WrestleMania 35 preview: The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The annual “Get Everyone on the Card” battle royal is back this year to... well... get everyone on the card.

Through the years, this match has felt less and less important. The first couple years, it seemed like a big deal. But then it continued to wane in importance. Now it’s settled into a Kickoff match and we know winning it doesn’t matter. Sure it may contain some fun spots, but that’s about it.

This year has mainly people who aren’t often on TV (you can find the full field here), along with more established guys like the Hardy Boyz and a couple up-and-comers in Ali and Andrade.

Story wise, there’s only one of note: Braun Strowman’s feud with Saturday Night Live cast members Colin Jost & Michael Che.

This may not be your cup of tea. But the teaming of SNL and WWE kind of makes perfect sense. Despite one being a comedy sketch comedy show and one being a wrestling sports entertainment show, they’re very alike at their core.

Both air their shows live in front of an audience. Both have been on for decades. They both have a rotating cast who are fighting for their spot on TV. Both even have a similar format. (Raw is most definitely a variety act at this point.) And most importantly, both are run by a singular madman.

Vince McMahon and Lorne Michaels have been at the helm of their shows since the inception and everything goes through them. It’s rare that any form of entertainment has a singular vision for so long. Vince and Lorne are both at legend status at this point when it comes to how people in their perspective business speak about them.

With SNL and WWE being kindred spirits, it should not be surprising that they are getting together here. And while it is understandable to roll your eyes at any celebrity involvement, this is pretty much the perfect way to do it.

The Andre the Giant battle royal has no stakes. It’s a random trophy that they roll out for a couple weeks, maybe it breaks, and that’s it. Can you name one person who was really elevated from winning this match? I didn’t think so. And that’s what makes this the spot to do a celebrity angle. It’s already rather unimportant. It’s not like Jost and Che are involved in a title match or any real story.

The SNL duo have played their role quite well. They are being framed as heels, which is always the way to go. Wrestling fans usually don’t want to see celebrities. It’s way more likely they’re going to boo celeb involvement. So it was wise to immediately cast them as heels. And they do it well! Hell, Michael Che is out here working folk!

It’s a dumb story, but that doesn’t make it bad. It started with Colin Jost talking a bit too much trash about the biz within ear shot of a directionless Braun Strowman.

To try to make amends, Jost sent Braun Strowman a car, which Braun immediately destroyed. Because that’s what he does with cars. I wouldn’t let that man near my driveway. Plus, it sold some toys!

Then when Alexa Bliss tried to intervene in a via satellite segment, Che and Jost were so douchey that she added them to the match. (Their heeling was particularly good here.)

And here we are.

Again, if you’re not into celebrity involvement, that’s understandable. But it’s a little cross promotion (maybe Braun will even show up on Weekend Update tonight) for WrestleMania 35. You can argue that Braun deserves better, but last year, he teamed with a child to win the tag team championships. So if it weren’t Che and Jost, it’d be something else ridiculous.

This will end up being dumb fun. The crowd will roar with delight when Strowman presses Jost or Che onto a a bunch of superstars outside waiting to catch him. And then, like with every other Andre Battle Royal, we’ll all forget it ever happen a month later.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal takes place on the WrestleMania Kickoff show, starting at 5 pm ET on the WWE Network. And keep it at CagesideSeats.com for all of your WrestleMania 35 coverage.