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

#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'.