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Braun Strowman
Known as 'Monster In The Bank' since winning 2018's Money In The Bank ladder match – you can see what they've done there, even if the nickname makes zero sense – Strowman has spent the last 12 months flirting with megastardom. Whether he achieves it depends on how soon WWE gives him a Universal title run; hold off too long and he'll suffer the same fate as long forgotten Ryback.
Bray Wyatt
2018 has been the year of the throw-together tag-team: Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. Hardy and Wyatt made the best of this strangeness with a reasonably entertaining Raw championship reign, but both are better off as rivals – and WWE 2K19 enables them to wage war once again.
Bret Hart & British Bulldog
These two Hart Family members – Bulldog, AKA Davey Boy Smith, was married to Bret's sister Diana from 1984 to 2000 – are joined in WWE 2K19 by father-daughter pair Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart and Natalya, who I'll get to later. But there's no place this year for Natalya's husband Tyson Kidd, who now works as a backstage producer following a serious neck injury in 2015.
Brie & Nikki Bella
Both Bella twins spent much of 2018 inactive from a wrestling standpoint – Nikki through a long-standing neck injury, Brie after the birth of first child Birdie. (Father: Daniel Bryan.) Yet with their own TV show and activewear brand, they remain WWE’s most marketable female grapplers, and so were never in doubt for this year’s videogame.
Brock Lesnar
Amid rumours of a return to UFC, many expected Lesnar to drop the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. Instead the blonde manbeast withstood Roman Reigns and went on to break CM Punk’s 434-day record for the longest modern-day world title reign – securing another year on the 2K roster in the process.
Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine
These two are best known for the later years of their respective WWF careers: Beefcake for clipping' opponents hair after victories, Valentine for his slow-but-impactful technical work as a heel. Long before that, however, they worked as a duo named The Dream Team, even scoring a run as tag champions. Overdue reunion in 2K19, anyone?
Carmella
Few considered Carmella a long-term prospect during her NXT run managing the beloved tag-team of Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Three years on, Amore and Cass are both plying their trade away from WWE, while ‘Mella spent the summer as Smackdown Women’s Champion. Proving that part of the E’s magic is its total unpredictability.
Cedric Alexander
Many pegged Alexander as the future star of the 205 Live crew when he made his debut in WWE 2K18 – and sure enough, he captured the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania and has since defended it in fine bouts with Drew Gulak, Hideo Itami and Buddy Murphy. Of all the talents on 205 Live, Alexander looks best suited for an eventual main roster move.
Cesaro & Sheamus
The tag-team known as The Bar seemed a short-term distraction for both Sheamus and Cesaro when thrust together by Raw GM Mick Foley in September 2016. Instead, they’ve become one of the company’s most reliable tandems, amassing four title reigns during that time. It’ll no doubt end in yet another feud between the pair, but there’s no doubt their run has been a resounding success.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan
Of all the baffling decisions WWE top brass have made in recent times, none tops the call to split the duo known as American Alpha. Gable and Jordan looked destined for a long-time run as tag champs throughout their NXT run, but were needlessly dispatched to different brands shortly after making the main roster, and have never recovered. You know what to do when 2K19 lands.
