WWE 2K18 - Roster Prediction

Image Source: WWE 2K18 News

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Doesn't a year fly by? It only feels like a few months since we were contemplating whether Goldberg's appearance in WWE 2K17 would lead to a proper return to the company (it did, and in grand fashion too), and it doesn't feel like it was that long ago when we were debating the decision to have Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator characters as the pre-order exclusives for WWE 2K16. Hell, even the meltdown regarding the purged WWE 2K15 roster is still fresh in mind.

Getting back to the point of this article: it is that time of year once again where the WWE/2K collaborative team are hard at work preparing this year's flagship game for its annual autumn release. The hype for WWE 2K18 began several weeks ago, and whilst we haven't seen any screenshots of the game yet, it's only a matter of time before we do. Around that time, we should start properly hearing about which wrestlers have made the grade for the nineteenth installment of this hugely-popular yet somewhat flawed series (I'll gripe about the shortcomings of recent WWE games another time).

Make no mistake about it: for WWE fans who have a passion for videogames, this is an exciting time. It's almost as exciting as WrestleMania Season. Seriously, it's a lot of fun to consider what the next game will deliver, where it may repair damage from past editions, and how it might provide innovations to make a massive and positive impact. Sure, there are always bumps in the road, and some would argue that there hasn't been a truly great WWE game in a long, long time. But if the series was truly dogs--t, then we wouldn't still be seeing annual WWE releases, and for all its faults, the WWE 2K series is incredibly important to WWE's financial revenue, as well as a yearly way for WWE fans the world over to create and recreate classic wrestling matches. Of course, this becomes easier when they have a generously large and star-studded roster to play with.

And so we come to the roster for WWE 2K18. Well, let's start with the 2K17 crew: last year's game included a record 177 playable characters, which as ever included a fair number of duplicates. It brought in plenty of new faces amongst the regular roster (AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Four Horsewomen, Asuka, Austin Aries etc), as well as returning legends like the aforementioned Goldberg, Brutus Beefcake, Eddie Guerrero and The New Age Outlaws, along with some long-awaited fresh legends via DLC such as Tatanka, Psycho Sid and Papa Shango. This was alongside the usual faces, both current and retro, ultimately resulting in a roster that was both large and varied, making for what was probably the strongest line-up ever in a wrestling game.

But even the 2K17 roster wasn't without its downsides. For starters, Roddy Piper, Batista, Sgt Slaughter and a fair few other legends were removed from 2K16. The game's new legends only came in the form of DLC; The Outlaws, Razor Ramon and Diesel were the only legends on the disc who weren't in 2K16, and they had been in previous games earlier this decade. Plus, managers were much smaller in number; there were only six, compared to more than 20 in the last title, which included Ted DiBiase not being a playable wrestler for the second year in a row. So, whilst it was undoubtedly a strong roster, and the biggest to date, it could have been so much better with a bit of tinkering and a greater sense of logic.

Fortunately, that was last year. This year is a whole new year, and 2K18 has the potential to blow 2K17 out of the water when it comes to the roster. For starters, we've already been told that this year's crew will be by far the largest yet, granted, this has become an annual trend, but it's always reassuring to know that we'll be treated to another record-breaking line-up. And whilst the decision to stop the series appearing on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be disappointing for those who still own those consoles, it's fair to say that keeping the game accessible for previous-gen probably held it back in a few areas, and the roster was likely one of them. Sure, the PS3 and 360 versions got the entire 177-strong line-ups, but who's to say that the power of the PS4 and Xbox One (and the new Nintendo Switch) couldn't allow the roster to expand well beyond 200? We're four years into the ninth console generation now, and with rumours that development for the next console generation has at least already been seriously discussed internally, now is as good a time as ever to start really capitalising on the consoles that we have currently.

We also already know a few names who are guaranteed to make it. Cover boy Seth Rollins is obviously in, but so is Kurt Angle. Making his first WWE videogame appearance in 11 years, Angle's inclusion - and his status as the pre-order exclusive - was guaranteed from the second his Hall Of Fame induction was announced, yet that doesn't change the fact that it will be a real treat to once again play as Angle in a WWE game; to underscore the significance of this, Angle's only appearance on a PS3 game was in TNA iMPACT! So, it's been a long time coming, to say the very least. Plus, we've just heard about the Deluxe and Collector's Editions providing pre-order exclusives in the form of John Cena circa 2006 and 2010, as well as Rob Van Dam and Batista. RVD hasn't been in a WWE game since 2K15; Batista missed last year's outing. So, we already have three popular stars from the not-so-distant past confirmed for the game, all of whom weren't in 2K17, so it's a great start to get fans buzzing about WWE 2K18.

But then what? Well, several dozen characters from today's WWE crew are virtually guaranteed to be in, and from the legends who we saw in 2K17, I would estimate that a good 70-75% are extremely likely to reappear in 2K18. Some have already basically been revealed as part of the teasers seen in the 2K18 trailers: items relating to Andre The Giant, Big Boss Man, Bret Hart, Brutus Beefcake, Cactus Jack, Chris Jericho, Diesel, Dusty Rhodes, Edge, Goldberg, Jake Roberts, John Bradshaw Layfield, Mankind, Papa Shango, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Sting, Tatanka, Ted DiBiase (who will hopefully be playable again at last), Triple H, Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker were seen in the trailers, which almost certainly guarantees that they will be back in the fold for 2K18.

So, since a large number of the characters from 2K17 are most probably going to appear in 2K18, I'll instead focus on those who will be debuting, returning and/or have question marks before jumping to my full predicted roster for the game. Let's start with the newbies: the NXT debutants over the last twelve months have included Bobby Roode, Andrade "Cien" Almas, No Way Jose, Ember Moon, the former members of DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciappa), The Authors Of Pain (Akam and Razar), TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Torne), Roderick Strong and Sanity. From Sanity, I only foresee Eric Young and Nikki Cross making it in, at least before DLC. We've also had some returnees to the brand, who I'll cover when I consider DLC.

Prior to the release of last year's game, WWE held the Cruiserweight Classic, which ultimately led to the revival of the Cruiserweight division and the introduction of 205 Live as a weekly show. Regardless of your opinions about all this, this has still led to several performers getting a chance that they may not have previously received, and this includes them potentially appearing in 2K18. Those who I believe will be included are TJP, Rich Swann, Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar and Jack Gallagher. This doesn't comprise the entire division, but these are the names most pushed on Raw/205 Live between September and the spring who debuted via the Cruiserweight set-up.

Then there was the United Kingdom Championship tournament. Honestly, I only see Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne making it in, given that the UK Championship weekly programme has still yet to properly launch, and even then, I think that both will come as DLC. So, we'll come back to these two, and since the Mae Young Classic women's tournament won't be televised until the end of next month, I seriously doubt that anybody who will debut in that competition will be in 2K18 either.

Otherwise, there are only two other completely new faces who will appear on the current roster. One is Elias Samson, who had previously been on NXT but who has moonlighted on Raw for several months now. The other is James Ellsworth, who became the most unlikely hit with WWE fans in many years, perhaps since Eugene in 2004. Even though Ellsworth's role has reduced over time and his popularity is nowhere near what it was in the autumn of 2016, he'll definitely be in the game. As for Mike Kanellis, who recently debuted alongside the returning Maria Kanellis: I will cover those two when focusing on DLC.

We've talked about the new faces who will be on the roster, but let's consider those who won't be in the game that appeared in 2K17. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Simon Gotch and Stardust all left WWE (Stardust actually left months before 2K17 was released, but he remained in the game), so they'll all be absent this year. Blake and Murphy remain under contract, but they've fallen so far down the radar that I can't see them re-appearing in 2K18. I would have said Tyson Kidd won't be included since his last WWE match occurred more than two years ago, but he has stated that he will be included, so there you go. As for The Dudley Boyz, this could go either way. They officially left WWE after SummerSlam, but D-Von still works for the company; however, Bubba Ray signed with Ring Of Honor in March, reducing his chances of appearing and, consequently, those of D-Von. But did his ROH debut occur too late to have him taken out of 2K18? I'm going to take the pessimistic route and suggest that 2K18 won't retain The Dudleyz, but I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if they were included after all, especially with a certain extreme tag team having returned to WWE at Mania 33 (more on those two shortly). And I predict that Austin Aries will remain in the game despite him recently leaving the company, since A-Double will have been locked in before this news filtered out.

Now, then, the fun part: considering which wrestlers who have returned to WWE will be in 2K18. There's plenty to choose from. Jinder Mahal is the obvious one as things stand, which is fascinating considering his status just a few months ago (oh, by the way, I doubt that The Singh Brothers will be in 2K18 since they have only wrestled once on 205 Live, when they were still The Bollywood Boys). Then we have Rhyno, Brian Kendrick, Mickie James and Curt Hawkins. We also technically have Primo and Epico, formerly Diego and Fernando of Los Matadores. I'm inclined to believe that Tajiri may sneak in, since he appeared on 205 Live at the start of the year, and only recently confirmed that he was leaving WWE, so he might just make it on a technicality of sorts. Oh, and then there's the Hardyz, Matt and Jeff, the legendary tag team who are finally back in WWE, and who I believe will be part of the existing roster in 2K18 as a further incentive for fans to buy (as in, they won't be DLC). Finally, I don't envision that either The Spirit Squad or The Headbangers will be in, since they disappeared in late 2016 and are unlikely to return anytime soon.

I'll cover DLC at the end, but now let's talk about the most intriguing aspect of the roster: the legends. As noted, 2K17 was disappointing when it came to completely new legends prior to DLC. A big reason for that was the decision not to have a Showcase mode. At time of writing, 2K haven't yet confirmed whether or not there will be a Showcase mode but, since they've talked about the other modes already, it unfortunately seems more likely that they've chosen to bypass Showcase, aside from the Hall Of Fame DLC, for another year (which is a big mistake, but I'll wait until this information is confirmed before having a rant about it). In the event that Showcase IS back, then there is suddenly potential for a fair number of fresh legends to appear. If not, then this becomes less likely - but not impossible.

Therefore, I have to take the careful step of predicting legends who may or may not appear depending on a Showcase mode which may or may not be included, based on a character or a theme which could literally be anyone or anything. Phew!

Let's think about the legends who weren't in 2K17 or in any recent games, as this may provide the answers. Funny that I should use that expression because it isn't too dissimilar to a phrase used by Roddy Piper, a man who returned in 2K16, only to be taken out for 2K17. I am predicting that he will be in 2K18 regardless, and we already have a teaser that Ted DiBiase is a playable wrestler once more. Otherwise, it becomes more tricky, partly because of the concussion lawsuit against WWE which is supported by many former stars (on the bright side, this is apparently going to be finally settled next month). Therefore, the safest bet may be to focus on legends whose character data could still be used, but who weren't in 2K17: Sgt Slaughter, X-Pac and Ken Shamrock, along with Faarooq and D'Lo Brown. The other Triangle Of Terror members frankly probably won't be included, and there's no need for Kama Mustafa if we have The Godfather and Papa Shango again, right? (Charles Wright played all three in case you're confused.)

I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that the final legend who will reappear in 2K18 will be Hulk Hogan. Yes, the Hulkster, who hasn't been seen in WWE, or in a WWE game, since the racism scandal of 2015 led to his abrupt WWE termination. But WWE has been slowly weaving him back into certain things, such as a WWE Network commercial and the intro for this year's WrestleMania. Let's face it: Hogan's WWE return is inevitable, and if it hasn't happened by this time next year, I will be very surprised. The best way for Hulk to resurface in a WWE game is for it to happen quietly, without much attention, thus reducing the likelihood of a major backlash. If that is the case, then his 1980s, nWo and 2000s personas are all likely to be in. This would round off the updated legends crew prior to DLC nicely, at least if we assume that there won't be a Showcase mode again. If there is, well that changed. As for any completely new legends? Without Showcase, 2K will likely save this for DLC (which I will get to, I promise).

As for legends who won't make it into another game? It's a matter of opinion, of course, but those who aren't particular popular amongst current fans and/or who aren't crying out to be featured in another game are likely to be cut. That means that Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatsumi Fujinami, Larry Zbyszko, The Bushwhackers, Rikishi and The Natural Disasters will probably all disappear this time around, along with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Stunning Steve Austin. All of the other duplicate versions of legends should remain in, though, including all three Faces Of Foley (incidentally, I predict that Mick Foley is playable as Mick Foley, given his run as Raw General Manager in the preceding twelve months). And all of the 2K17 DLC characters should be back, all of which means that 2K18 should have a weighty line-up, which of course will be even better if we're treated to the return of Showcase.

So, now let's think about DLC, aside from the pre-order exclusives which have now been confirmed. One DLC pack could be NXT-themed, with appearances for Drew McIntyre, Kassius Ohno, Killian Dain, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and possibly William Regal. Another DLC pack could have the Future Stars theme for the aforementioned UK names Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, along with Tony Nese, Mustafa Ali and Gran Metallik for the Cruiserweight division, and maybe Mike and Maria Kanellis too. This year's Legends pack will be most intriguing, as it could potentially offer series debuts and/or returns to some truly classic names. I'd personally love to see Tito Santana and Rick Martel finally join the series, and a series debut for Hacksaw Jim Duggan is long overdue. I would love to see Doink make another appearance; the colourful character has only appeared once, and that was eight years ago, so a return would be very welcome. I don't get why IRS has never been in as a legend since Mike Rotunda a.k.a. Irwin R. Schyster has worked for WWE as a road agent for years, and two of his kids (Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas) have worked for WWE for years as well; maybe this year, Irwin finally gets in. Finally, perhaps this DLC pack could include Chyna, the ground-breaking female competitor who shone during the Attitude Era, but who had a major falling out with WWE and tragically passed away last year. This would at least serve as a tribute to Chyna, and it would also be her first videogame appearance in an astonishing 17 years, making this DLC pack a must-own.

Finally, we come to the Hall Of Fame 2017 DLC Showcase. Angle will already be involved, but he could have an additional attire from 2005 if this Showcase mode were to cover his classic WrestleMania 21 battle with Shawn Michaels (who would have a 2000s-era character slot as a result). The Rock 'N' Roll Express would be included, and it would be a shame if The Midnight Express, backed up by Jim Cornette, were not also involved. In fact, both main versions of Midnight (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey, and Eaton and Stan Lane) could be included, since The Fabulous Freebirds received two matches in the previous HOF Showcase. Elsewhere, Beth Phoenix will be in, and her logical opponent would be Candice Michelle, since Beth beat Candice for her first Women's Championship at No Mercy 2007. Adding to that DDP vs. Christian from WM X8 (since the WCW version of Page is already in) and Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior from WrestleMania V (giving both men additional attires) makes sense too.

The other inductee, besides Warrior Award winner Eric LeGrande (who probably won't be included), is Teddy Long. As a non-wrestler, do you pick one of his gimmicky matches? How about we go down a different route, and choose the one thing he's most famous for with modern fans, so "let's have a TAG TEAM MATCH, PLAYA!" It would be from SmackDown circa 2006, and it could see, say, King Booker and Finlay team up against Batista (Ruthless Aggression era) "AND THE UNDERTAKER! HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA!" Seriously, even though Finlay would be the only different character from those already present, this would be a perfect option, and preferable to playing out a gimmick match involving Long. If it included a pre-match scene of Teddy announcing the format, and he was available as a manager after the match, even better!

Though he wouldn't be wrestling, he could still become a manager in the game, as would Cornette and possibly Queen Sharmell, if we're including King Booker. They would join the managers already in the game, which would include Bobby Heenan, Paul Heyman and Lana from 2K17, as well as (hopefully) returns for Jimmy Hart and Paul Bearer, and also a series debut for Paul Ellering. Maryse will no doubt be a manager this year as well (she wrestled at WM 33, but I don't see her being a playable wrestler this time around), as could Bob Backlund, since he was Darren Young's "life coach" prior to his injury. Elsewhere, we already know that Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton will be the announce team, and JoJo will be the ring announcer. Rounding things off, expect the usual referee characters, though it'd be cool to have authentic officials to choose from, since we could pick referee shirts (which is basically what it was) in the last game.

Before I conclude, I haven't mentioned Owen Hart and CM Punk for the obvious reason: neither will be included for vastly different reasons. It's a real shame in Owen's case, since fans and even fellow Harts would love his memory to be celebrated in a manner such as the annual videogame. As for Punk, while I do believe that he will eventually return to WWE, it won't be for many years, ruling him out of 2K18 and the next couple of games in the series, at the very least.

As you can see, there are tons of characters who could find their way into 2K18, and bear in mind that there's many not included here, such as The Legion Of Doom and Demolition (who aren't likely to make it into a game so long as the aforementioned concussion lawsuit against WWE is active). We're bound to have a line-up which represents the roster split, as well as the NXT newbies, Cruiserweight competitors and the main UK faces, along with the usual generous supply of Legends. Crucially, the roster has to really blow last year's away if fans are to truly invest in 2K18, but fortunately the early signs are promising. Hopefully, it'll break the 200 barrier for the first time, and with this being the fourth game into the current videogame console generation, there's really no reason why this shouldn't happen. Other elements will determine if this game is truly epic, but at least the line-up has a strong chance of being incredible.

Summarising, then, this is my predicted roster for WWE 2K18, and I have provided the list in its entirety below. It won't be long before we start getting more news on the game, so in a few weeks' time, we will find out how similar the actual line-up is. If it is anything like the roster below, we're in for a real treat with WWE 2K18!

Leave your comments below if you agree or disagree with the choices, and give your feedback about who you would like to see in WWE 2K18!

Playable Characters:

Aiden English
AJ Styles
Akam
Akira Tozawa
Alexa Bliss
Alicia Fox
Alundra Blayze
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Andre The Giant
Apollo Crews
Arn Anderson
Asuka
Austin Aries
Baron Corbin
Batista (2006) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Batista (2010) (Pre-Order DLC)
Bayley
Becky Lynch
Beth Phoenix (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Big Boss Man (1990, 1999)
Big Cass
Big E
Big Show
Big Show (1999, 2000)
Billie Kay (NXT DLC)
Billy Gunn
Bo Dallas
Bobby Eaton (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Bobby Roode
Booker T
Bray Wyatt
Braun Strowman
Brian Kendrick
Brian Pillman (1993, 1997)
Brie Bella
Bret Hart (1997, 1998)
British Bulldog
Brock Lesnar
Brutus Beefcake
Buddy Roberts
Cactus Jack (1992, 1998)
Candice Michelle (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Carmella
Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable
Charlotte
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho (2001)
Christian (2014)
Christian (2002) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Chyna (Legends DLC)
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel
Dana Brooke
Daniel Bryan
Darren Young
Dash Wilder
Dean Ambrose
Dennis Condrey (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Diamond Dallas Page (1992, 1997)
Diamond Dallas Page (2002) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Diesel
D'Lo Brown
Doink (Legends DLC)
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre (NXT DLC)
Dude Love
Dusty Rhodes
Eddie Guerrero
Edge
Elias Samson
Ember Moon
Emma
Enzo Amore
Epico
Eric Young
Erick Rowan
Eva Marie
Faarooq
Fandango
Finlay (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Finn Balor
The Godfather
Goldberg
Goldberg (1998, 2004)
Goldust
Gran Metallik (Future Stars DLC)
Greg Valentine
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (Legends DLC)
Heath Slater
Hideo Itami
Hollywood Hulk Hogan (2000s)
Hollywood Hulk Hogan (nWo)
Hulk Hogan (1980s)
IRS (Legends DLC)
Ivory
Jack Gallagher
Jacqueline
Jake Roberts (1991, 1996)
James Ellsworth
Jason Jordan
Jeff Hardy
Jey Uso
Jim Neidhart
Jimmy Garvin
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
John Bradshaw Layfield
John Cena
John Cena (2006) (Pre-Order DLC)
John Cena (2010) (Pre-Order DLC)
Johnny Gargano
Kalisto
Kane
Kane (1998)
Karl Anderson
Kassius Ohno (NXT DLC)
Ken Shamrock
Kerry Von Erich
Kevin Nash
Kevin Owens
Kevin Von Erich
Killian Dain (NXT DLC)
King Booker (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Kofi Kingston
Konnor
Kurt Angle (2001) (Pre-Order DLC)
Kurt Angle (2005) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Kurt Angle (2006) (Pre-Order DLC)
Lex Luger
Lita
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper
Mankind
Maria Kanellis (Future Stars DLC)
Mark Henry
Matt Hardy
Michael Hayes
Mick Foley
Mickie James
Mike Kanellis (Future Stars DLC)
The Miz
Mojo Rawley
Mr. Perfect
Mustafa Ali (Future Stars DLC)
Naomi
Natalya
Neville
Nia Jax
Nick Miller
Nikki Bella
Nikki Cross
No Way Jose
Noam Dar
Paige
Papa Shango
Pete Dunne (Future Stars DLC)
Peyton Royce (NXT DLC)
Primo
Psycho Sid
Randy Orton
Randy Savage
Razar
Razor Ramon
Rhyno
Ric Flair (1988, 1991, 2003)
Rich Swann
Rick Martel (Legends DLC)
Ricky Morton (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Rick Rude (1989) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Rick Rude (1990)
Ricky Steamboat (1991, 1994)
Road Dogg
Rob Van Dam (DLC)
Robert Gibson (Hall Of Fame DLC)
The Rock
The Rock (1997, 2001)
Roddy Piper
Roman Reigns
R-Truth
Rusev
Sami Zayn
Samoa Joe
Sasha Banks
Scott Dawson
Scott Hall
Seth Rollins
Sgt Slaughter
Shane McMahon
Shane Thorne
Shawn Michaels (1997, 1998)
Shawn Michaels (2005) (Hall Of Dame DLC)
Sheamus
Shinsuke Nakamura
Sin Cara
Stan Lane (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Stephanie McMahon
Steve Austin
Sting
Sting (1988, 1991)
Sting (1998, 1999)
Summer Rae
Tajiri
Tamina
Tatanka
Ted DiBiase
Tito Santana (Legends DLC)
Titus O'Neil
TJP
Tomasso Ciappa
Tony Nese (Future Stars DLC)
Triple H
Triple H (1998, 2001)
Trish Stratus
Tye Dillinger
Tyler Bate (Future Stars DLC)
Tyler Breeze
Tyson Kidd
Ultimate Warrior (1989) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Ultimate Warrior (1990, 1991)
The Undertaker
The Undertaker (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999)
The Undertaker (2006) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
The Undertaker (Biker)
Vader
Viktor
Vince McMahon
William Regal (NXT DLC)
Xavier Woods
X-Pac
Zack Ryder

Managers:

Bob Backlund
Bobby Heenan (1989) (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Bobby Heenan (1990)
Jim Cornette (Hall Of Fame DLC)
Jimmy Hart
Lana
Maryse
Paul Bearer
Paul Ellering
Paul Heyman
Queen Sharmell (DLC)
Theodore Long (Hall Of Fame DLC)

Commentators:

Byron Saxton
Corey Graves
Michael Cole

Ring Announcer:

JoJo

Referees:

TBC

A Wishlist For WWE 2K18

Image Source: WWE 2K18 News

Written By: Mark Armstrong

WrestleMania is well in the rear-view mirror now, the ratings have entered their usual spring slump, and Brock Lesnar is resting on a farm somewhere in Suplex City. All of which means that it must be time for the official announcement of the annual WWE videogame!

In all seriousness, late May/early June is usually the point where WWE and 2K begin to hype up their next videogame. Of course, it's hyped up to be the best game of all-time, even if its new features and innovations (and, more notably, its flaws) prevent it from meeting high expectations. Case in point: 2K17 was billed as a beast of a game, only for fans to discover that Showcase was removed, MyCareer remained a slog, the Promo Engine only reached part of its potential, much of the content was recycled from 2K16, and it was rife with glitches. So, whilst the most recent title delivered a lot of entertainment, it had too many limitations for it to be considered anything more than a really good game.

The good news, however, is that wrestling fans - or, at least, fans of wrestling videogames - never completely lose optimism that the next game will be better, and so anticipation has been building for a while concerning WWE 2K18, which is likely to hit stores in October. The development team has been hard at work for months already, and 2K even put out a series of forum topics earlier this year requesting fan feedback and ideas, so hopes are high that 2K18 might be a game to remember.

But what would make 2K18 an all-time great? How can WWE/2K improve upon recent games? Here's my wishlist for suggested changes, improvements and concepts which could make 2K18 stand out from the crowd.

Single-Player Modes

The first aspect of the game which requires the development team to don their thinking caps is the single-player feature set. The removal of 2K Showcase from 2K17 had a big, negative impact upon how much fans enjoyed the game, so Showcase (the ability to play through classic matches through a specific theme such as a wrestler, a feud or even an era) simply has to return. The Brock Lesnar Showcase mode which 2K had hoped to implement in 2K17 could be featured this time around now that Kurt Angle will be in the game (more on him shortly), but The Undertaker is another strong candidate, considering the recent end to his incredible career at WrestleMania 33; Taker has so many memorable moments to choose from that you could definitely build a game around that. Then there's the rise of The Shield and their singles careers, the NXT revolution, a vintage feud in Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels - there are tons of options, and no matter which ones 2K pick, there has to be at least one or two which the team could build the mode around. In a nutshell, 2K Showcase has to return.

But I don't think that would be enough. I believe that a return for the fondly-remembered Season mode is long overdue, and the 2016 revival of the Brand Extension makes it a great time to do so. You could play through a season on Raw and a season on SmackDown (and maybe even one on NXT?), working your way through simple yet exciting storylines. Perhaps you'll be cast as Randy Orton as he joins The Wyatt Family to destroy them from within. Maybe you'll be the focus of the United States Title Open Challenge. It's possible that you will simply look for the basic achievements like winning Money In The Bank, surviving the Elimination Chamber or winning the Royal Rumble and becoming WWE Champion at WrestleMania. Whatever the case, there's a load of storyline possibilities which, with convincing voiceovers from stars on both brands, creates a fun mode which writes itself. It has been so long since the glory days of Season mode on the SmackDown and SmackDown vs. Raw games that the return of this option would create massive anticipation for the game; it is a perfect companion to 2K Showcase, and those two modes alone would make 2K18 something special.

As for MyCareer: three games in, and the mode has only slightly evolved, with the prevailing emotion being one of boredom rather than excitement when playing through it. If 2K want this mode to remain in the game, it either needs to remove the filler content, especially from the early stages of the mode, or the interface and general experience needs to have a fresh coat of paint to make it interesting and worth the hours that a player needs to complete it. I think the general concept is good, but I don't see why it should take 10-12 hours or more when only a fraction of the content is actually entertaining. Personally, I wouldn't mind if MyCareer was scrapped altogether, but I would sooner see it revamped and/or streamlined so that this mode, which many players now avoid, becomes a highlight of the game.

A lot of fans want to see the return of General Manager mode. GM mode provided so much fun back in the day, and after the 2016 Draft brought back the roster split, there could be no better time to do this. However, Universe mode provides around 70% of the elements which GM mode used to have, along with innovations that the old option never did, such as renaming brands, changing shows, holding new PPV events and swopping titles. Therefore, I would like to see the elements of GM mode incorporated into Universe mode in 2K18. Give the player more control over the twists and turns, create a sense of competition between the brands, add the likes of TV ratings and PPV buy rates. In short, combine the Universe mode of 2K17 with the GM mode of the SvR era, and you have one fantastic mode which rounds off an incredible selection of single-player options for fans. It wouldn't take a lot of effort, and it would mostly be reviving old concepts rather than bringing about new ideas. I don't see why this can't be done, so hopefully this will actually happen.

The Roster

Now, we come to arguably the biggest draw of any WWE game, the roster. On the one hand, 2K17 had 177 playable characters in total, of which the DLC delivered quite a few new faces. On the other hand, many of the legends were recycled and, aside from DLC, none of the retro names were making their series debut. That being said, besides those who have left the company (Jack Swagger, Stardust, Simon Gotch etc), there are few wrestlers on the 2K17 line-up who fans would actually want to see taken out of the game. Problem is, WWE has added many new faces in the last 12 months, so for all of these (or even most of them) to make the grade, along with some new legends, a lot of wrestlers will seemingly have to fall by the wayside.

Or do they? After all, the FIFA series has hundreds of clubs with twenty-something players each, and has done since the PS2 era. Plus, the power of modern consoles provides tons more memory to potentially include loads more wrestlers; so is it really unreasonable to believe that 2K18 could have north of 200 wrestlers, or even a figure close to 250?

Let's consider the new faces who should make it in 2K18. Bobby Roode is an obvious one, and other strong contenders are TJ Perkins/TJP, Rich Swann, Kassius Ohno, The Authors Of Pain, No Way Jose, Ember Moon, Tyler Bate and others. Then there's the old faces who are likely to return to the series such as Rhyno, Curt Hawkins, Jinder Mahal and, of course, The Hardyz and Kurt Angle (who, incidentally, is the perfect candidate for the pre-order exclusive treatment; an America-themed promotional campaign for Kurt seems inevitable). Now consider legends who have never been in the series such as Tito Santana, Rick Martel (who was meant to be in 2K17 via the Hall Of Fame DLC), The Rock 'N' Roll Express (2017 Hall Of Famers), The Midnight Express (who could face Rock 'N' Roll in this year's HOF DLC), The Nasty Boys and Hacksaw Jim Duggan (who was in Legends Of WrestleMania, but hasn't ever been in the flagship series). I would love Owen Hart to debut in 2K18 but it seems incredibly unlikely. As for Hulk Hogan: his return to WWE is only a matter of time, so I would say that there's a good chance Hogan turns up in 2K18 (hey, he was featured during the opening video to WrestleMania again this year).

The main thing with the roster, though, is the sheer number. All of those names I have outlined and others would take the line-up to more than 200, and I really hope that 2K realises the roster should never decrease, especially at a time when so many wrestlers are vying for a spot in the game (they really are, if only for the royalty pay-checks). I'm hoping the roster size explodes this year, and that the 2K18 line-up really is the best roster ever in a WWE title.

Another thing that 2K should do is to freshen up the attires of the legends. The current roster will be fine, but we've had the same attire for the original Sting for three years now, we haven't had the modern-day version of Shawn Michaels for years, we haven't had the dreadlocks-wearing British Bulldog for ages, and so on. The thing with alternate costumes is that they can always be reused because fans will always want to use them over and over, but it shouldn't be at the expense of giving the characters new looks. In other words, give us HHH from SummerSlam 1998 (that cool-looking purple costume) instead of his boring costumes from earlier in his career. Give us old-school Brock Lesnar, old-school John Cena and even old-school Randy Orton. Give us Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania III instead of WCW attires for the second game in a row. In a nutshell, the attires for most legends were lazy re-uses in 2K17, so I am hoping that the development team will freshen things up next time around. That goes for the roster too, obviously, although as I mentioned earlier, there are hardly any wrestlers who anyone would actively want to see taken out of the game (and on that note, Roddy Piper not being in 2K17 made no sense, so Hot Rod has to be back this year too).

Creation Suite, Arenas & Areas

Then there's the creation suite. I felt that this was the highlight of 2K17 due to the plethora of options and incredible depth to each mode. Therefore, I'll quickly summarise possible improvements in this department. We should get the return of Create A Finisher and possibly Create A Story (if Universe and GM mode are merged, as I suggested earlier). More slots for created wrestlers and arenas would be most appreciated since the totals haven't increased for a few years (it's been 100 for wrestlers since 2K14, with a dip for new-gen in 2K15, and it's been 50 for arenas since the mode's introduction back in WWE '12). Create An Entrance could benefit from the same advanced options being applied to stable entrances, and likewise for the new Create A Victory option. More authentic show themes for Create A Show would be nice (e.g. the Raw Attitude Era theme wasn't the real song). And let us create new attires for existing wrestlers in a manner which doesn't reduce the number of slots for completely new created wrestlers, otherwise this option is largely redundant. Oh, and allow users to go above the limit of downloading 20 created items per day, since the frequent loss of server signals already make the process longer than it needs to be for the otherwise superb Community Creations feature.

I mentioned earlier about how the development team were a bit lazy when it came to the roster and legends' attires, but they were even lazier when it came to retro arenas. Only a dozen were available prior to DLC, and basically all of them were rehashes from previous games. Some were logical, like Raw from 1998, but others were head-scratchers; why have the likes of Capitol Punishment 2011 and Fully Loaded 1999 over vintage WrestleManias or Royal Rumbles? The DLC added a couple of new/old venues, but overall the line-up of arenas (and their number, which was around a dozen or so smaller than that of 2K16) was a real let-down. It may not seem like a big deal, but entering classic settings from years gone by is one of the best parts of the game, and considering how WWE is now holding more PPV events and weekly shows (such as 205 Live) than ever before, the game will nearly be cracking the 30-arena mark before even getting to the old-school venues. So, I hope that this area of the game gets a lot more attention (perhaps via 2K Showcase) and that we'll get loads more vintage venues, and a few that we haven't enjoyed in a game before, either. Let's face it: how long have we had to wait for the old-school Survivor Series arena to make it into the flagship series?

Backstage areas and related weapon use formed a large part of 2K17's appeal, and the backstage and crowd-area chaos was a big positive for the game. In this department, the message is to simply build this up again to reach the heights of past games, along with environmental grapples and animations. Remember The Boogeyman hiding in the back of a hearse in the parking lot? Or the chance to tag-team with a stranger in a bar so that he would direct a pool ball towards your opponent's face? More of those ridiculous yet visually brilliant moments should be in 2K18, and if there are more cool backstage areas to battle in, then this becomes more likely to happen. It'd be nice to see the WWE 2K series follow the lead of Mario Kart by including some classic backstage areas from old games, such as the Kitchen from the original SmackDown or the Train Station from SmackDown Shut Your Mouth.

Match Types

A part of the game which needs serious improvement is the selection of matches. For PS4/Xbox One versions, the game has still yet to reintroduce match types which remain on the PS3/Xbox 360, such as Inferno, I Quit, First Blood, Championship Scramble and Special Guest Referee, not to mention format alterations like Tag Team Table, the Match Creator option (which, with a few minor tweaks, allowed you to stage Finisher and Flaming Table bouts, amongst others) and the simple ability to change the rules of basic bouts so that you could, say, make a match No Disqualification without it being billed as such.

However, even more annoyingly is the fact that no completely new match types have been added for years. You have to go all the way back to SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 for a completely new match type to be added in the series via the aforementioned Championship Scramble (although SvR 11 debuted Match Creator, and WWE '12 introduced the 40-man Royal Rumble which is no longer in the game). Some older stipulations were brought back in WWE '13 and 2K14, but there hasn't been one completely new match since the series went to new-gen, which for an annual franchise based on an industry which has dozens of potential stipulations to consider, that is awful, especially considering that the multitude of match options was once a trademark for the series.

2K should definitely make this a priority in 2K18. Firstly, all of the basic alternate formats (like Tag Team Table) should be in, since this wouldn't require much effort. Secondly, all of the stipulation bouts which remain on the PS3/Xbox 360 versions should make it to PS4/Xbox One, along with Match Creator and the ability to adjust simple rules. Lastly, there should be a couple of stipulation matches either debuting or returning. Casket has amazingly only ever been in one game, and that was 17 years ago! So, in the year that The Undertaker has retired, this particular bout really should be back in the game. The Asylum match (weapons on top of a steel cage) wasn't to everybody's liking when it happened last year, but it would be a lot of fun in a videogame, and as a recently-introduced stipulation, it would make sense to throw this one in. Finally, an Ambulance match has been rumoured for years but it has yet to materialise; given that its rules would be slightly similar to those of the Casket match, the emergency-themed match would be a good way to round things off, and even these additions would only scratch the surface of what fans would want to see. But it would be a big step forward, after years of steps backward or complete non-movement in this area.

Audio

Unusually, one of the issues when it comes to enjoying recent WWE games may be the fact that the audio during matches is more in line with real-life WWE television. By that, I mean that whilst it's great to have commentary, the standard of the announcing has always been lower than that of actual programming, partly due to the overly-scripted nature of their discussions, partly because they sound less energised than they do on TV, and partly because the announcing only occasionally reflects what is actually happening in the ring. In reality, great commentary can enhance the enjoyment of a match; in the 2K games, the opposite happens.

It's easy to suggest that the announcing could be better, and it should. However, perhaps an alternative option should be explored, whereby gamers can toggle between different options for audio during matches. The first option would be the standard announcing, though it'd be great to have the choice between different announce teams (since I'm assuming that both Raw and SmackDown announce teams will be in 2K18). The second option would be to have no commentary, giving the feel of actually being at a live event where the crowd chants provide the soundtrack.

The third option is more radical, though: how about the return of old-school background music (BGM), generic rock tracks or music of a different genre, which could play during matches instead of the normal announcing? Remember that in almost all of the classic WWF/WWE games (particularly No Mercy and Here Comes The Pain), we had BGM instead of commentary, so this hark to the past is not as mad as it may appear. The fourth and final option would be to have the game's actual soundtrack playing during bouts, a tactic which was used alongside commentary in the games around 2004-2005.

It may seem like a trivial thing, but let's face it: the announcing is one of the most criticised aspects of WWE games, and has been in almost every same title to date; however, it would be a step backwards to remove the commentary altogether. Therefore, it would be a wise move to provide these audio options, allowing gamers to choose the match soundtracks of their choice. If this happened, I guarantee that matches would suddenly become a lot more enjoyable, and those who do prefer the more realistic audio in recent games would still have that available to them. A win-win, in my opinion.

Gameplay

The biggest bug-bear I have with 2K17 is how slow the matches are. I like the idea of the games providing a sim-feel, ensuring that the bouts feel like real-life matches, but the action is just too slow. Even the more methodical performers in WWE, like Big Show and Braun Strowman, move quicker than wrestlers do in 2K17. What's more, the animations for longer moves (such as the People's Elbow) feel contrived and deliver less impact than the same moves did in games dating back just a couple of years, and the pacing of even minor things like referee counts and last-second kick-outs reduce what should be moments of high drama. Going back to my point about audio, the pace of matches was much quicker in past games, including all of the most fondly-remembered games.

To tackle this problem, I suggest a new Pacing option. Slow Pacing would deliver the speed and movement that we are seeing in the likes of 2K17. Medium Pacing would bring us a speed found in such games as SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 or WWE '13, where the matches aren't high-speed, but also aren't fought at a snail's pace. Finally, there's Fast Pacing, where all of the moves, animations and running techniques are sped up a tad, delivering the high-octane, arcade-esque experience found in the earlier SmackDown games, during the heyday of the series (which is not a coincidence). Those who prefer the modern slower pace would be accommodated, as would those who reminisce about the arcade days, and also those who want something between the two. We already have the Match Experience option, which ranges from quick-fire bouts to lengthier WrestleMania-type struggles, so why not the Pacing option?

Two suggested improvements for the price of one, now, which would both enhance the fun aspect of a match as well as making matches more realistic than ever before. I like the current control scheme used in the game, but it does have its detractors who, again, pine for the more simplified days of Circle and a direction pulling off a big move. So, how about having an alternative old-school control scheme, which is effectively an updated version of the controls from the pre-2007 SD games?

The other idea is harder to implement, and I'm not sure of the best way to do so, but it would make matches so much more authentic. Let's take the example of a typical match between a babyface and a heel; we'll cast John Cena as the face, and Dolph Ziggler as the heel. In recent games, it was generally a case of back-and-forth action, with the more skilled player triumphing in the end, regardless of the face/heel alignment or the tactics used by each wrestler. The Comeback option delivers potential late drama in a match, but otherwise that's the structure of a typical match in the game.

Now consider what could happen if this was the Basic Structure, and if we also had an Advanced Structure. In the Advanced Structure, the matches would follow a pattern much more suited to real life. In other words, the face and heel have an initial feeling-out period before the face takes control and builds momentum with a few nifty moves. With things going his way and the crowd behind him (well, supposedly if we're using Cena as an example), the face hits his first signature move and prepares to hit a finisher, only for the heel to use an illegal tactic (a poke to the eyes or a referee distraction) to swing things in his favour. The heel then controls the match, and locks the face in a wear-down submission hold which could slow the face down to the point where the heel, Ziggler, could prepare to hit his finisher and win.

At this point, though, the fans are trying to will the face - Cena - back into the match and, after he heroically escapes the submission hold, he builds momentum again (or perhaps he's cut off by another dastardly heel tactic). Either way, the match builds to the face pulling off his Comeback sequence (Cena's Five Moves Of Doom) leading to the first serious finisher attempt. The heel may block it with one last wicked villain tactic (say a roll-up with his feet on the ropes), before the face hits his secondary finisher (the STF?). This either sets up the heel to win with a finisher (albeit with a villainous use of the ropes again) or the face to hit his main finisher and win the match.

Of course, this doesn't include the other potential big moves and finisher kick-outs, and it is a very basic skeleton of a match. However, at least in a face vs. heel situation, this is what happens in 95% of regular-rules matches on WWE television and at house shows. If the development team can find a way to implement such a system into the game while making it fun and user-friendly (i.e. avoiding a situation where the player is sitting idly by for minutes while he waits for his player to regain control), this would truly replicate what happens in WWE. As stated, I'm not sure of the best method that 2K can use to make this a reality, but the matches would be so much more realistic if they could find a way, and for those who don't like it, the Basic Structure could allow them to play out matches in the usual fashion.

Miscellaneous

I've covered the main areas, so I'll conclude by providing a bunch of largely unrelated suggestions or areas which desperately need looking at. For starters, 2K17 was rife with glitches even after the patches, so 2K simply has to ensure the game is properly tested before its release and before new content is made available (Jerry Lawler flubbing his recording of a line about The Godfather's career, and then saying it again correctly, somehow made it into the game for the Hall Of Fame DLC). What's more, the installation process is unbelievably long; back in the PS2 days, games didn't require installation at all, and even on PS3/Xbox 360, it only takes a few minutes. It can literally take a full day, if not longer, to do the same on PS4 and Xbox One, and there's absolutely no need for it. When you have to open a game the day before you plan to play it just so that you actually can play it, that is ridiculous. This might be the thing that I hope 2K improves more than anything else, at least when it comes to playing the game for the first time.

Elsewhere, customised entrance tunes aren't going to happen while the consoles themselves prevent the ability to import music, so how about having an online WWE jukebox of all of the wrestler themes from the game, along with dozens of others for old names not in the game, and let gamers choose their favourite songs for created superstars from there? I still believe that a Cloud-like option, allowing you to save wrestlers, arenas and created items from past games with the chance to import them into future titles, would be a great idea, and it would allow 2K to include far more new content each year. Admittedly, the chance of this happening is low, but it's possible. I'd also like to see more minor options in 2K18 along the lines of those seen in 2K17, albeit with a little more logic. For instance, if we can pick a referee, let us pick from some real-life officials, and let us pick commentary teams and ring announcers.

In addition, online videos such as those produced by SmackTalks reveal that there are tons of hidden features and nuances in 2K17, so why not promote some of these beforehand, perhaps via an in-game challenge? Ask us to find the top rope RKO, or the secret Wyatt Family entrance, or Easter Eggs like vintage PPV posters in arena skyboxes. There are a lot of great things in the game which 99% of players (even those who devote hours to the franchise) would never discover, so 2K should make the most of this, otherwise their hard work is for naught. Also, the game no longer has a tutorial for new players, and the days of a hardback strategy guide are over, which means that first-time players may be blown away and would struggle to get to grips with a fairly complex game. Simple tutorial videos, perhaps narrated by a WWE personality, would go a long way.

I'll round things off with a few quick ideas: a chance to completely simulate the body of a match (big moves, interference, false finishes) would be cool, as would the chance to have actual arenas in the game such as Madison Square Garden, the All-State Arena and the Citrus Bowl/Camping World Stadium. Downloadable content should feel less like a chance to charge fans for the remaining content and more like an incentive to own bonus or fresh content, not to mention the ridiculous price for DLC overall when you consider that not all of it is included in the Season Pass. Some integration to the WWE Network would be logical, especially if Showcase mode returns (you could play a match in the game and then watch it on the Network). It is well overdue that we have eight (or preferably ten) on-screen characters during matches; anybody who has been playing WWE games since 2002 has never had the chance to stage full-on Survivor Series tag team elimination matches. Finally, bring back the old Locker Room feature because, as ultimately pointless as it was, it was still awesome, and lends itself to a ton of flexibility and creativity, especially nowadays on consoles with more storage space than ever before.

Actually, one more suggestion: make 2K18 the best wrestling game of all-time. Admittedly, the chances of this happening seem as likely as Roman Reigns becoming an universally popular babyface at this point, but really, there's no reason why this shouldn't be possible. The current games are certainly not bad (well, besides 2K15), and some of the games in recent years were the best in many years. The feature sets are much larger than they used to be for the most part, and the graphics blow away anything from the likes of No Mercy. The problem is that there hasn't been a "Best Wrestling Game Ever" contender for over a decade, and the common feeling shared by most is that the development team are happy to add bits and bobs while raking in the money rather than going all-out to truly deliver the absolute best wrestling game possible (the ton of glitches in 2K17 alone suggest that the latter wasn't their mindset with the most recent title). It's largely about making tweaks here and there, adding options here and there, and generally tightening things up while making the player experience as fun as possible. If 2K concentrated on that, and listening to the opinions shared by most longtime fans of the series, then 2K18 really could be an all-time great.

I've given my ideas - possibly too many! - so let's see if 2K use them. Even if they don't, let's hope that the concepts that they do use help to make WWE 2K18 a true wrestling classic.