Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Moved to Kickoff

WWE will hold WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015 in Santa Clara, California at Levi’s Stadium. The event will feature the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, whose first victor was Cesaro at WrestleMania XXX.

In preparation for WrestleMania, the WWE Network aired a live “WrestleMania Today” program on site on Thursday, March 26. Within the show, WWE made an announcement regarding the year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Contrary to what many fans expected, the battle royal will not take place during the pay-per-view portion of WrestleMania 31. Instead, it will air on WWE Network’s WrestleMania Kickoff, which begins at 5 p.m. EST. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal joins a Fatal 4 Way WWE Tag Team Championship match featuring The Usos, Los Matadores, The New Day, and titleholders Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, as the two matches that will be contested during the pre-show.

Currently, the presumed final lineup for the year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has 20 confirmed participants. WWE has been showcasing Ryback as the man to beat for the battle royal, and with Sheamus likely not in the picture, “The Big Guy” has become the favorite to take home the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy.

Editor’s Note

I understand that WWE needs a lot of time for its many marquee matches on the main WrestleMania 31 card, but I think this is a bad move. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal could easily be 10-15 minutes, and shouldn’t have been bumped.