5 potential finishes for the 2018 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

With WWE WrestleMania 34 almost upon us, we are taking a look at five potential finishes that could take place in some of the biggest matches at this year’s event.

In this article, we focus on the fifth-annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which will be one of three matches to feature on the kickoff show.

Only 14 people, including former winners Baron Corbin and Mojo Rawley, have been confirmed for the Battle Royal so far (30+ usually take part), so there will be plenty of surprise entrants in Sunday’s match.

Talk earlier in the year of Goldberg winning the match has quietened recently, so we decided to leave the 2018 Hall of Famer off the list.

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#5 Samoa Joe wins on his return

Samoa Joe headlined three PPVs in a row in 2017

Samoa Joe has had three major setbacks since joining WWE’s main roster in January 2017 and the timing couldn’t have been worse on every occasion.

His first setback came at WrestleMania 33 when, despite being healthy, he missed the show due to storyline reasons, and then he had two feuds with John Cena cancelled due to injuries (August 2017 and January 2018).

The good news, however, is that Joe is being advertised for shows after WrestleMania, which means there’s a possibility of him returning in time to appear in New Orleans.

While it would be great to see the former NXT champion partner Braun Strowman against The Bar, don’t put it past WWE to bring him back in the Battle Royal, which he would almost certainly win if he were to take part.

#4 Big Cass wins on his return

Big Cass is set to return from injury soon

Like Samoa Joe, Big Cass suffered an injury at the worst possible time when, just as he was beginning to cement his status as one of the most-hated heels on Raw, he tore his ACL during a match against Enzo Amore in August 2017.

Enzo’s former tag partner has been training at the Performance Centre in recent months and it was reported by PW Insider in February that he is in great shape and moving around without any assistance.

There’s been no word this week if Cass is even cleared for WrestleMania. However, if he is, there’s every chance that he enters the Battle Royal and begins another heel run by picking up his first major honour in WWE.

#3 The Revival win the Battle Royal together

Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson are former NXT Tag Team champions

The rules of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal state that the match is “every man for himself” – but the rules obviously didn’t take The Revival into account when they were created.

Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson are bound to work together throughout the match, gaining a few eliminations along the way, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the “Top Guys” are among the final few men involved.

With no standout candidates to win this year’s Battle Royal, it would be a refreshing change to see WWE go down a different route and have the former NXT Tag Team champions become the first joint-winners of the match.

#2 Woken Wyatt debuts, eliminating Matt Hardy to win

Bray Wyatt is likely to return with a revamped character

Bray Wyatt has been a regular presence at WrestleMania since making his main-roster return in 2013, facing John Cena, The Undertaker and Randy Orton in featured matches at the event in three of the last four years.

This year, however, “The Eater of Worlds” hasn’t been seen on WWE television since he was “deleted” by Matt Hardy in the Ultimate Deletion match that main-evented Raw a fortnight ago.

There have been suggestions that Bray could return with a fresh character (hence being thrown into the Lake of Reincarnation), and there would be no better stage for a new-and-improved “Woken Wyatt” to debut than at WrestleMania.

Unless he is the surprise choice as Braun Strowman’s tag partner, the only way Bray could realistically appear at ‘Mania is in the Battle Royal, possibly as the winner.

#1 Dolph Ziggler gets his WrestleMania moment

Dolph Ziggler forfeited the US title after Clash of Champions 2017

Ever since Dolph Ziggler signed a new contract with WWE in early 2018, there were suggestions that he was in line to receive a big storyline in the build-up to WrestleMania – an event where he has never been involved in a one-on-one match.

As it’s turned out, rumours that he would face (or team with) Shane McMahon in New Orleans were wide of the mark and we haven’t seen much of “The Showoff” since he featured in the six-pack challenge WWE title match at Fastlane.

The expectation remains that Ziggler will receive increased television time in the not-too-distant future (why else would he sign a new deal when he seemed to be out the door?!), so perhaps that will begin with a victory in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

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