History
A regular feature since the WrestleMania XXX, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has become a integral part of the pay-per-view event. The Battle Royal is held in honor of the late WWE Hall of Famer, Andre the Giant, who is considered one of the most beloved and revered superstars of Vince McMahon’s company. A one-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WWF Tag Team Champion and an all-time legend, he stood at over seven feet tall and weighed 500 pounds. He was known as “The King of the Battle Royal” due to winning a large majority of such matches that he participated in.
About Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal begins with all participants in the squared circle at the same time, and competitors are eliminated once they are thrown over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. The last man remaining is the victor. The victor is awarded a trophy with a with a giant Andre the Giant atop it, which always makes for some entertaining photo ops.
The first ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was won by Cesaro, who won the match after eliminating Big Show using a body slam just as Hogan did to Andre at WrestleMania III. The second edition was won by Big Show who last eliminated Damien Mizdow in the match. The third edition was won by Baron Corbin by eliminating Kane while the fourth edition was won by Mojo Rawley who was assisted by his friend, NFL player Rob Gronkowski. The fifth edition was won by Matt Hardy who last eliminated previous winner Baron Corbin.
Other than the trophy and the excitement, however, the Memorial Battle Royal does not hold much significance outside of the ring. WWE refers to it as, “an opportunity for the winner to carve out a legendary WrestleMania moment while catapulting his career to new heights,” but that status is dubious at best. Cesaro and Baron Corbin have both found success, but not really due to their respective Andre wins. Big Show and Matt Hardy already had Hall of Fame-worthy careers before they won theirs. Mojo Rawley has yet to really do anything other than beat up Zack Ryder, much like everyone else on the WWE roster has done, can do, or will be doing.
This is one of the many aspects of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, that the WWE really needs to work upon. For starters, the company can give the winner an actual push that would reflect some level of prestige that this match could allegedly win. That could come in a push towards an upper mid-card or a main event level rival.
WWE SAndre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
This year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will see Saturday Night Live co-stars Colin Jost and Michael Che at the centre stage, as they continue their feud with Braun Strowman. Apart from the three, the following will also take part in the Battle Royal :-
- Andrade
- Apollo Crews
- Titus O’Neil
- Tyler Breeze
- Jinder Mahal
- No Way Jose
- Bobby Roode
- Chad Gable
- Kalisto
- Gran Metalik
- Lince Dorado
- Bo Dallas
- Curtis Axel
- Heath Slater
- Rhyno
- Viktor
- Konnor
- Ali
- Shelton Benjamin
- Luke Gallows
- Karl Anderson
- Matt Hardy
- Jeff Hardy
- Otis
- Tucker
- EC3
WrestleMania 35 takes place on April 7 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
