Joe Hendry is officially signed with WWE, marking one of the biggest wrestling industry moves of late 2025. After months of appearances through WWE’s working relationship with TNA and a surge in mainstream visibility, Hendry is finally part of the company full-time. The reaction online has been immediate, and the next question for many fans is simple: Will Joe Hendry appear in WWE 2K26 at launch, or will he have to wait for DLC?
It’s a fair question. WWE 2K roster inclusion is tied to long development timelines, internal cut-off dates, likeness rights, and the chaotic nature of WWE talent movement. Hendry’s signing in November complicates things because it puts him squarely in the window where some wrestlers make the base roster and others fall into the post-launch cycle.
WWE 2K Rosters Are Complicated
Each WWE 2K game has an internal roster deadline, typically landing six to nine months before release. While visual updates, attire changes, and move-set tweaks can come later, brand-new signings usually need to have their likenesses captured early. If they don’t, they’re often pushed into DLC until 2K and Visual Concepts can do the needed scans.
Recent WWE 2K games have followed the same pattern. Stars signed well before the cutoff (like Cody Rhodes in WWE 2K23) make the base roster. Meanwhile, surprise returns or late-year signings (like CM Punk in WWE 2K24) get added later through updates or DLC packs.
That said, there do seem to be some exceptions to this rule. For instance, current stars Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer had signed with WWE during the summer of 2024, well before WWE 2K25‘s release in March of this year. Despite both being champions by the time the game came out, they were not on the base roster and were instead included in a future DLC pack.
Will Joe Hendry Be In WWE 2K26 At Launch?
With all of this in mind, can one reasonably expect Joe Hendry to be in WWE 2K26 when it is eventually released? The knee-jerk answer might be no, but there is some hope that the man who constantly tells people to “Believe” might be included.
For one, despite only just signing with the company full-time, Hendry has been a mainstay on WWE television for quite a while now. In fact, right now, he is in a big storyline with NXT’s Thea Hail, and the two are slated to compete for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships at NXT Gold Rush. So, because he is not only a mainstay on NXT but is also connected to another wrestler’s story arc, it’s very possible that 2K can expedite the process to get him into the game.
However, it should be noted that money is what drives these conversations. Should 2K decide that WWE 2K26 will sell more copies if Hendry is to be future DLC content, then that’s what they’ll do.
