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Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal is an annual event held at WrestleMania. The first battle royal was held at the Show of Shows in 2014. The winner on that occasion was Cesaro.
The battle is held in remembrance of the over 7 feet Andre, whose real name is Andre Rene Roussimoff. Longtime nemesis, Hulk Hogan, established the Andre the Giant Battle royal for WrestleMania 30. The winner gets a life-sized trophy of the giant.
In 2018 at WrestleMania 34, the first-ever Andre the Giant battle royal for female competitors took place. Naomi emerged victorious after eliminating Bayley.
While it is a decent tribute to Andre the Giant, the match itself is not a popular one among the fans as well as the participants. The winner of the battle royal does not get anything worthwhile for winning.
Here are 3 possible ways to make the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal relevant.
#1 Number 1 contender for the mid-level titles
The Intercontinental championship and the United States Championship are legendary titles that are grossly mistreated in the modern WWE era. Both titles are hardly involved in any great storylines and are defended in some shows just because they happen to exist.
WWE just puts these titles on superstars who are just below the top ones in the pecking order. The current Intercontinental champion is Bobby Lashley and the current United States Champion is Samoa Joe. While Lashley is set to defend his title against Finn Balor, Joe will be facing Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship.
The Andre the Giant battle royal mostly involves mid-card superstars, so emerging as the number one contender would be beneficial for their careers.
#2 Promoting the NXT Superstars
NXT is the developmental brand of the company. Some would argue that it is legitimately a third brand alongside RAW and SmackDown Live.
NXT Superstars are promoted to the main roster, but in most cases, they do not get the opportunities due to the already bloated main roster. A look at recent times would suggest the same. Five talents were promoted from the NXT in the last few months. Ricochet, Aleister Black, ECIII, Lacey Evans, and the Heavy Machinery are now all part of the main roster.
Apart from Ricochet and Black to some extent, none of the others have managed to leave a lasting impression on the WWE Universe. Though the fault does not lie with the talent. WWE creative has not found a way to incorporate these superstars into any feud and hence they have not done anything noteworthy.
A debut at the Grandest Show Of Them All and a good outing could prove to be the linchpin to a decent start on the main roster.
#3 Involving the legends
Since Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal came into existence, WWE now has two matches of the type in a calendar year, the Royal Rumble and Andre the Giant battle royal.
While surprise appearances from the legends of WWE are usually reserved for the Royal Rumble, it would be a good idea to shift those appearances to the Andre the Giant battle royal.
For one, people would start caring about the match due to a possible surprise entry, and the other reason is that the legends can put over the regular talent in a big way. This also leaves the slots open for the regular superstars in the Royal Rumble.
