Projecting the Remainder of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Field

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is WWE's chance to cram Superstars who might otherwise miss the show onto the WrestleMania card.

That's good news for a guy such as Bo Dallas, who has been off camera for months. The same goes for Heath Slater, who is little more than an afterthought at the moment.

The field is mostly full despite missing half the wrestlers who slugged it out during the inaugural Andre the Giant Battle Royal. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone), WWE is planning on limiting the bout to 20 men this time around rather than the field of 31 from last year.

As listed on WWE.com, the following Superstars are officially confirmed for the match:

• The Miz
• Curtis Axel
• Ryback
• Fandango 
• Adam Rose
• Zack Ryder
• Jack Swagger 
• Titus O'Neil 
• Darren Young
• Big Show 
• Kane
• Erick Rowan
• Damien Mizdow
• Sin Cara

That leaves just six spots open.

Look for WWE to rely on stars returning from injury to fill half of those, while folks with ties to NXT take up the others. This is not a match in which we will see the bulk of the tag team division, though.

Will Be Busy Elsewhere

• Daniel Bryan
• Los Matadores
• The New Day
• The Usos 

Bryan is clearly heading for the Intercontinental Championship match. He has now twice defeated Bad News Barrett in non-title action in the last few weeks. 

That will earn him entry to that crowded Ladder match.

As for Los Matadores, The New Day and The Usos, chances are they'll find themselves in their own crowded match. WWE had all those teams interact a lot on Monday's Raw. With Cesaro and Tyson Kidd not getting much of a storyline with The Usos, the safe bet is on some four-team chaos at WrestleMania.

Won't Make the Cut

• The Ascension 
• Goldust 

The Ascension is WWE's forgotten tag team. It hasn't competed on Raw since Feb. 2, and that appearance was used more as a way to further the split between Goldust and Stardust. 

Since then, The Ascension has been relegated to Superstars and Main Event. With as little momentum as they have right now, count on Viktor and Konnor waiting until next year to make their WrestleMania debuts.

Credit: WWE.com

Goldust is the victim of WWE swiftly changing its mind.

Earlier in the year, it looked as if a brother-versus-brother showdown were imminent. Then Stardust went on the hunt for the IC title, and that story fell away. Maybe WWE will pick it up again at Extreme Rules or before SummerSlam, but for now it's pushed out of the way.

That lessens The Bizarre One's chances of making the Battle Royal, as there is no narrative to keep going.

The Last Six to Enter

Mark Henry

Bringing back Henry, who's been out since November, will add some star power to the Battle Royal. Also, big men are favorites in this type of match.

It would be a nice surprise to have him around, as he can't have many WrestleManias left in him.

Sheamus 

With all the vignettes WWE is showing to announce Sheamus' return, one has to assume that this means his spot at WrestleMania is guaranteed. The Battle Royal is the most likely bout for him because it requires no story beforehand.

The IC title contenders are all already squabbling and stealing the title. Sheamus hasn't been a part of that. WWE can just throw him into the Battle Royal as one of the favorites. 

Bo Dallas

Dallas is healthy enough to compete but has been riding the bench when it comes to TV. CageMatch.net lists several house shows on his recent resume.

That means his foot is healed and he's ready to go again, but his failure to show up on Raw and SmackDown suggests that the creative team just doesn't have anything for him.

Luckily, it doesn't need to compose anything to plug him into the Battle Royal.

Kalisto

Kalisto has been sliding closer and closer to becoming a main roster Superstar. He and Sin Cara have battled together on Main Event and Superstars recently.

This is an easy time to plug him. It won't matter if some fans don't know who he is; this bout can be his introduction.

Plus, his tag team partner is already in the Battle Royal. 

Heath Slater

Slater hasn't been active at all since O'Neil reunited with Young. That makes him the least safe bet on this list. Goldust could take his spot here, for example.

The match, though, needs a lower-tier guy such as Slater. Someone has to play the victim to the bout's most dominant forces, and Slater has been doing that for much of his career.

Expect him to show up, showboat and quickly get tossed over the top rope.

Adrian Neville

This contest is WWE's chance to introduce some NXT stars on a bigger stage. It doesn't look like there will be an NXT-only match on the card. That leaves WWE options for NXT overlap limited to the Battle Royal.

Fans expect Neville to be called up at any moment.  

He had a tremendous run at NXT and, now that he is no longer champ, is free to move to the next level. While Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are in the midst of a war, Neville doesn't currently have a story to work with.

That smells like WWE's way of prepping Neville for a main-roster run. That could easily begin with some acrobatic offense against the Battle Royal field.