Contrary to popular belief, Johnny Cage wasn't cut from MK3 because his motion capture actor, Daniel Pesina, had to be fired from Midway after advertising a game called BloodStorm (developed by a different company) while dressed as his character.

In a 2020 podcast interview, Mr. Pesina stated that he wasn't fired, but rather that he left Midway because they refused to pay their actors on time. He also stated that series' co-creators Ed Boon and John Tobias assisted him with negotiating for the BloodStorm promo and what he wore in that ad was approved by Ed Boon, directly debunking the rumor.

A year later, John Tobias confirmed in a Twitter thread that the reason why Johnny Cage didn't show up in MK3 was because he was one of the least popular/played characters in the previous game, so they decided to remove him entirely, with the in-universe reason being that he died. He was later brought back for Mortal Kombat Trilogy, this time being potrayed by Chris Alexander.