5 things to binge on the WWE Network this week - part one: Battle Royals

The COVID-19 pandemic has, literally, affected the entire world. Because of this, a huge majority of all of us are confined to our homes, hoping to "lower the curve" of new cases and get some semblance of control over this disease. In the meantime, however, we need something to do. So, we're going to try something that we hope helps.

Until the world has a handle on this situation, I will be providing a weekly WWE Network "binge-watch" list, offering 5 events/matches/shows/etc. that I (along with input from my fellow Sportskeeda colleagues) think will be interesting, entertaining, or both, to our fellow wrestling fans. Thankfully, WWE has made most of the Network content free as of now, and props to them for doing that in these trying times.

As we're just getting started, I'm actually going to begin by presenting two different lists. What follows below are 5 Royal Rumble/Battle Royal matches that I think are must-watches.

Stay healthy and stay safe, my friends.

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#5 WWF/NFL Battle Royal - WrestleMania 2

Both WWF and NFL stars went at it in this WrestleMania 2 match

While the second ever WrestleMania is often derided for being of... not the greatest quality, you do have the admire the ambition that Vince and Co. went for at the event. Three hours, three different cities - New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Even today, trying to pull off a live event in three different locations like that sounds like a nightmare. And, while the event itself may not have been the greatest, they still managed to pull it off on a technical level.

Years before NFL legend Lawrence Taylor would compete against Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania XI, the stars of the National Football League jumped into a WWF ring in a twenty-man battle royal against some of the biggest names the company had to offer at the time.

Other NFL legends, such as Bill Fralic (Detroit Lions), Ernie Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), and future WWE Hall of Famer William "The Refrigerator" Perry (the hometown Chicago Bears) jumped into the ring with the likes of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Big John Studd, Bruno Sammartino, and the eventual winner, Andre the Giant.

The most fascinating part of this entire Battle Royal is just how competently the NFL stars handled themselves during it. Especially Perry, who's performance not only arguably stole the match, but even eliminated Studd after being thrown out himself with the whole "good match let's shake hands ha ha I pulled you out" trick.

All in all, it's a fun match to watch and, if you're from Chicago, there's the extra added treat of Chicago sports broadcasting legend Chet Coppock handling ring announce duties.

#4 Gimmick Battle Royal - WrestleMania X-7

No you're not hallucinating. That's the Gobbledy Gooker in a WrestleMania match.

The first WrestleMania following the sale of World Championship Wrestling to Vince McMahon was shockingly absent of much WCW content. Which would make sense if the fact that Shane McMahon had "bought" the promotion out from under his father wasn't such a major angle at the time. However, there were two former big-name WCW stars who made their triumphant return to the WWE that very night.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

Both of these late, great broadcasting legends, who had been working in WCW for years prior, were picked to provide commentary for this Battle Royal. Kind of fitting, considering it was a match that celebrated all that was kind of ridiculous about pro wrestling over the years.

Participating in the match were legitimate legends such as The Iron Shiek, Sgt. Slaughter, Michael "P.S." Hayes, and Nikolai Volkoff. Also involved were some of the silliest gimmicks ever seen in the World Wrestling Federation - including three participants who weren't even wrestlers. Jim Cornette, Kim Chee (former "handler" of Kamala, who was also in the match), and Brother Love (Bruce Prichard) all appeared.

#3 2020 Men's Royal Rumble match - 2020 Royal Rumble

Oh, Edge came back. Did you hear about that?

Over the past ten years, there's been one event WWE has put on that has consistently delivered. The Royal Rumble. Even if the rest of the card is garbage - which happens sometimes - the Rumble match itself is always an intriguing mix of storytelling, surprises, and just plain great entertainment.

Chances are, you've probably seen this match already, since Raw aired it in its entirety during their first "empty arena" episode in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, if you haven't, it's a real treat to watch. It's not particularly long, either - just a touch over an hour - and WWE packs that hour with a lot of fun stuff.

The beginning of the match - in fact, the whole first third of it - is essentially The Brock Lesnar Show. Lesnar had announced weeks earlier that he was entering the Rumble, and entering it at number 1. Which, I guess you're allowed to do? If that's the case, I want someone to announce they're entering at a totally arbitrary number one year.

"That's right! Heath Slater is entering the Rumble, and he's gonna enter at number 14, bay-BAY! ONE MAN BAND!"

During this portion of the match, you sort of get a microcosm of Brock as a performer. He's the dominant Beast we all associate with him being. But, he's also Sneaky Brock, tossing out someone who is supposed to be his friend when said friend's back was turned. You get Goofy Brock, as he dances to another entrant's theme music (needless to say, Brock spends quite a bit of time alone in the ring). Then, there's the Brock who is The Best At Selling, as he suffers a beatdown from a trio of Superstars, and fights his way back to eliminate them.

All of this leads up to his elimination at the hands of the eventual winner Drew McIntyre - with an assist from Ricochet - and that's when things really start to pick up. Obviously, you have the triumphant return of Edge, and that's a moment where, if you were to rewind it and watch it again fifty times in a row, nobody would think less of you.

While you have the PPV up, be sure to catch the Women's Rumble match, too. The ending isn't as satisfying as the men's match (and not even as remotely satisfying as the women's match the previous year), but it has plenty of surprises of its own, including a star-making performance from Bianca Belair.

#2 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - WrestleMania 34

This battle royal was actually WONDERFUL!! YESSSS HAHAHAHAHA

Battle Royals have been an easy way to get as many members of the WWE roster onto the WrestleMania card for decades now. It wasn't until WrestleMania XXX that it became a regular thing with its own name. That was the year that Hulk Hogan introduced the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a match that was sure to become an annual classic and in no way kick-off show filler.

My favorite aspect of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is when the winners, like six months later, all inevitably cut a promo saying "I won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal! Why does my career suck?!"

At WrestleMania 34, however, the match was won by Matt Hardy. Now, if you only watched WWE during the Attitude or Ruthless Aggression Eras, you might think "Matt Hardy? Jeff's brother? He's still around?" to which I would reply "yes" and "oh, hell yes" and "you haven't watched WWE is 15 years and you're reading this? This lockdown must have you really bored." However, if you're that guy, this isn't the Matt Hardy you remember.

It's really hard to describe Broken/Woken Matt Hardy in the space I have that will appropriately convey just how creative and fun the character is. So, let me turn things over temporarily to my buddy Tim of Pro Wrestling Unlimited:

Hardy had just defeated Bray Wyatt in the Ultimate Deletion match, which was WWE's version of the Final Deletion in Impact a few years earlier. Because Bray ended up in the Lake of Reincarnation at the end of that match (I know, just... just go with it), he went from being Hardy's enemy to his ally, helping him win the match and forming a team that would go on to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.

Since it's on the pre-show, you might as well catch the rest of the PPV, as well. WrestleMania 34 featured not only Ronda Rousey's debut WWE match, but also a WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura (in a match not as great as their Wrestle Kingdom bout, but still a solid match) and also Daniel Bryan's return match after his short retirement.

Just, I dunno, maybe turn it off before the last match. Just sayin'.

#1 The 1992 Royal Rumble Match - 1992 Royal Rumble

With a tear... in his eye...

Every year, the Royal Rumble match (or matches nowadays) has been nothing if not entertaining. Even the "worst" iterations of the match at least have some memorable moments, exciting returns, and interesting surprises.

The 1992 Royal Rumble is something else altogether. It's friggin' amazing.

This version of the Rumble match was the first one to have any real tangible stakes attached to it. The WWF Championship had been rendered vacant due to some tomfoolery between Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and The Undertaker, and would be awarded to the winner of said Rumble match. Keep in mind, the WWF was still The Hulk Hogan Show at that point, with the brief sojourn into Ultimate Warrior territory squarely in the company's rearview mirror. Even after the unthinkable - Ric Flair in the WWF? WhawhaWHAT?! - it seemed pretty set in stone that the Hulkster was going to regain his championship once again.

Especially once it was revealed that Flair was entering the match at number 3. Clearly, the Nature Boy had no chance, right?

Instead, Flair put on a clinic, not only lasting until the very end but winning it altogether. Flair would eliminate his former Four Horsemen teammate Sid (then going by the surname Justice) - with a surprising assist from Hulk Hogan.

The cherry on the top of the sundae, however, is Bobby "The Brain" Heenan's commentary. Heenan, who had been serving as Flair's "financial consultant" and was the one who introduced the former NWA World Champion on WWF television, was absolutely losing his mind from the moment Flair entered the match until the very end. It's some of the greatest broadcast work "The Weasel" ever did behind the microphone.

What other battle royal matches are some of your favorites? Share them down in the comments below. In the meantime, I'll have my next list - and this one will be WrestleMania themed, too - ready to go shortly. Thanks for reading!