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What’s the story?
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision for Mojo Rawley to win the fourth edition of Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was pencilled in a few hours before the show went live at Camping World Stadium.
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In case you didn’t know...
WrestleMania 33 was indeed the ultimate thrill ride, but one of the not-so-thrilling moments of the night came when Mojo Rawley took home the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy, albeit with a little help from New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
In case you missed it, here are the highlights from the match:
After his effort, Rawley became the fourth man ever to win the prestigious trophy after the Big Show, Cesaro and the Lone Wolf-Baron Corbin.
The heart of the matter
In his podcast, Meltzer reported that the decision to have Mojo Rawley win the match was not made until 3 PM on the day of the show. He further added that Sami Zayn was originally supposed to win the match, but the last minute alteration was made when Gronkowski was given a green light to do a run-in spot.
“For Mojo Rawley, it really came in from 3 p.m. Sunday until the start of the match. There had been big movement for Sami Zayn the day before. Obviously, Rawley’s win was more because of Rob Gronkowski being there and getting the okay to do the run-in spot.”
What’s next?
It will be interesting to see how the WrestleMania victory boosts Rawley’s career, considering that he is now being pushed as a singles competitor.
Author’s take
There is no denying that Sami Zayn would have benefitted a lot more from the victory, considering that he brings the underdog character to the mix. However, granting Rawley a victory at the grandest stage of them all might not necessarily be a bad thing, as Gronkowski doing the in-ring spot will go down as a Wrestlemania moment.
Furthermore, it shall also establish Rawley as a legitimate singles competitor.
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