Post Andre the Giant battle royal success

The trophy
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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WWE introduced fans to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX and I was in the crowd watching live. I figured The Big Show or Sheamus would be the winner. I was pleasantly surprised when Cesaro tossed Show over the top rope to win the event and the enormous trophy with Andre the Giant perched on top.

Cesaro and the big trophy
Courtesy: WWE

In the weeks and months that followed the victory I expected big things for Cesaro. Sure he had already held the U.S. Championship, but I thought the win would line him up for a run with the Intercontinental Championship or in my fantasy land of booking, a series of matches against the newly crowned WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan. Instead it seemed winning the battle royal was a curse as Cesaro went on a pretty big losing streak, missing opportunities against the secondary champions and other Superstars on the card.

Finally in early 2015 Cesaro and Tyson Kidd formed a pretty awesome tag team and won the championships. They held the belts twice before Kidd ended up getting injured. Cesaro toiled on the mid-card with little success before getting hurt himself and spending some time of television. I popped like everyone else in the crowd at the Raw after WrestleMania 32 when The Swiss Superman returned. 

He had a promising run coming back, but was still unable to capture singles gold. Then Raw General Manger put he and rival Sheamus together and the duo pulled off a big win, ending the New Day's record breaking tag team title run. Their title reign was short lived though, but they remain in the hunt and go for the gold (or copper) this Sunday at WrestleMania 33. 

Baron Corbin in 2016
Courtesy: WWE

Another Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, Baron Corbin gets a shot at gold in what will be his second WrestleMania match. Winning the trophy at 32 was a huge accomplishment for his debut. The followup hasn't been shabby for the former NXT star. He's getting a crack at Dean Ambrose's Intercontinental Championship. I'm still not sold on Corbin, but I do believe he will unseat Ambrose Sunday. It gives me anxiety to think he'll be 2 and 0 at WrestleMania and could be building a streak before you know it...

Big Show celebrating at Raw
Courtesy: WWE

The Big Show is the other Superstar to win the battle royal. He's actually competed in all three and is set to appear again in this year's. That's probably a big indication that WWE Creative has nothing much for Big Show who has become more of an attraction in the last few years anyway.

Braun will win this year
Courtesy: WWE

I never expected Show to go on to win gold again, but I figured since he won the Battle Royal in 2015 they'd at least do something to showcase him. WrestleMania 33 was supposed to feature the (not so) much anticipated battle with Shaq. Now it appears they're grooming him to pass the torch to Braun Strowman who I have no doubt will win Sunday's battle royal. With that win I predict an even bigger push than he's seen, simply because he's a "big bastard" and we know how Vince McMahon feels about those kinds of Superstars.

So while two past winners are going for championship gold at WrestleMania and one is looking to pass the torch, I still find the battle royal interesting. Yeah it's filler to get everyone on the show or at least almost everyone, but I don't really have a problem with that. It is the biggest night of the year and Superstars all deserve a moment to shine.

Battling for Respect

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Listen to the My 1-2-3 Cents Podcast here

WWE announced that it's moving the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to the kickoff position for Wrestlemania 31.  Before the creation of the Network, I would have been more bothered by this decision.  But now since so many people will be watching Wrestlemania on Channel 999, I'm not as irked.

I am curious, because WWE makes the distinction, does it affect the entrants' payday?  I know that's an issue that CM Punk had brought up after the Network was first announced.  I also can't help but to wonder does that move affect the "streaks" of those within the company.  WWE mentioned the other day that Kane, Randy Orton and John Cena are all in second place for the most consecutive appearances on Wrestlemania.  Kane should have more, but he worked a pre-show (or kick off) on Sunday Night Heat before Wrestlemania 19.

Cesaro last year
Photo courtesy: WWE

I'm not trying to be nit picky either, but I still feel like the battle royal is still an afterthought.  I like that they're honoring Andre the Giant, but I think for me to truly embrace this event it needs to have a more meaningful purpose.  Besides a larger than life trophy, what is the winner going to gain from winning this battle royal?  A title shot seems too passe between the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank.  Plus, as  I mentioned before I think it's fair to say the majority of the participants have been MIA on Raw and SmackDown for the most part.  Until his recent success with the tag team championships, last year's winner Cesaro floundered throughout 2014. (He's also a part of the kick off show this year)

Hideo wins!
Courtesy: WWE

Since I don't have any better solutions at this point, I will not further criticize the battle royal.  I am glad that one NXT star is getting a shot at the event.  Congratulations to Hideo Itami.  I am truly curious to see who will win and what the victor's reward will be over the next 12 months.  

The Winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Is...

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

On the soon-to-be-released Episode 17 of the My 1-2-3 Cents Podcast, Chad and I speculate who will win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  My first instinct was Sheamus, even though he hasn't been announced yet, I could see him being a "surprise" return for Mania and fitting nicely into the battle royal.  But then thinking about the NXT tournament and how one star from that brand will get a shot at the event, I changed my mind.  

While there are plenty of talented men (and women) on the NXT roster, my favorite remains Adrian Neville.  Right now he's the most logical choice to move up to the main roster and winning the tournament and battle royal would certainly give him some momentum moving forward.  I do caution against this move though if the WWE doesn't have a solid (long term) plan for the artist formerly known as PAC.  I think some of the recent moves to the main roster have fallen flat, and I think too highly of Neville for that to happen.

Just hangin' out with some friends.

Warning, name dropping alert to follow...  Regular readers of this blog know that I met Neville in 2012 when he wrestled El Generico at an AAPW show in southern Illinois.  I was doing commentary and had a match that night.  You can watch both those matches if you're interested.

Anyway, I've been a big fan of Neville's since then.  He's not only an excellent performer in the ring, but he's a good human being.  We've talked a few times since then and I have no idea if he remembers me, but he's always made me feel like he does.  Generico was great that night too, as were Matt Cross and Colt Cabana.  I wish nothing but success for all of them, but Neville is my guy and I hope he's finally on course to make it to the main stage and show the world his talents.  

I think by him (or whichever NXT star makes it into the battle royal) winning the match and being called up to the main roster, it gives some value to the battle royal.  This match is gaining a reputation of being the event for anyone who doesn't have something better to do on the card.  I want the legacy of Andre the Giant to mean more than that.