roster’s Omos Xia Li, Doudrop, Rick Boogs, Ronda Rousey
- NXT UK’s Ilja Dragunov and A-Kid.
So, the question is who could possibly be included in WWE 2K23 whenever the next game in the series is announced.
Well in this article, we will be looking at superstars that may make their debut or return to next year’s game.
Main Roster Superstars That May Be in WWE 2K23
To start off here are some of the superstars on the main roster who missed out on an appearance in WWE 2K22 that may be in WWE 2K23:
- Veer Mahaan (Still hasn’t debuted on TV so missed the roster deadline.)
- Reggie (Has been on TV for a while on Raw so unknown why he missed the roster deadline.)
- Queen Zelina (Wasn’t under contract in 2021 but came back in October, so unknown why she missed the roster deadline.)
- Ridge Holland (Has been under contract since 2019 and debuted on Smackdown in October so unknown why he missed the roster deadline.)
- Shanky (Has been teaming with Jinder Mahal since his debut in 2019 so unknown why he missed the roster deadline.)
- Madcap Moss (Has been under contract since 2015 and teaming with Happy Corbin since September so unknown why he missed the roster deadline.)
NXT & NXT UK Superstars That May Be in WWE 2K23
While it isn’t surprising that the new superstars introduced on NXT 2.0 as there wouldn’t have been enough time to scan in any of the new stars such as Joe Gacy, Solo Sikoa, and the Former NXT Champion Bron Breaker so there’s a good chance that they are in WWE 2K23.
However, some of the superstars from NXT 1.0 such as NXT North American Champion Carmello Hayes, Trick Williams, and the other members of The Diamond Mine Faction as Roderick Strong was on 2K22’s base roster.
Also, there are plenty of examples of Superstars that are under contract to the NXT UK brand as the current United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov isn’t in the base game and will be added soon as DLC.
Along with Ilja, there have only been 2 new additions from NXT UK this year which are Walter and Jordan Devlin.
These male superstars now join the likes of Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, and Pete Dunne in video game form.
Regarding any of the female superstars of NXT UK, the only new female superstar added in 2K22 was Former NXT UK Woman Champion Kay Lee Ray who joins Rhea Ripley when representing NXT UK’s Woman Division despite the fact that other female stars such as Isla Dawn, Nina Samuels, and Jinny have been with the brand since the start.
Despise all the superstars missed out on, WWE 2K22 does look to be a step in the right direction for the WWE 2K series of Wrestling Games and hopefully will continue to grow as time goes on.
What do you guys think of the missing current superstars from WWE 2K22?
Do you think any of the superstars talked about could make an appearance in the WWE 2K23 base game or as DLC?
Leave your comments down below and thanks for checking into The Smackdown Hotel!
