WWE 2K17 cover star will be Brock Lesnar (sorry, New Day)

Bad news for The New Day – it won’t be the WWE Tag Team Champions gracing the cover of WWE 2K17, despite them making a public appeal to do exactly that earlier this month. Instead, the biggest gig in virtual ‘rasslin has gone to steel-shouldered powerhouse (and former UFC champ) Brock Lesnar.

It’ll be the first time Lesnar has a WWE game cover all to himself for 13 years – he was last seen fronting Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain on PS2 in 2003. During his previous Octagon spell (he’ll return to fight Mark Hunt at the upcoming UFC 200), Lesnar also fronted THQ's short-lived but brilliant UFC Undisputed 2010.

“My career has been defined by dominating every opportunity presented to me,” says Lesnar of his role on the box. “I am excited for my newest opportunity representing WWE 2K17 as the franchise’s ambassador and honoured to serve as the WWE 2K17 cover Superstar.”

Lesnar becomes the fifth character confirmed for this year’s roster, after Goldberg (who he famously lost to at WrestleMania XX), Ultimate Warrior, John Cena, and Sasha Banks.

Further details on Lesnar’s exact role within the game are yet to be confirmed, but advocate Paul Heyman insists that he played a bigger part in its development than simply appearing on the packaging. “You'll see a lot of components inside the game that demonstrate that Brock wanted his name attached to something that's unique and different and extraordinary,” says Heyman.

Heyman does have one regret, however: Lesnar not wearing WWE’s big gold belt on the cover art. “Brock Lesnar should be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for the cover of the Suplex City edition of the WWE 2K17,” he says. "He never lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Seth Rollins cashed in Money In The Bank, made it a three-way match, and the challenger beat the other challenger for the championship. So, in Brock's heart of hearts, he is the undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Once he gets by Mark Hunt on July 9th at UFC, Brock Lesnar's vision will be sharply set on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.”

We’ll have more from our interview with Paul Heyman throughout this week.

WWE 2K17 is released for PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on 11 October.

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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+.