While WWE 2K26 is releasing during a bit of a rough patch for the TKO-owned company, as ticket prices, questionable booking, brutally small PPV match cards, and more have led to a steady increase in criticism, there’s still a good deal of hype for the game itself. Not only is it embracing nostalgia by focusing on the Monday Night War, but its CM Punk showcase is sure to be attractive to many given Punk’s enduring popularity. Plus, for AEW fans disappointed in Fight Forever’s lacking creative suite and outdated roster, WWE 2K26 is something that they could have interest in picking up. Not only can they create or download AEW’s biggest stars, like MJF, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay, but there’s a good deal of familiar faces that will feature on the official roster for WWE 2K26.
A large portion of WWE 2K26’s DLC lineup remains unrevealed, so it can be assumed that two recent ex-AEW pickups, Royce Keys (Powerhouse Hobbs) and Danhausen, will eventually join the roster down the road. This is only speculation, however.
As an AEW Fan, I’m Buying WWE 2K26 to Save Mariah May From Her Terrible Booking
While WWE 2K26 is banking on nostalgia with its 90s-themed covers, if I pick up the game, it’ll be to make one modern wrestler the star she should be.
All the Former AEW Stars You Can Play as in WWE 2K26
- Aleister Black (Malakai Black)
- Blake Monroe (Mariah May)
- CM Punk
- Cody Rhodes
- El Hijo del Vikingo — DLC
- Ethan Page
- Jade Cargill
- Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.)
- Penta
- Rey Fenix
- Ricky Saints (Ricky Starks)
- Rusev (Miro)
- Shawn Spears
- RVD
Obviously, the biggest names here are CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. The former returned to wrestling after several years away following a controversial departure from WWE due to years of mistreatment. During his time in AEW, he had an excellent feud with MJF but also ran into controversy backstage, butting heads with The Elite and getting into a fight with Jack Perry that saw him fired from AEW. He then returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 and is currently World Heavyweight Champion. Cody Rhodes’ return at WrestleMania 38 was arguably even more shocking, as he was one of the EVPs responsible for founding AEW and spent years taking shots at Triple H and WWE. While the exact turning point for Cody hasn’t been revealed, it’s believed that the crowd rejecting him due to a refusal to go heel, his inability to challenge for the world title and “finish the story” following a controversial booking decision, and the company’s shifting identity all contributed to Cody’s monumental WWE return. Since then, he’s become the face of the company, filling the void left by John Cena.
Though they are the biggest names on the list, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes are hardly the only major ex-AEW pick-ups that WWE has made in recent years. Blake Monroe, for instance, was formerly known as Mariah May and had what many consider the best women’s rivalry of all time with AEW megastar Toni Storm before her departure. She’s since been developing her WWE character in NXT, alongside fellow AEW alumni Ricky Saints, Ethan Page, Shawn Spears, and Lexis King. Over on the main roster, the Lucha Brothers, Penta and Fenix, have had their share of matches, though the former has found much more success than the latter in WWE thus far. And though the current WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill has frustratingly had no defenses since winning the belt, she has still become a household name in WWE following her dominant run as TBS champion in AEW.
While not formally under AEW contract, RVD and Vikingo made several appearances in the company, with the former having a standout battle against Swerve Strickland alongside some fun ECW tribute matches with Taz’s son Hook, while the latter appeared regularly in high-flying lucha bouts. Perhaps the most controversial names on the list are Aleister Black and Rusev, as it was regularly rumored that they refused to lose to certain AEW stars and were booked inconsistently because of that. How true this actually is remains a mystery, as Black has pushed back against this idea on social media. Regardless, the two had some memorable moments in AEW, like Miro’s Redeemer run with the TNT title and Black’s brutal cage match with Adam Copeland (AKA Edge).
WWE 2K26’s DLC Could House One of AEW’s Most Important Figures
Alongside the previously mentioned, potential roster additions of Danhausen and Royce Keys, Chris Jericho has long been rumored to return to WWE when his AEW contract is up. If and when this happens, the many iterations of Jericho could justify an entire Ringside Pass on their own. From The List and Y2J to Lionheart and The Painmaker, his lengthy career and many, many gimmicks ensure he’d be too widely requested not to add. But even if Jericho doesn’t return to WWE in time to make the DLC lineup, there will undoubtedly be custom versions of him to download alongside the current AEW stars, ensuring gamers can recreate whichever AEW matches they desire within WWE 2K26.
