WWE Missed Opportunities: Cesaro's Battle Royal Win Should Mean More

As WrestleMania 31 quickly approaches, so does the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

This was a unique concept introduced by WWE at last year's big event. After hearing the announcement that this match would take place, fans had to feel like it would be a way for an up-and-coming Superstar to gain a big push.

The match featured some top names such as Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler, as well as the two biggest Superstars on the roster—Big Show and The Great Khali.

However, it was Cesaro who would outlast them all. From the moment he hoisted the massive Big Show over the top rope and tossed him out of the ring, it seemed like much bigger things were on the horizon for Cesaro.

But that would hardly be the case.

Shortly after WrestleMania, Cesaro would dump Zeb Colter as his manager and align himself with Paul Heyman. Few wrestlers have failed to reach stardom under the guidance of Heyman.

But instead of rising up the ranks, Cesaro floundered in the midcard, losing matches to Rob Van Dam and Sheamus.

At the Battleground pay-per-view in July, another Battle Royal was held to determine a new intercontinental champion. In that match, Cesaro, who had won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal just four months prior, was eliminated by Heath Slater.

This concluded Cesaro's run as a "Heyman guy," as he went back to being on his own. But things only got worse.

He went on a long losing streak, despite getting numerous shots at both the intercontinental title (then held by Ziggler) and the United States title (then held by Sheamus). He lost all of them.

When he dropped matches against Ryback and Erick Rowan in November, it appeared that Cesaro was going to fade into oblivion.

In fact, Steve Austin even asked WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about Cesaro's status during an interview following Monday Night Raw in December.

McMahon suggested that Cesaro lacks charisma but also said he believes the King of Swing could still be the Superstar many viewers feel he should be.

Cesaro would go on to form a tag team with Tyson Kidd. Together, Cesaro and Kidd form a unique duo, as both Superstars are immensely talented and improperly used by the company.

They quickly found success, defeating The Usos at WWE Fastlane to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

As the current champions, you would think they'd be headed for a big match at WrestleMania. As of this moment, they're not.

Andre The Giant was one of the most feared and successful competitors in WWE history. He was the very first person ever inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

If you're going to create a match in his honor, it needs to be much more important. It needs to carry much more prestige.

Remember when the King of the Ring tournament became an instant launching pad for the man who won it? This Battle Royal needs to be looked at the same way.

Rather than being a filler match featuring a slew of superstars WWE has no idea what to do with, slots in the Battle Royal should be harder to obtain. There should be qualifying matches just to get in.

Credit: WWE.com

Andre The Giant was an unstoppable force in a Battle Royal. He proved that when he went through several other WWE Superstars and NFL players at WrestleMania 2.

The man who wins the Battle Royal in his honor should have to earn it and then be rewarded handsomely because he did earn it.

Cesaro should be in a major match at WrestleMania 31. Instead, he'll be lucky to be in a match on the pre-show.

As for the Battle Royal, it doesn't seem as though WWE will place any more importance on it or the man who wins it this year. The most interesting news concerning the match is the announcement on WWE.com that an NXT Superstar will get the chance to enter and compete in the event.

As a result, most fans probably won't care about it either, and that's a shame.