Roster is key within any fighting or sports game, even doubly so when it has to do with wrestling. With the WWE 2K mainline series taking a break this year, the roster for the upcoming WWE 2K Battlegrounds is not going to feature the majority of superstars. Thus, fans of the WWE women's division will be happy with two new confirmed combatants.
The official WWE 2K Battlegrounds Twitter account confirmed that Bayley and Naomi will join the growing roster in the arcadey wrestling game. The eight second clip doesn't show much outside of some flashy moves of the two in the ring, but it's good to know that both will be playable once 2K Battlegrounds releases in September.
The selection of some of the most popular wrestlers within the company is no surprise for WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Bayley is currently the reigning WWE Smackdown Women's Champion and Women's Tag Team Champion with fellow 2K Battlegrounds character Sasha Banks. As for Naomi, she has steadily gained fan support over the last few weeks with many hoping the company does more with her in the ring. Naomi responded to the reveal tweet with praise.
This news comes at a downturn for the more cartoonish interpretation of the WWE product. The most recent trailer for WWE 2K Battlegrounds has a high dislike ratio with fans upset over the quality that has been shown in trailers. Some have considered the game to look incredibly rough with some taking umbrage with the fact that it was shown during the Nintendo Mini-Direct.
Regardless of how WWE 2K Battlegrounds turns out, it follows years of frustration fans have had with the yearly output of WWE games. WWE 2K20 was notoriously panned by fans and critics for its bugs, graphics, and lack of any improvements over the previous few entries. The critical reception to WWE 2K20 was cited as one of the reasons for WWE 2K21's cancellation.
Some fans may see each new roster addition with something of a sour note removed from any preconceptions about the quality of WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Earlier this year, WWE released numerous wrestlers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WWE wrestlers that would have fit perfectly in the style of the game including Rusev and Zack Ryder are no longer with the company. While 2020 will be marked as a difficult year for the wrestling business as a whole, some hope that WWE 2K Battlegrounds might surprise and be a highlight.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds launches September 18 for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.