The long-awaited WWE 2K25 will turn its roster on its head with one notable absence—to wit, Brock Lesnar. For the first time since WWE ’12 in 2011, Lesnar will not appear on a mainline WWE title, marking the effective end of a 14-year run. Though WWE 2K25 has an incredible roster of wrestlers old and new, Brock Lesnar’s absence is a titanic change for the series.
Lesnar’s absence is not surprising. The ex-WWE Champion hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since SummerSlam 2023, when he lost to Cody Rhodes. Missing from the action probably has something to do with the ongoing lawsuit against former WWE employee Janel Grant, where Vince McMahon was accused of having made Brock Lesnar “an offer of a sexual encounter” with Grant during contract negotiations. The lawsuit goes on to claim that Grant was instructed to send Lesnar porn. These severe allegations have made WWE go out of its way to distance itself from Lesnar, affecting his presence in programming and video games.
The effect of the suit was already being felt in WWE 2K24. Lesnar was initially supposed to be center stage, but once the lawsuit was released, he was taken off the cover of the game. His in-game function was also cut down considerably—he was playable only in Showcase Mode, i.e., he was not available in other modes of the game. WWE 2K25 goes one step further by cutting him out of the roster altogether.
Lesnar is not the biggest departure from the WWE 2K franchise. Shane McMahon, who appeared in all of the flagship series games since WWE 2K16, will not appear in WWE 2K25, bringing his streak of ten years to a close. Almost 30 additional wrestlers from WWE 2K24 will not appear, having been either cut by WWE, moved to competitor promotions such as AEW, or due to contract reasons.
With WWE 2K25 being released in March, the fans will be able to see a fresh list of new and old faces. Naturally, the lack of a popular fan favorite such as Brock Lesnar will certainly be on everyone’s mind when it comes to the fans and the players.
