Charlotte
Ric Flair’s baby girl was chosen to end Asuka’s 914-day undefeated streak at WrestleMania; making her ensuing loss of the Smackdown Women’s Championship to Carmella all the more bizarre. Even so, there was never any chance of her being left off the WWE 2K19 roster, and she celebrated by reclaiming that title in a thumping triple-threat match at Summerslam 2018.
Chris Jericho
The Fozzy frontman has spent more time touring than in WWE this calendar year, and there were even rumours that he might miss out on the game altogether after capturing Japanese federation IWGP's Intercontinental Championship in June. But predecessor THQ was pilloried for omitting Jericho from WWE 12, and 2K has adroitly managed to avoid making the same mistake.
Christian & Edge
Both now retired – Christian through a 2014 concussion, Edge following a succession of neck issues – these real-life best pals and TLC legends still appear on the WWE Network via their 'The Edge And Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness' series. Both much-missed in-ring, you can enjoy rekindling their classic feuds with the Hardys using 2K19.
Curt Hawkins
As of Raw on 20 August 2018, Zack Ryder's former tag buddy owns what WWE defines as the longest losing streak in company history: 0 wins, 209 defeats. There's a great underdog story in the offing if WWE chooses to tell it at some point – many had Hawkins pegged as Braun Strowman's mystery partner at WrestleMania, and 2K19 offers the chance to complete that unlikely pair.
Daniel Bryan
Smackdown general manager at the turn of the year, Bryan finally returned to active competition in April after three years out through injury. His initial feud with Big Cass interested precisely no one, but long-term programmes with AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura beckon – in both video game and reality. WWE 2K19's showcase mode is built entirely around 'DB'.
Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson
Old school tag-team The Revival demonstrated masses of promise during their 2014 to 2017 run on NXT, but long-term injuries immediately put paid to their stint on the main roster – and these days they lose more often than they win. A 2019 switch to Smackdown appears to be their main hope of regaining lost ground.
Dean Ambrose
It's been a merry couple of months for Shield fans, with Ambrose returning from a long injury lay off to reunite with comrades Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The only slight downside, at least from a videogame standpoint, is a bulky new look that also features shorn hair and the beginnings of a beard – far too late to make it into WWE 2K19.
Diamond Dallas Page & Lex Luger
Even with some surprise roster cuts, 2K continues to provide a reasonable number of early-'90s WWF favourites to do pretend battle with – but it's not limited to one federation. DDP and Luger are among those who established themselves in WCW before later leaping to WWF/E, and are joined here by Vader and – of course – Ric Flair.
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntrye
McIntyre's return to the main roster after an NXT Championship run was met with disbelief as he aligned with the almost-forgotten Ziggler; but the pair, and WWE, has made it work superbly. After slaying the tag division over the summer they finally scored gold in early September, catapulting them into a must-watch feud with The Shield. Cool.
Drew Gulak & Tony Nese
More than half of WWE’s new(ish) cruiserweight show 205 Live were granted first-time appearances in WWE 2K18 – yet that only served to make those missing feel conspicuous by their absence. That's rectified this year, with Nese, Gulak, Mustafa Ali, Lince Dorado and Ariya Daivari all receiving virtual call-ups. Buddy Murphy, axed after 2K17, is also in with a shout after solid recent performances.
