As someone who actually played these games on the Genesis and Sega CD, I'm guessing someone said, "We need to compete with the Mortal Kombat movies. Find me another fighting game franchise that's got the same level of violence. Bonus points if there hasn't been a new game in 30 years so we won't piss off as many nerds when we butcher the lore."

And it might work. As much as I enjoyed the games back in the day, it really doesn't take up much space in my brain. I really wouldn't lose any sleep if it bombed.