Dusty Rhodes
The Dream returns, but it's farewell to son Goldust after signing with rival fed AEW - the brainchild of Dusty's other son Cody. Also on the WWE 2K20 missing wrestlers list for identical - and quite understandable! - reasons are Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Tye Dillinger.
EC3 & No Way Jose
It's not always easy to make the transition from NXT to Raw or Smackdown, and this pair make for perfect examples. Favourites within WWE's developmental home base of Full Sail University, a string of losses upon arrival at the big show have consigned both EC3 and Jose to Main Event duty this year.
Eddie Guerrero
Along with Andre The Giant, Big Boss Man, and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, Guerrero snuck into the very first reveal trailer as a portrait on the wall. We're still hoping for an in-game appearance from nephew Chavo in order to reform the hilarious Los Guerreros tag-team - but that now has to wait until WWE 2K21.
Elias
Few fans tipped Elias Samson for a long-term WWE career during his NXT spell from 2014 to 2017 - yet since dropping that unnecessary surname he's proven highly entertaining on the main roster. His pre-match songs are often more enjoyable than his actual matches, guaranteed to score a reaction from any live crowd.
Ember Moon
The real-life Adrienne Reese had a thoroughly watchable long-term feud with Peyton Royce and Billie Kay while in NXT - but a shortage of similar storylines has made her spell on the main roster largely forgettable. Here's hoping that changes in 2020: Ember is great.
Eric Young
Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain are outta here following the disbanding of Smackdown trio Sanity: the former is now part of NXT UK stable Imperium, while Irish beastman Dain is back on the US version of NXT. Young's bit-part-player role on Raw - mostly spent chasing the 24/7 title - does see him return.
Erik & Ivar
WWE loves an unnecessary name change, as demonstrated by Andrade and Ali – but these guys endured the worst of 2019. Hanson and Rowe AKA the War Raiders became Ivar & Erik, The Viking Experience – and despite a later compromise (they're now Viking Raiders) it's taken forever to recover.
Fandango & Tyler Breeze
"Der der, der der der der der-der…" It's a couple of years since the Fashion Police had a decent string of results in WWE, yet still they remain as popular as any team on the roster when it comes to live crowds. Especially at NXT's rowdy home base of Full Sail University.
Finn Balor
Huge news for WWE fans who love a bit of fanfic: Balor gets a Demon King alternate gimmick as part of the first WWE Originals DLC pack. Those not wishing to fork out on micro-transactions can still enjoy the Irishman in his leather jacket and face-painted guises.
Goldberg
After returning to WWE games as a pre-order bonus for 2K17, the three-time heavyweight champ has established himself as an annual roster certainty. He's still hugely popular in real life too, as demonstrated by the reaction to his demolition job win over Dolph Ziggler at Summerslam.
Gran Metalik & Kalisto & Lince Dorado
Collectively known as Lucha House Party, this trio have flirted with the occasional victory on Raw - but ultimately been fed to bigger, more nefarious opponents. It's a sad throwback to the '90s where size conquered skill: and a shame, as all three have top-tier cruiserweight abilities.
Heath Slater
Farewell, Rhyno. Slater's long-time odd-couple tag partner signed with Impact Wrestling in July, curtailing his chances of a legend appearance in upcoming 2K games. As a result Heath is alone again, in WWE rings both real and digital.
