WWE 2K22 released its official complete roster on Monday ahead of the game’s March 11 release and fans instantly recognized that a large group of wrestlers included in the game are no longer with the company. WWE began the habit of cutting large numbers of wrestlers beginning in April 2020, resulting in more than 80 being let go in 2021 while WWE 2K22 was still in development. Quite a few of the released stars have since made their way to other promotions, including All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor prior to its hiatus. You can see the full list of wrestlers below.
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What do you think of all this released talent still winding up in the game? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments and stay tuned for full coverage of WWE 2K22 when it drops on all major platforms!ย
Alexander Wolfe
Wolfe was released in the summer of 2020 and has since gone back to wrestling in the European independent scene, primarily wXw in Germany as Axel Tischer.
Ariya Daivari
The former cruiserweight has popped up in NJPW Strong, the NWA and AEW Dark since his 2021 release
The IIconics
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce had since rebranded as The IInspiration (Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee). The pair have held the Knockouts Tag Team Championships ever since they debuted in Impact Wrestling at Bound for Glory last October.
Braun Strowman
Strowman, now going by his real name Adam Scherr, popped up at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle last December while aligning himself with EC3’s Control Your Narrative. It was recently announced that CYN will be its own promotion and is lining up a national television deal
Cesaro
Last week it was confirmed that Cesaro had left the WWE following the expiration of his contract. Reports have since stated that WWE wanted to keep the “Swiss Superman” locked in to a new deal, but the two sides couldn’t come to terms on money.
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan
The former NXT Tag Team Champions were split up when Lorcan was released last December. Burch, taking on more of a player-coach role at the Performance Center, was let go in January
Ember Moon
Now going by her old independent wrestling name Athena, Moon made her in-ring return following her November release for Warrior Wrestling on Feb. 12. She and AEW’s Thunder Rosa went to a time limit draw over the company’s women’s championship
The Lucha House Party
Kalisto was let go in April 2021 and made his AEW debut last November in an attempt to beat FTR for the AAA Tag Team Championships. Meanwhile, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado were let go in November two months after requesting their releases.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Scott is the only member of Hit Row to make the game, all of whom were let go last November. Reports emerged last week that he’s on his way to AEW next month.
Jeff Hardy
Hardy, having been let go last December after refusing to enter rehab, has begun promoting a new Hardy Boyz tour in various independent promotions beginning next month. He also recently stated he was on his way to AEW, then backed those comments the following day on Twitter.
John Morrison
Morrison came up short in taking the AAA Mega Championship off El Hijo Del Vikingo earlier this month and was recently announced for the next Josh Barnett Bloodsport event.
Johnny Gargano
Gargano and Candice LeRae welcomed their first child, Quill, earlier this month. “Johnny Wrestling” then took to Twitter on Monday and teased his future in the pro wrestling business.ย
Karrion Kross
Just like Scherr, Kross has also hitched his wagon to the Control Your Narrative promotion. There’s also no mention in the roster announcement if Scarlett will be included when you play as Kross.
Keith Lee
Lee made his AEW debut on Feb. 9, defeating Isiah Kassidy in order to earn a spot in the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match at the Revolution pay-per-view this coming Sunday.
Kyle O’Reilly
Weeks after his WWE contract expired, O’Reilly arrived in AEW to re-align with Adam Cole and Bobby Fish. He and Fish will be part of the triple threat tag match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Revolution on Sunday.
Lana
“The Ravishing Russian” was released last summer but other than the occasional reference from Miro in AEW promos, she hasn’t popped up in the wrestling world outside of the occasional convention appearance.
Mia Yim
Since her release, Yim has gotten married to Keith Lee, relaunched her Twitch account and teased future wrestling bookings.ย
Mickie James
The current Knockouts Champion for Impact Wrestling walked through the Forbidden Door last month and competed in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. She didn’t win, but she was still able to appear on the show with her championship.
Buddy Murphy
Murphy, now going by Buddy Matthews, debuted in AEW on last week’s Dynamite. He immediately aligned himself with the House of Black, playing off the history he has with Malakai Black going back to their WWE days.
Nia Jax
Jax recently explained on The Sessions that WWE asked for her to come back for the Women’s Royal Rumble last month, but she angrily shot the offer down. She has also indicated it’s possible she won’t step back inside the ring again.ย
Reckoning and Slapjack
Despite Retribution being disbanded for over a year, every member of the group made the 2K22 roster. That includes Reckoning, Mia Yim’s alter-ego, and Slapjack, fka Shane Thorne
Ric Flair
Flair requested his WWE release last summer and has since made a number of disparaging remarks about how the WWE has treated his legacy. Neither that nor the controversy last year regarding the “Plane Ride From Hell” episode ofย Dark Side of the Ringย seems to have stopped 2K from including him in the game.
Samoa Joe
Joe has been released twice since April 2020, with the latter coming in January. In-between those releases, Joe had been brought back in as both a wrestler (winning the NXT Championship for a record third time) and recruiter for the Performance Center.
Tegan Nox
Nox is back to wrestling as Nixon Newell and has teased her next step in her pro wrestling career.ย
The Brian Kendrick
On the same day that Kendrick’s release was confirmed, AEW announced he would face Jon Moxley on the Feb. 2 episode of Dynamite. However, old videos of Kendrick spouting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories started re-emerging on social media, resulting in Kendrick’s booking being pulled.
Timothy Thatcher
Thatcher was one of the other wrestlers/coaches who was let go in January.ย
Toni Storm
Storm requested her release in December after coming up short in a SmackDown Women’s Championship match with Charlotte Flair.
Tucker
The former member of Heavy Machinery was let go in April 2021. His former partner, Otis, is now one-half of the Raw Tag Team Champions with Chad Gable as American Alpha.
Tyler Breeze
Breeze has since re-launched his Twitch channel and continues to run his training school with Shawn Spears, Flatbacks, in Apopka, Florida.
William Regal
The former NXT General Manager was let go in January after not appearing on NXT 2.0 in months.
