The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal may be a throwaway match, but it’s always fun

Tomorrow night (Apr. 8) at WrestleMania 34, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is back for it’s fifth year.

It serves mainly as a match to get everyone on the card who didn’t find themselves in a bigger match. It is made up of guys without a clear creative direction currently (such as Dolph Ziggler), guys whose stories just don’t have a spot on the card (Matt Hardy), and undercard guys.

Despite being a “Creative has nothing for you” battle royal, it really can be quite fun.

The first year, Cesaro eliminated Big Show in a great finish. The next year, Damien Sandow finally turned on the Miz to the crowd’s delight. The following year had a Shaq/Big Show face to face. Last year had a Rob Gronkoswki spot, which wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’m sure people in the northeast loved it.

What kind of moments could we be looking at this year and who’s the favorite to win? Let’s take a look at some contenders.

- Woken Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy’s probably the biggest name in the match and has the most going on. He recently tossed Bray Wyatt in the Lake of Reincarnation after he defeated the Eater of Worlds in the Ultimate Deletion with a little help from his trusty gardener Señor Benjamin. Yes, that’s a real sentence.

Could Bray return to help Matt claim victory? Or maybe the fact that Matt is getting advice from Andre the Giant himself will be the difference maker.

- Dolph Ziggler

This isn’t the most exciting finish but Dolph gave up the United States title, walked out, and came back just to be in this match again? Could a win propel him back up the card?

Given how the winners fare, probably not. Speaking of...

- Mojo Rawley or Baron Corbin

Two of the four prior winners are in the match again this year. Perhaps one of them becomes the first ever two-time winner.

Mojo Rawley has turned heel since last year. Maybe his new attitude propels him to another victory. Or maybe he has other football friends to help him out.

Baron Corbin had an up and down year so you never know when things are going to look up for the Lone Wolf. Then again, losing when it counts is kind of his thing.

- Samoa Joe

They don’t have a lot of men advertised for this match. That means there are spots for surprise returns. The biggest would be Samoa Joe.

Joe has been out injured and it’s possible he’s not ready to come back. The time table was close. But if he is, it wouldn’t be a bad spot to return. Imagine he comes in, wrecks house, and wins it. That’d be enjoyable.

- Mark Henry

The Worlds Strongest Man was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last night. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be part of this match at WrestleMania.

With the field being rather weak, this would be a perfect moment for Mark Henry to channel his inner Hall of Pain and win this on his way out. It’d be a fitting goodbye for Henry.

This match is wide open. It’s on the Kickoff and will be on the USA portion of it. Because of that, there will be something exciting like the last four years.

Let us know who you’ve got in the poll and comments below.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will be on the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff show, which starts at 5 PM EST on the WWE Network and the 6 pm hour will be on USA network. And keep it here at CagesideSeats.com for all of your WrestleMania coverage.