One year and a day after winning the AEW Trios titles, Royce Keys won his first-ever Andre the Giant memorial battle royal on Friday’s WWE SmackDown.
The last two men were Talla Tonga and Keys with Tonga trying to end it with a chokeslam. Keys countered with a spinebuster and then clotheslined Tonga over the top rope for the win. Keys then posed with the Andre trophy outside the ring.
Our Bryan Alvarez noted there are “big long-term plans” for Keys following the win.
The 41-year-old made his WWE debut at this past January’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia after five+ years in AEW. He wrestled nine dark matches after that, finally making his TV debut on last Friday’s SmackDown in a three minute win over Berto.
The battle royal to honor the WWE legend began in 2014 with Friday’s being the 14th edition. At one point held on the WrestleMania card itself, it transitioned to the SmackDown episode before it starting in 2021.
The annual Andre the Giant memorial battle royal will take place on the April 18 WWE SmackDown, the promotion has revealed.
Introduced in 2014 as an annual WrestleMania tradition, the Andre battle royal will be held on the SmackDown before Mania for the fifth consecutive year next Friday, April 18. The battle royal has been held annually since its inception with the exception of 2020 when the match was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A John Cena appearance, plus two more matches are also set for next Friday’s show, branded WrestleMania SmackDown.
Before he challenges Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship on night two of WrestleMania 41, Cena will appear on the April 18 SmackDown.
The WWE Tag Team Championship will also be on the line on WrestleMania SmackDown, with The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) defending against top contenders Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin).
A women’s division trios bout is also set for next week’s episode, with Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, and Alba Fyre facing Zelina Vega, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter.
Everything announced for next week’s SmackDown is listed below.
WWE WrestleMania SmackDown, Friday, April 18 —
Andre the Giant memorial battle royal
John Cena appears
WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) defend against Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, and Alba Fyre vs. Zelina Vega, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter
Bronson Reed is the winner of the 2024 Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
The 10th edition of the memorial battle royal took place on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. Rival big men Reed and Ivar were the final two wrestlers left at the end of the match. Ivar went for a moonsault, but Reed was able to move out of the way. Reed then hit a rolling senton and threw Ivar out of the ring.
The final six in the battle royal were Reed, Ivar, Akira Tozawa, Otis. JD McDonagh, and Ricochet.
Reed joins Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Braun Strowman, Jey Uso, Riddick Moss, and Bobby Lashley on the list of wrestlers who have won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal over the years.
Except for 2020, the battle royal has been held annually since 2014. It originally was a WrestleMania match, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. It’s been held on the pre-WrestleMania edition of SmackDown since 2021.
Leading into WrestleMania, Reed had been advocating on social media for a “Meaty Invitational” to be part of the WrestleMania card. That didn’t end up happening, but Reed and Ivar received “Meat” chants in Friday’s battle royal.
The annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is one of several matches and segments set for the WrestleMania 40 go-home edition of WWE SmackDown.
WWE revealed during Friday’s SmackDown that the 10th Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will be held on the Friday, April 5 SmackDown. No participants for the match have been announced to this point.
Beginning in 2014, the Andre has been held annually on WrestleMania weekend every year with the exception of 2020. The match took place at WrestleMania from 2014 to 2019, then has been held on the final SmackDown before Mania each year since 2021.
In addition to the Andre Battle Royal, Jey Uso will face brother Solo Sikoa on next week’s SmackDown. Sikoa is operating under orders from Roman Reigns to take Jey out prior to his scheduled WrestleMania contest against brother Jimmy Uso, according to a promo segment involving Solo, Jimmy, and Paul Heyman on Friday’s SmackDown.
Prior to challenging Logan Paul for the United States Championship at WrestleMania in a three-way, Kevin Owens will host Randy Orton on the KO Show on next week’s SmackDown.
After winning their respective brackets in a WrestleMania qualifying tournament on Friday’s SmackDown, New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) will face Grayson Waller & Austin Theory on next Friday’s episode.
LWO’s Zelina Vega vs. Legado Del Fantasma’s Elektra Lopez is also set for next week’s SmackDown following a brawl between their two factions on this week’s show.
The lineup for the WrestleMania 40 go-home SmackDown set for Friday, April 5:
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Jey Uso vs. Solo Sikoa
The KO Show with Kevin Owens & Randy Orton
New Catch Republic’s Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
WWE will hold its annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on next week’s SmackDown.
As announced during this week’s episode, the ninth edition of the Battle Royal will be held on the March 31 SmackDown in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena. Twenty-eight competitors were shown on the graphic advertising the match. They are:
Joaquin Wilde
Cruz Del Toro
Mace
Mansoor
Karl Anderson
Luke Gallows
Shelton Benjamin
Cedric Alexander
Angel
Humberto
Ashante Adonis
Top Dolla
Santos Escobar
Dexter Lumis
Butch
Ridge Holland
Dolph Ziggler
Mustafa Ali
Rick Boogs
Elias
Johnny Gargano
Xavier Woods
LA Knight
Bobby Lashley
Karrion Kross
Baron Corbin
Bronson Reed
Madcap Moss
The field includes two previous Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winners in Moss (2022) and Corbin (2016).
The Andre the Giant Battle Royal was instituted in 2014, with Cesaro winning the inaugural edition. The match has been held each year since, with the exception of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be the third consecutive year that the Battle Royal will be held on the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, while the first six were all held at WrestleMania events.
A face-to-face with WrestleMania opponents Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes is also set for the show.
Paul Heyman announced during a promo on Friday’s show that Reigns will be live on SmackDown next week for one final face-to-face with Rhodes ahead of their WrestleMania 39 bout for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The March 31 show, branded WrestleMania SmackDown, is the final stop ahead of WrestleMania 39 on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2.
WWE’s WrestleMania weekend festivities in Dallas officially began with last night’s “WrestleMania SmackDown.”
In addition to the final build to WrestleMania, the 2022 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place on SmackDown last night. Madcap Moss last eliminated United States Champion Finn Balor to win the match.
Moss, Balor, NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and Tommaso Ciampa were the final five wrestlers in the battle royal.
A Happy Talk segment headlined last night’s show. After Happy Corbin stole Drew McIntyre’s sword Angela on Raw earlier this week, the sword (which is named after McIntyre’s late mother) was Corbin’s guest on Happy Talk. Corbin renamed the sword “Euphoria” and told a joke about McIntyre’s dead mother: “What does Drew McIntyre’s sword and his mother have in common? He lost them both.”
McIntyre then charged out to the ring and dropped Moss with a punch. He threw a steel chair at Corbin and then went to attack him with the sword, but Corbin ducked and fled the ring. McIntyre destroyed the Happy Talk set to close the show.
A triple threat Intercontinental Championship match also took place last night, with Ricochet defeating Angel and Humberto to retain his title.
Madcap Moss is the winner of the 2022 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
The battle royal was the opening match of tonight’s WrestleMania 38 go-home edition of SmackDown. The final four participants left in the match were Moss, United States Champion Finn Balor, NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode.
As Ziggler and Roode were working together to eliminate Balor, Moss came up and eliminated both Ziggler and Roode. Balor hit a slingblade and charged at Moss, but Moss moved out of the way and sent Balor out of the ring.
Moss got on the microphone after the match and claimed that he won the battle royal all by himself. Happy Corbin had gotten involved in the match at one point and tried to help Moss. It almost backfired at first, but Corbin then stopped Moss from getting eliminated. Corbin left during the match after arguing with Moss.
Moss called Andre the Giant his hero and said that Andre was beloved by everyone — just like him. Moss then told a joke insulting the state of Texas: “What do you call a battle royal named after the smartest Texans around? A cattle royal.”
This is the second straight year that the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has taken place on the SmackDown before WrestleMania. Jey Uso won the battle royal last year.
Cesaro, Big Show, Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, and Braun Strowman are also previous Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winners.
Corbin is facing Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 38 night one this Saturday.
Jey Uso is this year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner.
Uso won the battle royal on SmackDown prior to WrestleMania, which starts tomorrow. Uso and Shinsuke Nakamura were the last two remaining in the ring. Nakamura hit the kinshasa, but Uso fought back and eventually eliminated Nakamura to win the battle royal for the first time. Announcers repeatedly referred to Uso under a new nickname, Main Event Jey Uso.
The battle royal took place on a special edition of SmackDown called WrestleMania SmackDown. The battle royal in previous years has been held during the pre-show prior to WrestleMania. In another advertised match, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler successfully defended the SmackDown Tag Team titles against Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Otis & Chad Gable, and The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins).
Previous Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winners include Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, and Braun Strowman.
There have now been 29 entrants confirmed for this year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
WWE added 26 wrestlers to the match today, with them joining Braun Strowman and Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che & Colin Jost as entrants confirmed for the battle royal.
Notably, Matt & Jeff Hardy will both be part of the battle royal. Andrade, Ali, and Bobby Roode & Chad Gable are also among the entrants for the match.
Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, and Matt Hardy won the battle royal over its first five years.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal will again both be taking place at this year’s WrestleMania. WWE announced the first 13 entrants for the women’s battle royal earlier today.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey is hosting WrestleMania 35 on April 7. Here’s the updated list of Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal participants:
The first entrant has been announced for this year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Braun Strowman did a backstage interview with Charly Caruso on tonight’s Raw and announced that he’ll be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35, which is taking place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 7.
WWE has also been building up issues between Strowman and Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che & Colin Jost leading into WrestleMania. Che and Jost are WWE’s “special guest correspondents” for WrestleMania.
Strowman & Finn Balor defeated Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush on this week’s Raw.
Strowman teamed with 10-year-old Nicholas Cone to win the Raw Tag Team titles from Cesaro & Sheamus at WrestleMania 34 last year.
This will be the sixth Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in WWE history. Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, and Matt Hardy won the match over its first five years. Strowman was an entrant in the battle royal at WrestleMania 33.
Ten more wrestlers have been confirmed for Sunday’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Elias, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, R-Truth, Sin Cara, Titus O’Neil, Apollo, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, and Mike Kanellis were announced for the WrestleMania 34 match this afternoon. With that, there are now 29 participants official for the battle royal.
Elias’ inclusion would appear to make it less likely that he’ll be Braun Strowman’s partner against Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus at WrestleMania. This will be R-Truth’s return to action after undergoing shoulder surgery last December.
Mike & Maria Kanellis became parents earlier this week when Maria gave birth to their first child, Fredrica “Freddie” Moon Bennett.
The 2018 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, and Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament finals will air on tomorrow’s two-hour pre-show. Dana Brooke was the most recent name announced for the women’s match.
Two matches that had been expected to be added to the WrestleMania 34 card were made official on tonight’s episode of Raw.
First, it was confirmed that Nia Jax will be challenging for Alexa Bliss’ Raw Women’s Championship in New Orleans on April 8th. Their program has progressed over the last few weeks, with Bliss making fun of Jax and admitting to using her last Monday in a segment that was “accidentally” shown on the video screen. On tonight’s show, Bliss walked out of her match against Asuka and then ran away from Jax.
The 2018 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was also announced tonight. The Revival defeated Titus O’Neil & Apollo and then declared themselves as the first entrants in the match. They mentioned Braun Strowman challenging for the the Raw tag titles at WrestleMania, saying that they’ll become the first tag team to win the battle royal.
Mojo Rawley, Baron Corbin, Big Show, and Cesaro are the four wrestlers who have won the battle royal since it was created in 2014.
Here’s the updated card for WrestleMania 34:
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defending against Asuka
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Nia Jax
Intercontinental Champion The Miz defending against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in a triple threat match
Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against Braun Strowman & a partner
Cedric Alexander vs. either Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament finals
In addition to the previously announced Tian Bing, at least one more wrestler from NXT will be taking part in the 2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Sunday.
WWE announced on Saturday night that Killian Dain would be making an appearance in the battle royal on the WrestleMania 33 pre-show. Formerly known as Big Damo, Dain signed with WWE in 2016 before eventually being given a new in-ring name.
Dain was added to the SAnitY stable alongside Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Nikki Cross after he debuted on NXT TV. Those four were in action in an eight-person tag match in the opener of NXT TakeOver: Orlando on Saturday, with Dain getting the pin for his team.
This year’s Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will be the fourth edition of the match to take place after it debuted at WrestleMania 30. Cesaro, Big Show, and Baron Corbin are the previous winners.
Dain’s addition to the match was announced in a video by Cathy Kelley:
