AEW Fight Forever roster loses FTR, capture issues may cause more changes

AEW Fight Forever continues to reveal new gameplay details, but we're now learning of a few key names that won't make the roster.

Here's everything we know about the removal of FTR from the AEW Fight Forever roster and what it could mean for others.

AEW Fight Forever roster loses FTR and they comment on removal

If you're a fan of the Top Guys in professional wrestling, there's bad news as Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR will not make the AEW Fight Forever roster at launch.

The news was initially reported a few days ago by Fightful Select, and they revealed that FTR had at least reached the "model phase" of the game but had to be removed.

In an interview with Louis Dangoor of GiveMeSport, the duo spoke about how surprised they were when news reached FTR.

Their initial worry was that the news blindsided both men, but after seeking more clarity Wheeler said "We got an answer. It made a lot of sense. Very logical answer. We said, 'ok, cool'. As long as we don’t have to worry about it, nonissue."

While there were understandably shocked reactions by many when the news first broke, it looks like this had less to do with their importance as a team and more to do with the development process of AEW Fight Forever.

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Move set captures and animations have caused roster changes

After the news first went out about FTR, a new report via Mike Straw clarified things with a bit more detail on the situation.

According to Straw, "issues with move set captures and animations" were one factor that led to FTR's removal from the AEW Fight Forever roster.

Straw also stated this same issue "has caused changes to the game's launch roster which includes FTR," and as such it sounds like they may not have been the only ones affected.

While Straw also stated this detail was "not the whole answer" as to why FTR didn't make the game, it does reaffirm that this seems to be related to development or logistics in having things ready by launch.

So far, there are 17 different confirmed roster members for AEW Fight Forever based on previously released footage.

There have also been reports that Sting, Bryan Danielson, Ruby Soho, Owen Hart, and Cody Rhodes will be included on a roster that was once noted to be around 50 characters in total.

It's unclear if the issues that affected FTR's inclusion have impacted any of those previously reported names, but the roster could be smaller than originally expected.

AEW Games and THQ Nordic have not commented on the situation or confirmed potential DLC or post-launch roster updates down the line, but both could be used to grow the AEW Fight Forever roster after it's released.