Best Picks to Win Andre the Giant Battle Royal on WWE WrestleMania SmackDown
For the second year in a row, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has been demoted to just a match on television, rather than taking place on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Instead of WrestleMania 38, where Superstars can have a legitimate WrestleMania moment at AT&T Stadium, they'll have to settle for the glorified "WrestleMania SmackDown" match complete with commercial breaks at American Airlines Center.
It's better than nothing, but it shows a steady decline in value for this match. In the past, even the winners have been treated like an afterthought and their push has fizzled out soon after, if not immediately.
But let's take a look at how WWE could make the best of this and actually utilize what should be an important match by picking the right Superstars to win who won't let this go to waste.
Damian Priest
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Going by the official graphic WWE put out, the 17 men above are the only ones announced for the match. The card is always subject to change as is, and with a match like this, WWE frequently adds or takes people away depending on the circumstances.
Much of this list will be built around surprises who could be added in, but if WWE is truly limiting it to this group, Damian Priest is easily the standout.
It's baffling he isn't scheduled for a United States Championship match against Finn Balor. Not only are both midcard titles not being defended at WrestleMania, but those two are big enough names that they shouldn't be left off the card.
Balor is already champion, meaning winning this would be a superfluous extra bonus to his credibility that wouldn't be focused on, as the title means more—or, at least, should.
Everyone else in the match would likely do nothing with it. As great as Drew Gulak or Apollo Crews is, WWE wouldn't likely do anything with their win.
But with Priest, it would offset some of the momentum lost when he dropped the title. He could then spin that into a justification for getting a rematch for the championship, ideally either challenging Balor for WrestleMania on the spot or at least taking place on the Monday Night Raw on April 4.
As far as actual predictions go, he's the one and only person who makes sense. But there are still some more interesting twists WWE could do.
Omos
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As stated, nothing is holding WWE back from adding someone to the match. The most obvious person to fit that bill would be Omos.
For the past year, he's been dominant. Lately, he's been looking for someone to give him a proper challenge, even toppling fellow giant Commander Azeez.
It all seems to be pointing toward someone like Bobby Lashley returning to step up to the plate, but if The All Mighty isn't cleared to compete in time, there isn't anyone left on the roster who can stand toe-to-toe with Omos and not make it feel like an impending squash match.
The backup plan would have to be putting him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and allowing him to destroy the competition. The only ones who should theoretically put up a fight would be Balor and Priest, who could easily be taken out while distracted feuding with each other.
All the rest, such as Reggie, Jinder Mahal, Akira Tozawa and the like, would just be fodder for Omos to toss out while he firmly establishes himself the resident "big man" of this roster akin to Andre himself.
Veer Mahaan
3 of 6If WWE wants to get the crowd to pop, send Veer!
Despite being in the NXT system for a while and wrestling on Raw for a few months, WWE decided last year to pretend that never happened and start airing vignettes that said Veer Mahaan was "coming to Raw" with no date announced.
For months, Mahaan has been advertised as being on his way, but he has only appeared on Main Event—the show so low on the totem pole WWE refuses to acknowledge its existence, even on their own website.
This eventually reached meme status. The wrestling community laughs every week at how ridiculous this has become and is more eagerly anticipating his arrival out of pure curiosity and the end of the vignettes more than any interest in the wrestler himself.
This past week, WWE finally attached a date to Mahaan's arrival: April 4, The Raw after WrestleMania.
But how shocking would it be for the crowd in attendance at WrestleMania SmackDown to suddenly hear some new music and see Mahaan make his surprise appearance there, run through the competition and win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal?
Technically, it wouldn't be a false advertisement. Mahaan would still be making his first Raw appearance since September 13, 2021, when he teamed with Jinder Mahal and Shanky to lose to Drew McIntyre and The Viking Raiders. But now, he would be showing up with extra momentum as the winner of this big Battle Royal, and not just "the guy who didn't pop up each week since October."
Gable Steveson
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Now that Gable Steveson has finished his amateur wrestling career, he should be making his way to WWE as soon as possible. The company is clearly heavily invested in him being a major star in the future, drafting him to Monday Night Raw rather than having him go through the NXT system.
In all likelihood, there is something planned for him to do at WrestleMania. He'll probably be ringside, someone will get in his face, he'll get physical and the commentary team will tout that they can't wait to see what he does in the ring each week now that he's a Raw Superstar.
But winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal would be a massive way to kick off his career.
His credibility would be immediately established, winning an accolade over nearly 20 other men (including two former world champions) on his first night.
Since he's not a seasoned sports entertainer, this match would help hide any flaws in his game. There are tons of other Superstars to share the spotlight, and most of it is just punching and kicking until the final moments.
Planning out a few maneuvers and spots for him to do at the end of the match is much easier than hoping he does a full match with the focus entirely on him from start to finish.
Since Fox won't get Steveson on the roster going forward, having him at least debut on the blue brand should help mediate any executives who are upset at favoritism toward USA, too.
He can even still do something at WrestleMania and have it tie into this. WWE can dedicate a moment toward showing off that he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as part of "WrestleMania SmackDown" and have someone pick a fight, saying that if they were in the match, they would have won—or, if it's someone who did compete, they can complain that he didn't deserve it—only for Steveson to prove again that he's here to play and it wasn't a fluke.
Elias
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Elias hasn't wrestled since losing the Symphony of Destruction match against Jaxson Ryker last July. Following that, he had a few vignettes about the death of his character and moving on to something else.
Over eight months later, not even a peep has been mentioned about him, which is strange. If WWE had no plans for him, why wasn't he released in one of the many rounds of mass budget cuts? If WWE does have plans for him, what's up with the wait?
It's more likely Elias will return in some fashion on the Raw after WrestleMania, but putting him in this match as a surprise addition would be another great avenue.
The last thing anyone needs is to spend months on the shelf just to come back looking like a chump. They need to win something to look like a big deal going forward who has spent those months honing their craft to become a higher prospect.
If he beats some enhancement talent on Raw, nobody will care. But if he adds his name to the list of Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winners, he at least enters the record books and will have won something much more important.
Tommaso Ciampa
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Arguably the best winner of this match over the years was Baron Corbin. It was his call-up from NXT, and he started off with a bang.
WWE eventually botched his push, and he had to work his way back up from nothing several times over. But the philosophy of that initial win remains true, just like how a babyface winning the Royal Rumble to go on to beat a heel champion at WrestleMania never goes out of style.
There are several Superstars from NXT who could work as call-ups who win this match and go on to stay on the main roster. If Bron Breakker wasn't likely scheduled to win the NXT Championship back from Dolph Ziggler at Stand & Deliver, he'd be the best pick.
Tommaso Ciampa, though, seems to be leaving NXT. Assuming he's not just leaving WWE entirely and he's moving up to the main roster, SmackDown would be a better fit for him than Raw, as the blue brand needs more babyfaces at the moment.
In one fell swoop, Ciampa can win this match, establish himself as someone to watch out for to the audience that isn't as familiar with NXT, and he can even instigate a starter feud with someone he eliminates, such as Mahal.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
