WWE 2K16 roster update: The New Day, Ricky Steamboat, and 6 more make the cut

Batista

Its now more than a year since Big Daves last match, a barnstorming six-man melee between Evolution and The Shield at Payback 2014. Hes since earned rave reviews as Drax in Guardians Of The Galaxy, and will play the main villain in next Bond flick Spectre making 2K16 the only way to see him in a WWE ring anytime soon.

Team Bella

Nikki Bella AKA Mr John Cena was never expected to miss out on 2K16 after holding the Divas Championship since November of last year, and twin Bries been an equally prominent performer on Raw and Smackdown. Still, accomplice Alicia Foxs return after missing out last year is a mite unexpected, although very much welcome.

Big Show

Alas, the please retire chants which accompany every slow Show snooze-a-thon arent likely to find their way into 2K16 derogatory fan chants are an area where WWE isnt seeking believability. And to be fair, his power-packed move set makes him way more fun to play as in-game than he is to watch in real life.

Bo Dallas

Irwin R Schysters baby boy has been treading water for the last few months, reduced to comedy jobber status and obliterated by Brock Lesnar and The Rock, to name two. A link-up with real-life older sibling Bray Wyatt would instantly revitalise him, but WWE clearly isnt interested in such a natural tandem. No matter: put them together in the game instead.

Booker T

Now firmly entrenched as a member of the WWE commentary team, T nonetheless remains active on the companys virtual roster despite not having had a match since WrestleMania 28 more than three years ago. This will be his 26th video game appearance dating back to PS1s WCW Nitro in 1997.

Brian Pillman

Steve Austins sometime tag buddy back in WCW as the Hollywood Blondes, who went on to become one of the 90s dirtiest heels and took park in one of the most controversial angles of all time when he pulled a gun on his former partner. An undetected heart condition led to him passing away in October 1997, aged just 35.

British Bulldog

Shockingly, its 13 years since Davey Boy Smith and yes, that is his real middle name marched off to the great squared circle in the sky. Yet he remains one of the most famous Brit grapplers ever, and his inclusion here enables fans to relive perhaps the greatest Intercontinental Title bout of all time: his titanic tilt with brother-in-law Bret Hart at Summerslam 1992.

Cameron

Naomis former Funkadactyls partner has been lost in the mix during the summers Divas Revolution, with NXT call-ups such as Charlotte and Sasha Banks rendering her something of an irrelevance. Yet her involvement here is welcome, if only as cannon fodder for those more talented dames.

Chris Jericho

Y2K chooses to wrestle on a part-time basis these days, splitting his schedule between WWE house shows and rock projects with his band, Fozzy. But a riveting curtain-raiser against Brit newcomer Neville, in a Tokyo Dome show broadcast on the WWE Network, showed hes lost none of the ability that made him the first ever unified world champion.

Curtis Axel

The son of Curt Mr Perfect Hennig earned himself a surge of fan support earlier this year with his Axelmania tribute to Hulk Hogan only to disappear entirely after a racism row saw all Hulkster references consigned to history by WWE. Hell likely have a better 2016 in videogame arenas than real life ones.

Ben Wilson

I'm GamesRadar's sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.