Ranking the 5 Top WWE Stars Who Could Win Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The Wyatt Family promises to make the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal its playground of destruction. With the rest of the WWE WrestleMania 32 card filling up, Braun Strowman and the rest of the fearsome faction will have little choice but to wreak their havoc in that match.  

WWE announced that for a third straight year, WrestleMania will host the Battle Royal.

It's a surprising move considering all the injuries that have plagued the roster leading up to The Show of Shows. Going ahead with this bout anyway will allow a number of dark horses to have a shot at emerging as the victor. 

To predict the Battle Royal winner this year, one has to look at who doesn't have a WrestleMania match on the horizon but is still getting some of the spotlight. The impact of the potential win has to be examined, too. Is there a promising story to tell with that result, or could it be a means to elevate an emerging star?

With all that in mind, let's sift through the Superstars most likely to do what Cesaro and Big Show did in previous editions of the matchup.

Honorable Mention

• The Social Outcasts
• Samoa Joe/Finn Balor

Either Curtis Axel or Heath Slater winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal would be a shocker. The Social Outcasts are low-ranking combatants, to say the least. That makes them huge long shots, but it would also make for a memorable result.

In addition, The Social Outcasts have been ever-present of late. The fact that they are getting consistent airtime could mean WWE has something in mind for them moving forward.

Another surprising move would be to introduce the loser of the NXT title match at TakeOver: Dallas to the main roster by having him win the annual Battle Royal.

It would certainly give either Joe or Balor a powerful start to his run, but WWE doesn't make a habit of pulling off moves that bold. Plus, there is no guarantee that either one is main-roster-bound until later in the year with Sami Zayn already on board.

Neville would have been a strong candidate had he not hurt himself on Monday night.

He is a star with little on his plate, a guy who could certainly use the boost of winning the Battle Royal. His ankle, though, isn't likely to heal in time. Dr. Chris Amann told WWE.com, "Initial X-rays reveal a fracture of the ankle. He will undergo further imaging today to determine the extent of the fracture and to determine if surgery will be necessary."

5. Big Show

As many groans as this decision would generate among some fans, don't think WWE isn't considering it.

The company continues to treat Big Show like he is one step away from title contention. Whether he's fighting Brock Lesnar, Sting or Roman Reigns, the big man is constantly floating around the top tier.

More recently, he owns wins over The Wyatt Family and intercontinental champ Kevin Owens.

There's enough momentum there to think WWE could crown him again. Plus, as Fansided's Carl Gac wrote, there is "no other potential big match on the horizon for Big Show." That is especially true after WWE has seemingly dropped him from the IC title scene after his brief issues with Owens.

Having Big Show win twice would be an impressive notch on his belt and allow the company to move The World's Largest Athlete up to a marquee position again. Still, it's hard to imagine that WWE wouldn't look to spread the wealth around a bit.

4. Mark Henry

WWE has laid out no hints that it has Mark Henry in mind to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but the powerhouse could get the call if the company decides to use the match as a sort of lifetime achievement award.

Henry has no rival ahead of WrestleMania. He's not part of any storyline. That makes it easy to plop him into the Battle Royal.

The issue, though, is that he's been treated as less of a priority of late than The Social Outcasts. Henry isn't consistently on TV. That speaks to his being a part of the Battle Royal, but more as fodder than a formidable threat.

The reason to place one's money on Henry getting the nod is that winning this bout could act as a sendoff for a guy who has been with the company for so long. Much like WWE did last year with Big Show, the Battle Royal could be a way to pay tribute to a veteran, giving him a WrestleMania moment on his way out.

3. Dolph Ziggler

It's hard to gauge Dolph Ziggler's position right now.

After being the whipping boy for midcarders on the rise, The Showoff stepped into the spotlight in the middle of the build to WrestleMania. On Monday's Raw, he went up against the world champion in a high-profile bout. He lost against Triple H, but even having that opportunity points to him being more than just a forgotten member of the lower half of the roster.

Perhaps he'll build on all his recent talk of doing whatever it takes to gut out a win. Ziggler is exactly the type of star-in-need who could use a victory in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

It could be yet another uptick in what has been a stop-and-start ride for Ziggler.

That is, of course, assuming that he's not headed for an Intercontinental Championship match instead. Kevin Owens' issues with The Miz and Sami Zayn signal that all of them could collide for the belt. Will The Showoff, who has been hovering near IC title contention, be thrown into that mix, too?

If he doesn't, he is among the favorites to be the last man standing at WrestleMania's Battle Royal.

2. Braun Strowman

The Wyatt Family has no WrestleMania showdown in the works. The stable has no big-time rivalry ahead of the marquee event.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal looks to instead be where Braun Strowman and his brothers-in-arms will venture. 

A few months ago, one would have pegged Strowman as the clear favorite to win the whole thing. He was being portrayed as unstoppable. And rumors pointed to the WWE machine being firmly behind him.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), WWE planned to have Strowman win the Battle Royal as part of a big push.

But he hasn't been featured as prominently recently. It was Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper who took on Brock Lesnar at Roadblock. He was also on the losing side in six-man action at Fastlane. 

In both cases, WWE made sure to protect Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds watched from the sidelines both times. That is likely a sign that the company has cooled on Strowman or is at least being more patient with him. It's the patriarch of The Wyatt Family who has surpassed him as the safest bet in the Battle Royal at WrestleMania.

1. Bray Wyatt

Winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will serve as Bray Wyatt's consolation prize for not getting to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

Wyatt and Lesnar were on a collision course leading up to the Royal Rumble. Dean Ambrose's chemistry with The Beast Incarnate seemed to have made WWE shift course, though. Ambrose is now set to battle the powerhouse; Wyatt is left out in the cold.

So what's ahead for him at the biggest show of the year? Paul Fontaine of F4WOnline wrote, "Wyatt does not have a WrestleMania opponent as of yet, but it's expected that he and the rest of The Wyatt Family will compete in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal."

That's certainly the most logical choice with all the big names already booked for matches.

The Battle Royal would be a step down from facing Undertaker and John Cena at WrestleMania as he did over the last two years, but Wyatt's getting his first win at the event would make up for that. The push that always seems just a moment away for The Eater of Worlds could start in earnest with a victory in this annual match.

He'll have Braun Strowman, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan at his command to help him earn that win, too. With nowhere else to showcase one of its emerging talents, expect WWE to have him take over the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, much like he and his followers did at the Royal Rumble for a stretch.