There are two things that make a wrestling game notable: the roster and the wrestling. If you have a good wrestling engine at its core then you can get a ton of play time out of the game. If you have a notable roster for gamers to play then you'll likely please fans the world around who like different wrestlers and different styles for different reasons. 2K Games and Yukes are trying to capture as many wrestling fans as possible by adding an insane number of wrestling legends to the roster, so that gamers and wrestling fans alike will be able to dive into the upcoming WWE 2K19 and play as some of their favorite heroes and villains from throughout the ages, in addition to new-school icons like "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey.
The roster for WWE 2K19 has been revealed in chunks and in the third segment (via IGN), 2K Games has rolled out a list of fan-favorite legends from the yesteryears of pro-wrestling, including top guys like The Ultimate Warrior and iconic mainstream wrestlers like Andre the Giant.
You can check out the full list of wrestlers revealed to the already packed line-up below:
- Alundra Blayze
- Andre the Giant
- Bam Bam Bigelow
- Batista
- Beth Phoenix
- Big Boss Man
- Booker T
- Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- British Bulldog
- Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
- Chris Jericho
- Christian
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Diesel
- Eddie Guerrero
- Edge
- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
- Ivory
- Jaqueline
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
- Kevin Nash
- Kurt Angle
- Lex Luger
- Lita
- Macho Man Randy Savage
- Mr. McMahon
- Mr. Perfect
- Papa Shango
- Ravishing Rick Rude
- Razor Ramon
- Rey Mysterio
- Ric Flair
- Rick "The Model" Martel
- Ricky Morton
- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
- Rikishi
- Robert Gibson
- Roddy Piper
- Scott Hall
- Shawn Michaels
- Stephanie McMahon
- Sting
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Sycho Sid
- Tatanka
- Ted DiBiase
- The Godfather
- The Rock
- Trish Stratus
- Ultimate Warrior
- Undertaker 2002
- Undertaker
- Vader
That's one exhaustive list. Heck, the amount of wrestlers revealed in that line-up alone is enough to have a cool wrestling game all its own.
According to IGN, though, every single one of those wrestlers will be joined by the 130 other wrestlers already revealed.
Now keep in mind that this is following the logic that different iterations of the same wrestler count as a different roster entry. So they're counting the classic Deadman Undertaker and the American Badass Undertaker as two separate characters. This also means that characters like Surfer Sting and Crow Sting are also counted separately (and sadly while we will likely never have the Sting vs Undertaker matchup we've all been dying for, at least you can pit the two legends against each other in WWE 2K19).
Other notable entries on the list include Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and the late great Macho Man Randy Savage. Another notable icon from that era is Diamond Dallas Page, who recently popped up at the very popular indie-promoted show, All-In. And there's the recently departed Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, who was one of the cornerstone figures in The Hart Foundation, a stable that ruled the ring in the 1980s.
Vince McMahan, the chairman of the WWE, returns as a playable character, along with his daughter Stephanie McMahon. Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is another noteworthy entry on the list. He was also a cover athlete for one of the more recent entries in 2K Games' annual series. Stone Cold is joined by fellow Attitude Era superstar, Shawn Michaels.
And obviously the pre-order bonus involving Rey Mysterio would mean that he would most certainly be playable in the game, and he is.
Also, if you were keen on rekindling the NWO, you can do so with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the original Outsiders, or you can take a more early 1990s approach and play Hall under his Razor Ramon persona. And it shouldn't go without mentioning, but the biggest Hollywood action star working in the business right now is also on the list, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. You can't go wrong there.
WWE 2K19 is due out this October for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
