I dislike the kameo and towers off screen projectiles from other games, but I'm surprised they don't use the that aspect for pairing specific characters in their new lore reshaping. Noob/Saibot, Nitara/Scarlette, Ferra/Tore, perhaps Fujin/Smoke for wind and smoke, or Rain, SZ to cover water/ice mechanics together? Shang/Ermac soul repository, male and female Chameleon, Reptile and invisible actual Reptile fighter, introduce Tiamut. You have Goro, Kintaro, Sheva all as Shokans, and Divora/Kollector adding to the extra arms character archetype overall.