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What's the story?
WWE announced on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw that WrestleMania 34's KickOff Show will feature three matches - the two Battle Royals and the Cruiserweight Championship finals.
In case you didn't know...
This will mark the fifth Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match, originally named for Fabulous Moolah. The reference was removed after fan backlash.
Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander will be competing for the Cruiserweight Championship.
The heart of the matter
Many fans expected the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to return to the WrestleMania pre-show, but the news regarding the Women's Battle Royal and the Cruiserweight Championship was somewhat controversial, considering the goal of both matches.
The Women's Battle Royal was created in WWE's effort to create more parity between the men and women of the WWE roster.
The match will include all the women not already involved with Championship matches, but moving it to the pre-show in its first year is the opposite of how WWE debuted the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
As for the Cruiserweight Championship, the tournament that started back in February led many to believe that the division was going to be taken more seriously.
The match quality on the program has improved greatly according to viewers, but many were hoping for the program to make it to the official main card for WrestleMania rather than returning to the kickoff show, where former WWE Superstars Neville and Austin Aries debuted the belt to the WrestleMania audience.
What's next?
Despite many considering the WrestleMania pre-show a bad spot on the card, it will allow WWE Superstars to appear on both the WWE Network and on the USA Network.
Every WWE Superstar will be eligible for the Battle Royals, so predicting a winner is actually harder than predicting other matches on the card.
Author's take
WrestleMania 34 has an interesting kickoff show lined up for this year, so fans may be more inclined to tune-in.
The buildup to the Cruiserweight Championship match has been fantastic and that might be the early favorite to steal the show.
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