WWE should bring back the gimmick battle royal at WrestleMania

At what is considered by many to be the greatest WrestleMania of all time, the 17th edition of the event, WWE introduced us to a match dubbed, 'The Gimmick Battle Royal'.

Several former WWE stars with outlandish personas and costumes from the 1980's and 90's gathered to compete in this mass of human bodies. It was certainly an appeal to nostalgia and a tug at the heart strings of fans who grew up watching these cartoonish characters, but it worked. It added a little genuine levity late in the show to get the crowd going for the rest of the show.

So in essence, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. WrestleMania is traditionally a very long event, and you can't present everything that is on the card as some kind of serious fight. This is, after all, professional wrestling. It was built around a combination of combat and comedy.

Going back to wrestling's roots in the carnival era, professional wrestling was always portrayed as a mixture of both serious competition and a splash of tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating humor.

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WWE went even further with that concept when Vincent Kennedy McMahon assumed control from his father

Vinny didn't even try to hide the fact that sports entertainment was 'fake', as detractors always like to bring up to the die-hard fans. Instead, he embraced that worn-out old trope and then turned it up a few notches with the characters he created.

It was in the 80's that we began to see personas emerge like the Gobbledy Gooker, the Red Rooster, The Birdman Koko B. Ware, and just about any fine, feathered foolishness that McMahon could formulate.

It was also the era of Akeem the African Dream, Hillbilly Jim, Mr. Perfect and The Honky Tonk Man. It was a virtual melting pot of amazingly eccentric personalities.

Sure, pro wrestling has always been over the moon in terms of outlandishness, but McMahon added some vivid color and satirical splash to some old worn-out images. He took established pro wrestlers and turned them into literal cartoons.

Sure, it was silly. But it also represents the childhood of a significant percentage of the audience that grew up on the WWE product.

Vince McMahon should bring back the Gimmick Battle Royal as part of WrestleMania. Make it an annual part of the event. It would definitely have to be placed somewhere in the middle of the card, so the promotion can then backload the end of the show with its much more serious conflicts. This type of contest could be a great cutoff point between earlier mid-card matches and more main event level bouts.

Wrestling fans are very sentimental about the past, particularly the era that they grew up in or when they first began watching the show.

It may sound odd, but it's refreshing at times to see faces from the past. The Gimmick Battle Royal gives WWE the perfect chance to highlight its hilarious history, bringing back several of their iconic characters from the past.

These aged grapplers don't have to do much in that setting, as the throng of people in the ring allows you to take long breaks during the match. It would be more of an exhibition of history than a straight-up competition. And that's alright.

Most fans would be more in favor of a match like this, as opposed to a throw-away bout featuring a mainstream celebrity. Especially if the outsider in question gets to defeat a full-time wrestler and steal the show. At least with the Gimmick Battle Royal, you get trained pros out there who get an opportunity to be in the spotlight again and earn a paycheck.

There are worse things that could come out of a WrestleMania card than a match like this. WWE should not only bring the Gimmick Battle Royal, they should make it a part of WrestleMania every year.

It's a nod to WWE's past, a look back in time for the fans and a celebration of sports entertainment as a whole. It represents everything that sets pro wrestling apart from all other forms of sports and media: The ability to look in the mirror and never take it all too seriously.

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Would you like to see WWE bring back the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania 38? Do you think it could be an annual part of The Grandest Stage of Them All? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.