The battle royal (commonly referred to as a battle royale, a term I much prefer but isn’t correct) has been featured in many WrestleMania’s, a lot of times recently as a dark match to give the roster not in a set storyline something to do. Unlike the Royal Rumble held in January and given the status of the second most important pay per view next to Mania on the WWE calendar schedule, battle royal’s are rarely given importance on the show. At least until now, as this battle royal is in tribute of one of the greatest names in wrestling history: André The Giant.
Awarding an André The Giant Memorial Trophy for a battle royal match makes a lot of sense, and the reasoning might be lost on modern fans. During his time, participating in battle royal matches was André’s version of “The Streak”. It was rare for André to ever lose the match. That’s why Gorilla Monsoon lied about André never losing a match by pinfall or submission in the build-up to WrestleMania III because it wasn’t like Hogan was going to beat him in a battle royal, which was more his signature match. While it isn’t like someone never breaking The Destroyer’s Figure Four or the WrestleMania streak itself, André dominated that match unlike any other.
In the opinion of Jim Ross, the match itself is lazy booking. I can understand that viewpoint since it was just Hulk Hogan walking out and announcing it, but otherwise I find this to be one of the better ideas by the WWE in a long time. Specifically it this becomes a tradition. At one point it looked as though the Money in the Bank would be a WrestleMania tradition but the match didn’t really hold much importance other than just originating at Mania. An André The Giant Memorial however holds a lot of weight as being important for WrestleMania, so having this every year is a good thing. It ensures everyone gets on the show and paid and also gives a brand new version of bragging rights.
The word is that the trophy given to the winner will get to carry it around all year. This is actually an old concept by the WWE and bringing it back with the legitimacy of André’s history. Bad News Brown won a 20 man battle royal to win a trophy which runner-up Bret “The Hitman” Hart busted over his knee. The idea of giving a trophy for a WrestleMania battle royal has been done, but not with the legitimacy of a name like André given to it. With this being for WrestleMania XXX, it’s no surprise this will be a 30 man over the top battle royal.
So far, 26 of 30 men have been announced for the match, with rumours flying on who the last four will be. I’m sure one or two might be announced at the upcoming Raw and Smackdown shows with maybe the last two (Rob Van Dam? Chris Jericho?) announced at WrestleMania. The match has an interesting mix. You have your heavies in The Big Show, Mark Henry, Brodus Clay and the Great Khali. You have some higher profile wrestlers like Intercontinental champion Big E, Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, Christian, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. There’s your jobber fodder in Zack Ryder, 3MB, Justin Gabriel and Santino Marella to pad someone’s numbers and then you have a few wildcards like Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Miz and Titus O’Neil. Regardless of who the surprise entrants are (unless we get something out of left field like Bill Goldberg), it feels like it’s going to be an announced entrant to win the match.
For many, this is Big Show’s match to win. As the spiritual successor to André in physique (just not in aura. That would be Undertaker), this could be a great way to pay tribute to two careers in one with André and Big Show. The problem is that there is supposed to be bragging rights to this. A wrestler gets to walk out with a Giant trophy (pun intended) and point out to everyone that they are not only the first winner of the battle royal but the rightful heir to his legacy. That’s heel. It would be sad to waste that on a man like Alberto Del Rio, who wastes every opportunity he receives. Damien Sandow had a bit of a similar run as Money in the Bank winner and the WWE themselves wasted it with little fanfare. It’s difficult to see Fandango take his character to a new level by simply winning a battle royal.
With a weak array of heel options (why is Ryback and Axel in the WWE Tag championship match while Rhodes and Goldust are in the battle royal? Ryback would be perfect to win the battle royal), it makes me wonder if maybe someone could turn heel in their win. Bad New Brown turned on Bret to win the 20 man battle royal, which ended up giving Bret a babyface rub. In this, I could see a Sheamus looking to share the win with a Rey Mysterio, only to turn on him for glory and to get his career back on track. A betrayal like that would turn Sheamus heel, give him the bragging rights of the André The Giant Battle Royal trophy and move back to being an impact player, this time to the ire of the fans.
In the end, the WWE has an opportunity to present a wrestler with bragging rights that stay for a year, regardless of who beats them or not. It does not hurt them to lose a match here or there like losing when WWE champion or Money in the Bank winner. Instead, it’s a sense of status you hold until the next WrestleMania. For whoever wins it, it’s a great opportunity if the WWE supports it correctly. And hopefully, they make this a tradition.
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