WWE 2K19: Release date, pre-order, gameplay, AJ Styles and more

Guide by Lauren Aitken Contributor

Published on Oct. 3, 2018

World Wrestling Entertainment is set to return with WWE 2K19 this October, boasting a huge playable roster with over 180 wrestlers to choose from. Wrasslin’ fans of all ages will be able to choose their favourites and style their own character after them by choosing their own entrance music, actions and signature moves.

2K has revealed a bunch of new names for the roster over the last few weeks, including some legendary wrestlers, such as introducing Ted DiBiase who has so far only been available as a manager in previous games, as well as introducing classic stars like Booker T and Scott Hall; Razor Ramon was one of my favourites, so I’m personally very excited to see him in WWE 2K19. AJ Styles is also this year’s box art star and the headline act on the new roster.

Showcase Mode will be returning in WWE 2K19, this time focusing on Daniel Bryan and his feuds with The Miz. There’s also a bunch of new modes coming to WWE 2K19, such as the Million Dollar Challenge within the new Challenge mode.

Grab your chair and put on your sparkliest jacket, it’s time to look at what’s in store from WWE 2K19.

WWE 2K19 Release date

WWE 2K19 comes out on October 9, 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC. It’ll be giving the Switch a miss this year because of the horrendous frame rate issues in WWE 2K18.

WWE 2K19 Pre-order specials

There are three versions of the game fans can pre-order:

The Standard Edition
The Deluxe Edition
The Wooooo! Edition

The Standard Edition includes:

Pre-order WWE 2K19 and play as Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey

The Deluxe Edition has:

WWE 2K19 video game with Deluxe Edition packaging
WWE 2K19 Season Pass digital content (details announced this summer)
Playable characters Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey
Playable WWE Hall of Famers (’80s-inspired): “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Playable characters: “Macho Man” Randy Savage (WrestleMania VIII) and Undertaker (2002)
Playable arena: Starrcade 1983
In-game attire: Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24 robe) and Charlotte Flair (WrestleMania 32 robe)

And the Wooooo! Edition has:

Copy of WWE 2K19 Deluxe Edition, which includes the following items:
WWE 2K19 video game with Deluxe Edition packaging
WWE 2K19 Season Pass digital content (details announced this summer)
Playable characters Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey
Playable WWE Hall of Famers (’80s-inspired): “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Playable characters: “Macho Man” Randy Savage (WrestleMania VIII) and Undertaker (2002)
Playable arena: Starrcade 1983
In-game attire: Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24 robe) and Charlotte Flair (WrestleMania 32 robe)
Premium packaging
Individually numbered WWE Hall of Fame replica ring
“Nature Boy”-inspired Funko Pop! figurine
Fanatics commemorative plaque featuring a fabric piece from Ric’s iconic pink or purple robe
WWE SuperCard limited edition cards featuring Ric and Charlotte Flair, as well as a Ric-themed WWE 2K19 cardback

Fans who buy the Wooooo! Edition will also receive a piece of Ric Flair’s robe as an exclusive item.

WWE 2K19 soundtrack

WWE games always have an impressive soundtrack and WWE 2K19 is no different. Here’s the track listing so far and Youtube user UpUpDownDown's reveal video:

Champion by Fall Out Boy (chosen by Alexa Bliss)
Devil by Shinedown (chosen by Baron Corbin)
Override by Slipknot (chosen by WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins)
Passion by Awolnation (chosen by Daniel Bryan)
Ric Flair Drop by Offset & Metro Boomin (chosen by Charlotte Flair & WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair)
Rockstar by Post Malone (chosen by Elias)
Skin by Bullet For My Valentine (chosen by The Miz)
Spit Out The Bone by Metallica (chosen by Triple H)
Survival by Eminem (chosen by WWE Champion AJ Styles)
The 11th Hour by Rancid (chosen by Sami Zayn)
Ungrateful by Wale (chosen by The New Day)
Work Hard by Migos (chosen by Samoa Joe)

WWE 2K19 Full Roster

There are a record 189 playable characters in WWE 2K19, so let’s first break it down into where they’re all coming from:

Men’s division: 152
Women’s division: 37
205 Live - Superstars: 11
NXT Superstars: 21
Smackdown Superstars: 48
Raw Superstars: 51
New characters: 29
Legends: 53

Here’s the full roster for WWE 2K19 as revealed by 2K Games over the last few weeks. You may see the same names appear once or twice, depending if they feature in both NXT and Smackdown, for example.

SMACKDOWN AND 205 LIVE

AJ Styles
Asuka
The Miz
Lince Dorado
Shinsuke Nakamura
Mandy Rose
Shelton Benjamin
Becky Lynch
Maryse
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
Rusev
Lana
Aiden English
The Usos
Bludgeon Brothers
The IIconics
The New Day
The Club
Samoa Joe
Charlotte Flair
Naomi
Carmella
Ariya Davari
Sonya Deville
Tony Nese
Drew Gulak
Mustafa Ali
Jeff Hardy
Daniel Bryan
Akira Tozawa
Alexander Wolfe
Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chris Jericho
Epico
Primo
Hideo Itami
Jack Gallagher
Gran Metallik
John Cena
Kalisto
Killian Dain
Nikki Bella
Noam Dar
Paige
Randy Orton
R-Truth
Shane McMahon
Sheamus
Sin Cara
TJP
Tamina
Tye Dillinger

NXT and Raw

Adam Cole
Angelo Dawkins
Montez Ford
Kyle O’Reilly
Bianca Belair
Bobby Fish
Bobby Roode
Apollo Crews
Titus O’Neil
Ember Moon
Bayley
Elias
Rusev
Lana
Curtis Axel
Bo Dallas
Aleister Black
Velveteen Dream
Kairi Sane
Sasha Banks
Liv Morgan
Matt Hardy
Finn Balor
Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn
Bray Wyatt
No Way Jose
Jinder Mahal
The Singh Brothers
Drew McIntyre
Johnny Gargano
Ronda Rousey
Ruby Riott
Braun Strowman
Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose
Randy Orton
Randy Savage
John Cena
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Batista
Goldust
Ronda Rousey
Roderick Strong
Rhyno
Big Show
Pete Dunne
Charlotte Flair
Ric Flair
Tyler Bate
Fandago
Sarah Logan
Tyler Breeze
Shayna Baszler
Akam
Rezar
Alicia Fox
Alexa Bliss
Brock Lesnar
Baron Corbin
Chad Gable
Curt Hawkins
Dash Wilder
Scott Dawson
Dana Brooke
Jason Jordan
Heath Slater
Kassius Ohno
Konnor
Viktor
Natalya
Nia Jax
Oney Lorcan
TM-61
Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight)
Zack Ryder (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne)
Triple H

Legends, new characters and the rest

Roddy Piper
Dusty Rhodes
Randy Savage
Ricky Steamboat
Undertaker (2002)
Ric Flair
Booker T
Kurt Angle
Rey Mysterio
Mr. Perfect
Jake Roberts
Batista
Alundra Blayze
DDP
Eddie Guerrero
Lex Luger
Sting
Rock N’ Roll Express
Shawn Michaels
Ted DiBiase
Trish Stratus
Ultimate Warrior
Lita
Rikishi
Razor Ramon\Scott Hall
The Rock
Kevin Nash\Diesel
Bret Hart
Andre The Giant
Ravishing Rick Rude
Christian
Papa Shango
Goldberg
Bam Bam Bigelow
Big Boss Man
Brie Bella
Beth Phoenix
British Bulldog
Brutus Beefcake
Edge
Greg Valentine
Ivory
Jacqueline
Jim Neidhart
Kane
Mr. McMahon
Stephanie McMahon
Steve Austin
Sycho Sid
Godfather
Vader

WWE 2K19 Gameplay and story modes

As we’ve already mentioned, Daniel Bryan will be getting his own Showcase career this year alongside the usual Universe Mode and MyCareer. We’re also getting the Million Dollar Challenge, the rules of which state that entrants will have to complete the new mode, then compete with one another for the right to face AJ Styles and potentially win the million dollar prize. That is, one million dollars in REAL money.

Players can enter this challenge through the new Towers mode. By playing as either their favourite superstar or MyPLAYER, they’ll face a variety of challenging matches in unique settings with different win conditions and stipulations.

There are two types of Tower: the Gauntlet and Steps. Gauntlet has to be completed in one run, whereas as Steps, as the name suggests, can be done one match at a time. There will also different match types, such as the Steel Cage, Table, Submission and more.

“The Phenomenal One” is featured in his own high profile Tower called the AJ Styles Million Dollar Tower. The opponents in this Tower a collection of some of WWE’s finest, but they are also set at higher difficulties and your health does not regenerate in between matches. This challenge gives out the best rewards of the game, though it’s not clear what those are yet.

And that’s all we have on WWE 2K19! If you think something is missing, drop us a line. We’ll update this page with more information as and when we have it.