5 Glaring Omissions From The WWE 2K18 Roster

The release of WWE 2K18 is quickly approaching. It is set to be the biggest and best WWE game released since 2K took over the reigns from THQ. Yes, we know the powers that be say that every year, but it really feels like they actually mean it this time. Despite a new game being released every year, the latest offering will feature advancements that 2K has been working on for a lot longer than twelve months. The roster is bigger than ever, eight man/woman matches will be featured on a WWE game for the first time in a long time, and judging by the screenshots released, it's the most visually impressive WWE offering ever. Despite an insane 172 playable characters available to fans, there are still a few Superstars whose absence is puzzling. Here are five of them that really should have made the cut.

5. Elias Samson

Who wants to walk with Elias? Well, apparently not the folks over at 2K. If you asked us six months ago if we would select The Drifter on a WWE video game and we would have replied with a resounding no. On NXT, Samson's gimmick just didn't stick. Since arriving on Raw, however, Elias has been a massive hit. His weekly musical segments are extremely entertaining, and his matches aren't bad either. He could have been a key player in all of our Universe modes for the next twelve months, but unfortunately, those dreams have been dashed and his video game debut will have to wait until 2K19.

4. Lana

WWE has very gradually built up Lana from valet to her husband Rusev to an in-ring performer. The Ravishing Russian trained on the road with NXT for a while and eventually was deemed ready to make her main roster debut—aside from the multi person tag at WrestleMania 32—on SmackDown Live. Lana was thrust into the SmackDown Live's Women's Title scene, getting a string of shots at Naomi right off the bat. Despite all of this happening a number of months ago, Lana didn't make the cut for WWE 2K18. This edition of the game will feature 30 female Superstars, more than any other WWE game that has come before it. Unfortunately, though, Lana will not be one of those record breakers.

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3. Vince McMahon

What?! We can't be Vince McMahon in WWE 2K18? Many of you may not care, but this one is a pretty big shock. Mr. McMahon has been a staple in WWE video games for longer than we can remember. Yes, he may not be able to perform in the ring nowadays, but being able to reminisce about the Mr. McMahon that did battle with Stone Cold Steve Austin in video game form was one of the best things about past games, especially when the story mode let us relive the Attitude Era. You'll have to play past versions if you want to roll back the years with Vince now though. We wonder if the boss cares that he has been omitted from the roster, or if he has much bigger things to worry about. Maybe that's what he's really coming to address on SmackDown Live this Tuesday.

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2. Drew McIntyre

There are more NXT Superstars on the upcoming edition of WWE 2K than ever before. It's a refreshing thing to see, and it will mean that you can effectively run your own NXT shows in Universe mode. There is one big omission though, and that's the brand's champion, Drew McIntyre. So apparently the Scottish Superstar has been back with the company for long enough to become NXT Champion, but not long enough to be included in WWE 2K18. It's confusing, and even more of a head scratcher when you see some of the NXT names that did make the cut. TM61 and Sawyer Fulton are just a couple of the Superstars that strangely made it in ahead of Drew.

1. Team Extreme - Matt And Jeff Hardy

While the other four entries on this list can be overlooked, this one is absolutely unforgivable. One of the biggest moments in WWE this year was the shock return of The Hardy Boyz at WrestleMania 33. Since then, Matt and Jeff have been a staple of Monday Night Raw each and every week. Their re-debut happened a full six months before WWE 2K18 was due to be released, so why they have not been included is a mystery. The Raw side of things on the game will simply not feel complete without these two veterans on the roster. A similar situation occurred with The Dudley Boyz a couple of years ago, and by the time they were included Bubba and D-Von were on their way out the door. If you want things to get broken on WWE 2K18, you'll have to get inventive.