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Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Last Modified Apr 05, 2019 15:29 IST

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 :-

  1. Andrade
  2. Apollo Crews
  3. Titus O’Neil
  4. Tyler Breeze
  5. Jinder Mahal
  6. No Way Jose
  7. Bobby Roode
  8. Chad Gable
  9. Kalisto
  10. Gran Metalik
  11. Lince Dorado
  12. Bo Dallas
  13. Curtis Axel
  14. Heath Slater
  15. Rhyno
  16. Viktor
  17. Konnor
  18. Ali
  19. Shelton Benjamin
  20. Luke Gallows
  21. Karl Anderson
  22. Matt Hardy
  23. Jeff Hardy
  24. Otis
  25. Tucker
  26. EC3


WrestleMania 35 takes place on April 7 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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