After months of speculation, the roster for THQ’s nostalgia-driven grappler, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania, was recently released. Here is the list of wrestlers in alphabetical order:

Wrestlers
Andre the Giant
Animal (Legion of Doom)
Bam Bam Bigelow
Big Boss Man
Big John Stud
Bret Hart
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Dusty Rhodes
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Hawk (Legion of Doom)
Honky Tonk Man
Iron Sheik
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Junkyard Dog
Kamala
King Kong Bundy
Koko B. Ware
Michael Hayes
The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
Mr. Perfect
Nikolai Volkoff
Ravishing Rick Rude
Ric Flair
The Rock
Rowdy Roddy Piper
Sgt. Slaughter
Shawn Michaels
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Triple H
Ultimate Warrior
Undertaker
Yokozuna

Managers
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Jimmy Hart
Mr. Fuji
Paul Bearer

Here is a discussion starter if there ever was one wrestling fans. What omissions from this roster really grind your gears? Here are a few of mine:

The Macho Man Randy Savage

Um, duh. Seriously, how can you have a game titled Legends of Wrestlemania when one of the true legends is absent?

Notable 'Mania matches for the Macho Man include Wrestlemania 5 against Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania 7 vs. The Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania 8 vs. Ric Flair, and of course, Wrestlemania III vs. Ricky Steamboat -- a match regarded by some as one of the greatest matches of all time.

It is no secret that there is friction between Savage and Vince McMahon, although the actual cause of the conflict is often debated –- Google it sometime, you will have a laugh. I have picked up on some online chatter that Savage was originally slated to make the roster, and THQ had even built his character model before Mr. McMahon gave it the axe. It is truly a shame. Any other omission would be excusable if The Macho Man had made it into this game.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Piggy-backing off of the Macho Man, Steamboat’s absence is really going to sting some of the old-school crowd. It makes sense, however, as his most notable Wrestlemania match was against another no-show. Still, though, it is rather ridiculous.

Nothing has really been said about unlockable characters, so perhaps we can still hope for Steamboat, especially when you consider the fact that he is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Wrestlemania Eve.

Mick Foley

OK, we all saw this one coming. While you cannot speak of the greats in WWE history without mentioning Foley, his jump to TNA was likely the nail in his coffin for this game.

While some of Foley’s most notable moments came at venues other than Wrestlemania, it still would have been nice to see him in the game. The Wrestlemania 22 match versus Edge would have been a dandy addition.

Razor Ramon

It is likely that Scott Hall wants nothing to do with the WWE these days (and it is also likely that he does not know who or where he is), but I would have really enjoyed a re-creation of the Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon ladder match from Wrestlemania X.

This was the first televised ladder match, which gave birth to a plethora of high-risk antics in the years to come. Without this match, we never would have had that insane Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz TLC match at Wrestlemania 2000. The brash ego of the Ramon character was always enjoyable, and he will be missed in this game.

Owen Hart

While other late-greats of the WWE have made the cut for this game, Owen Hart is notably absent.

Owen was a fantastic performer, and his match against his brother Bret at Wrestlemania X was a classic. Of all the most notable omissions from the main roster, I would tab Owen as the most likely to be an unlockable, but then again, that might be my high hopes shining through.

Ken Shamrock might go ballistic for being left out of Legends of Wrestlemania, old school style.

Ken Shamrock

Sure, Ken is more noteworthy for his UFC career and his role in Spike’s The Ultimate Fighter, but he did have an solid stint in the WWF as "The World’s Most Dangerous Man."

One of my favorite Shamrock matches occurred at Wrestlemania XIV against The Rock. In this match, Shamrock won via submission by his signature Ankle Lock (later pirated by Kurt Angle), only to have the decision reversed when he refused to release The Rock well after the bell had sounded. Shamrock went berserk, handing out belly-to-belly suplexes to anyone in his sight-line.

Edge/Christian, Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz

Not that any of these guys necessarily deserve to be in the same league as the likes of Hogan and Andre, but their TLC match at Wrestlemania 2000 was legendary. To this day, I still find it to be one the most enjoyable and most insane matches in pro wrestling history.

This match would be incredibly difficult to replicate in video-game form, so perhaps it is better that it was left alone.


I now give the floor to you all. Which WWE Superstars would you have liked to have seen in this game?