Analysing 6 potential Andre the Giant memorial battle royal winners

Wrestlemania 31 is now only days away and anticipations are high. Unfortunately for the participants of the 2nd ever Andre the Giant memorial battle royal, it has now just recently been relegated to the pre-show. Regardless the bout is still sure to be fun and exciting and could actually result in a bout being added to the main card.Weve got big men, cruiserweights, high-flyers, stunt doubles, NXT sensations, delusional stars, jobbers, monsters and everything in between all vying for a victory in the battle royal at Wrestlemania 31.Lets take a look now at the 6 most likely potential winners of the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.

#6 Mark Henry

The world’s strongest man Mark Henry has been built up as one of the biggest threats in this bout so it makes since to include him in likely candidates even though his actual chances of winning are probably fairly slim.

Henry, being a big man, has been built as an unstoppable force as many big men generally are for battle royals. It’s likely that Henry will play a similar role to what Big Show did last year in the first ever Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.

In reality, Henry will probably have a strong showing and eliminate a few credible superstars before being eliminated himself near the end by a true potential winner.

#5 Ryback

Another big man who actually has a much better chance of winning than Henry. Ryback has also been built as legitimate threat but also possesses a fair chance of emerging victorious.

Ryback isn’t an extremely talented wrestler but has recently showing off an incredible amount of heart in emotional interviews and also a considerable amount of fan support thanks to his ‘Feed me more’ chants.

However there are possibly a number of other stars who probably deserve a major win ahead of Ryback.

#4 Curtis Axel

#Axelmania is running wild as Curtis Axel has successfully managed to recreate his career on his own gaining a lot of momentum and character development as well as a fair amount of crowd support from what would have initially been considered a throw away moment in the Royal Rumble.

Axel has found himself getting a lot more TV time which is great but he still hasn’t been treated as a top tier competitor instead is being made to look like a joke but yet he is still gaining more momentum and has a very good chance of winning the battle royal.

Although he has a good chance to win, it’s more likely he will have a few big moments before possibly being eliminated controversially so the #Axelmania movement can continue past Wrestlemania.

#3 Sheamus

Sheamus hasn’t even been officially announced for this match yet but he’s still considered by many to be a favourite to win the whole thing. WWE has been hyping a Sheamus return for weeks, many have speculated that return will happen at Wrestlemania 31.

He could be added to the IC ladder match but that bout really doesn’t need another man. The battle royal thus far is being advertised as only containing 20 men and all 20 spots have actually been filled up. However last year it was advertised as 30 men and actually contained 31 people for some unknown reason.

If Sheamus is in the match, he will likely have a huge impact and be a good choice to win. However the win probably deserves to go to someone more deserving and needs the victory more. Sheamus might not even return to post-mania anyways.

#2 Hideo Itami

At the Wrestlemania AXXESS events an NXT tournament was held to determine who would get a spot in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal. Finn Balor defeated Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami defeated Adrian Neville to advance to the finals where Itami emerged victorious.

It goes without saying that Itami will have an outstanding performance and is a huge chance at winning the whole thing. Itami hasn’t spent that much time in the developmental system so it’s questionable whether this could serve as his official call up to the main roster.

Itami has a very good chance of winning so look for him to have an amazing performance and possibly set up his first feud for the main roster.

#1 Damien Sandow

The ever so popular Damien Mizdow is coming to an end as his alliance with Miz is doomed for a colossal implosion and the return of Damien Sandow is one to look forward to. The absolute best way to capitalize on his momentum/popularity and propel is career forwards would be to have him win the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.

A nice scenario would be to have him eliminate Miz in a big moment towards the end before eventually going on to eliminate someone like Mark Henry to capture the overall victory.

There has been some speculation (since the battle royal was moved to the pre-show) that a feud from the battle royal will culminate in a (probably short) match on the main card of mania. The most obvious feud that deserves a main card payoff would be Miz vs Sandow.

Sandow could win the battle royal thus infuriating Miz who fires him as assistant before demanding a match. The bout could be kept short (roughly 7 minutes) with Sandow most certainly coming out victorious. A rematch at Extreme Rules with an added stipulation (eg. I Quit match) could end the feud with Sandow once again winning before moving onto bigger & better things.

Please feel free to comment below who you believe will win the 2nd Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.