If you thought you'd get to relive one of NXT's greatest rivalries when WWE 2K19 is released next month, guess again. It's been confirmed today that, as was speculated when the roster was first revealed, Tommaso Ciampa will not be part of the upcoming video game. However, it turns out that there's a very interesting - and ultimately quite surprising - reason for why that's the case.
According to Wrestling Observer Live's Bryan Alvarez, him being out with an injury when the game was being made is what's led to that happening. He couldn't perform the motion capture needed by 2K Games, so they were unable to include him. Apparently, there's a good chance the same thing will happen with someone like Jason Jordan next year but he has an existing character model.
Ciampa didn't, hence why we won't even get to play him via DLC. Honestly, it feels like 2K Games could have done more to get the NXT Champion in the game but their hands may have been tied, so it's probably pointless to vent our frustrations on them right now. With an in-depth Create a Wrestler mode, though, chances are it won't take long until Ciampa is available here in some form.