This article is part of a directory: WWE 2K22: Complete Guide & Walkthrough
Table of contents

WWE 2K22 just had its official launch, and it's starting off with a rather extensive roster of playable characters for fans to choose from. The base game alone has a whopping 163 wrestlers to play as, while those that spring for the $119.99 WWE 2K22 nWo 4-Life Edition can get their hands on five more wrestlers to increase the roster size to 168. 2K Sports and Visual Concepts will be expanding the already-impressive WWE 2K22 roster even further with the game's Season Pass, set to add 28 more wrestlers to the mix spread across five different DLC packs.

2K Sports recently pulled the curtain back on the WWE 2K22 DLC packs, revealing everyone that's coming to the game post-launch. The WWE 2K22 DLC packs will add some notable stars to the roster, including popular old-school wrestlers like Yokozuna and Rob Van Dam, as well as newer stars who didn't make the cut for the base game. However, there are some notable omissions from the WWE 2K22 DLC lineup that have some fans upset.

RELATED: WWE 2K22 Roster Features Controversial Wrestler Brian Kendrick

Women in particular appear to be getting the short end of the stick when it comes to WWE 2K22 DLC, and while there's at least one woman in each DLC pack, the DLC is dominated by male wrestlers. This is despite the fact that the WWE 2K22 roster is missing notable women that would have made great additions to the game, like modern stars Aliyah and Queen Zelina. Queen Zelina, previously known as Zelina Vega, is an especially glaring omission since she is currently one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions and won the Queen of the Ring tournament.

zelina vega wwe return

Women's wrestling legends are also left off the DLC lineup. Alundra Blayze, who is perhaps better known as Madusa and for tossing the WWE Women's Championship in a trashcan on an episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro, is nowhere to be found. Lita, one of the most popular women's wrestlers of all time, is also not coming to WWE 2K22. This is despite the fact that Lita is currently under contract with WWE, appeared in the Royal Rumble this past year, wrestled Becky Lynch at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, and is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

On top of all that, Paige and The Bella Twins are also not included in the WWE 2K22 DLC packs. Paige has publicly criticized WWE 2K22 for not including herself, The Bella Twins, or other notable women, though it seems this did not help her secure a part on the game's roster. Paige has not been featured on WWE television for quite some time, but The Bella Twins still make occasional appearances and in fact both of them competed in the latest Royal Rumble match.

When it comes to men, the WWE 2K22 roster is fairly comprehensive, and the DLC adds plenty more men's wrestlers to the game. Some of the notable male exclusions likely happened due to those wrestlers not being in WWE any longer, but there are some active male AEW wrestlers who are still playable in the game. In any case, most of the WWE 2K22 DLC snubs on the men's side of things revolve around NXT 2.0, as the game is missing pretty much everyone from the re-branded show.

paige wwe match

It's especially surprising that rising star Bron Breakker is not coming to WWE 2K22 as DLC. For those who haven't been watching NXT 2.0, Bron Breakker is being pushed as the primary star of the show, with the whole thing built around him to help him get over. It's clear that WWE has big plans for Breakker, and so it's odd to see that he's not going to be added to WWE 2K22 as DLC. Then again, the game tends to ignore NXT 2.0 in general, though that is likely because the rebranding happened after the developers already had the classic NXT made for the game.

Some fans have pointed out that the WWE 2K22 DLC includes celebrity guests, with some arguing that those celebrity guests are taking up spots that could go to actual wrestlers. However, it's worth mentioning that celebrity involvement has been a key part of WWE's DNA since the first WrestleMania, when Mr. T teamed with Hulk Hogan to fight "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in the main event.

The celebrity guests coming to WWE 2K22 as DLC include the aforementioned Mr. T, as well as musician Machine Gun Kelly and social media star Logan Paul. All of these celebrities have been featured on WWE television in varying capacities, with Machine Gun Kelly being powerbombed off the Raw stage by Kevin Owens and Logan Paul actually set to compete at WrestleMania 38, teaming with The Miz to take on Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

Logan Paul Wrestlemania 38 WWE

But since WWE 2K22 DLC is adding celebrity guests to the game, it's rather bizarre that rapper Bad Bunny is not one of the DLC guests. After all, Bad Bunny has made numerous appearances in WWE, wrestling at last year's WrestleMania and competing in the latest Royal Rumble event. If there was any celebrity guest to add to the WWE 2K22 roster, one would think Bad Bunny would be the first choice.

Of course, there's always next year, and it's possible the next installment in the WWE 2K franchise will make up for some snubs on the current roster. There are rumors that WWE may go with EA for its next game, but considering the positive reception to WWE 2K22, hopefully Visual Concepts and 2K Sports can build on the incredible work done on this year's entry and produce something even better next time around.

WWE 2K22 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

MORE: WWE 2K22 Locker Codes Get Players Free MyFaction Content