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WrestleMania 35 is underway. It's such an honor to analyze the matches as they happen and share my thoughts with all you guys. Firstly, I thank you for reading. This is a special event and I know we're all equally excited to watch WrestleMania 35.
Let's begin with the Kickoff Show which has just concluded. We saw Carmella win the Women's battle royal in a victory that nobody saw coming. We even saw Dash and Dawson lose the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships in a massive upset.
But then, why did the obvious thing happen and why was Braun Strowman awarded the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy? Let me try and make sense of the whole situation in this very article.
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Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
#5 The only real storyline in the whole match
The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal consisted of many top tier WWE superstars and some from the mid card too, but none of them really had a story going in. Like it or not, the only real story going into the match was the one between Strowman and the two guys from Saturday Night Live. And this is why this was the central focus of the entire match.
While it may not be fair to the other competitors in the match, it was only ever about these three men. The others were a supporting cast who were in this match just to make Strowman look good, and appear absolutely unstoppable indeed. Which is also why these three men were the last three men in the match.
Maybe the next year's edition of Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will be more competitive. But this year had just one real story.
#4 A passing of the torch
Braun Strowman was, by far, the favorite when he came into the match. If you look at him, you can see the physical similarities between him and Andre the Giant. In an era where so many WWE Superstars are smaller and more agile, Strowman stands out as a 'monster among men'.
Andre The Giant isn't around to pass on the torch to a man who could logically be his successor in WWE. And therefore, in a lot of ways, this is a way for WWE to establish the heir apparent with this win. Braun Strowman will be the big man in the WWE roster for the foreseeable future in coming years.
The Big Show would have been the logical successor to Andre The Giant but he's taken on more of a part-time role in WWE, in his advanced years. It was a passing of the torch but in a very different way.
#3 Rewarding Strowman for being a sport
We all know that participating in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was a major step down for Braun Strowman. I mean this is a man who should have been Universal Champion a very long time ago, but he has constantly be thrust into very unfortunate spots.
I mean this was a match which featured a therapist interrupting the proceedings, indicating that it was little more than a joke for WWE. It was a means for the company to earn brownie points with the mainstream world and little more, truth be told.
Last year, he had to team up with a 10-year-old boy and bury one of the best teams in the business consisting of Cesaro and Sheamus, something he did without complaint. And we know that Vince McMahon rewards superstars who are sports.
This was probably Vince McMahon's way of saying thank you to Strowman.
#2 Nobody really benefits from winning the match
Some could make the argument that someone like Andrade could have won the match and launched his career to the next level. Others could say something like Luke Harper could have won the match and established himself as a legitimate top star. Ultimately, someone like Jeff Hardy could have created a really great feel-good moment.
Look at someone like Mojo Rawley. Even if he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, it did nothing to further his career and he can't even get TV time anymore. And therefore, your argument is invalid.
And this is why Braun Strowman winning the match is not a death knell for someone else, in my personal opinion. If anything, it's someone deserving of a win getting pushed and getting his due. Maybe the rest of the night will be full of surprises for the WWE Universe.
#1 No way would they allow a mainstream star to win the match
The WWE Universe did not take too kindly to two members of the mainstream world being included in the match. As Booker T said in the Kickoff Panel, these two guys took two spots that could have gone to two very deserving sports entertainers.
WWE heard what their audience had to say and while there was a heat spot to make the audience think that the two guys from Saturday Night Live would win the match, they wouldn't let two non-wrestlers upstage one of their stars. And this is why Braun Strowman picked up the win in the manner that he did at WrestleMania.
Well, Braun Strowman is the winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and his name is in the history books. Whether or not something comes out of it, is incidental.
Congrats to the Monster Among Men.
Catch all the live action from WrestleMania here.
Meet Randy Orton's lovely wife HERE
