36 WWE 2K22 wrestlers aren’t even part of the company anymore

After skipping 2021, the WWE 2K series is poised to return in just a week’s time. WWE 2K22 will sport a gargantuan roster of 168 playable wrestlers (technically 170 if you count all three Undertaker variants), including current superstars like Roman Reigns and cover star Rey Mysterio, WWE legends like Andre the Giant and Randy Savage, and, strangely, rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

While several members of the roster have either retired from wrestling or passed away, VGC has noted that a number of playable wrestlers were let go from WWE over the past year. Over 100 superstars saw their contracts terminated throughout 2021, yet several of them, specifically 36, are still featured in the new game.

These wrestlers are:

• Alexander Wolfe
• Ariya Daivari
• Billie Kay
• Braun Strowman
• Cesaro
• Danny Burch
• Ember Moon
• Fandango
• Gran Metalik
• Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
• Jeff Hardy
• John Morrison
• Johnny Gargano
• Kalisto
• Karrion Kross
• Keith Lee
• Kyle O’Reilly
• Lana
• Lince Dorado
• Mia Yim
• Mickie James
• Murphy
• Nia Jax
• Oney Lorcan
• Peyton Royce
• Samoa Joe
• Shane McMahon
• SLAPJACK
• Tegan Nox
• The Brian Kendrick
• Timothy Thatcher
• Toni Storm
• Tucker
• Tyler Breeze
• William Regal

It may seem strange at first for them to be depicted in WWE 2K22 when they no longer work for the company, especially since some superstars were released as early as April 2021. But the game has been in development for a while so plans to include these wrestlers were likely already set in stone before their departures. Some of them have only recently left as well, meaning it’d be far too late to cut them from the game. Even if they were cut, removing content shortly before WWE 2K22’s release wouldn’t exactly sit well with fans.

WWE 2K22 certainly has high expectations to meet when it launches for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 8. WWE 2K20 was received so poorly by fans and critics, that publisher 2K decided to skip making a 2021 game and give WWE 2K22 a longer development cycle.