The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is a namesake battle royal held as part of WrestleMania weekend by the United States professional wrestling promotion WWE. The winner of the match receives the André the Giant Memorial Trophy. The inaugural battle royal was held at WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and was won by Cesaro. The most recent winner of the 2025 match was Carmelo Hayes ahead of WrestleMania 41.
The match is named in honor of André the Giant, the first WWE Hall of Fame inductee who at over seven feet tall and weighing over 500 pounds was known as "The King of the Battle Royal" due to winning a large majority of such matches he participated in. A short-lived female counterpart called the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal was held in 2018 and 2019.
Originally established as an annual battle royal held at either WrestleMania itself or its Kickoff pre-show, the match did not occur at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2021, airing on a special "WrestleMania Edition" of WWE SmackDown the night before WrestleMania 37. The SmackDown prior to WrestleMania has since been established as the start of WrestleMania Weekend with the battle royal becoming a fixture of the special episode.
History
André the Giant
Memorial Battle Royal
At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015, the second annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place as part of the event's Kickoff pre-show, thus establishing the match as a yearly tradition. Big Show—a wrestler who had been often compared to André due to his similar size and stature and who was originally billed as André's (storyline) son when he debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1995—won the match by last eliminating Aron Stevens.
While primarily contested by professional wrestlers, celebrities from other fields began to make appearances in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal beginning with the third annual match at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. This match, which occurred on the main card, featured former National Basketball Association player Shaquille O'Neal entering as a surprise participant, confronting Big Show. The match itself was won by Baron Corbin, who last eliminated Kane to win.
The following year's match occurred on April 2, 2017, on the WrestleMania 33 Kickoff pre-show. Although not a participant in the match itself, the match did feature a surprise appearance by National Football League player Rob Gronkowski, who assisted his real life friend Mojo Rawley, enabling Rawley to last eliminate Jinder Mahal to win the match.
The fifth annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place as part of WrestleMania 34's Kickoff pre-show on April 8, 2018. Unlike the past couple of years, this match did not feature any celebrity appearances, but the match was won by Matt Hardy, who last eliminated Baron Corbin to win. Also at WrestleMania 34, a women's version of the match was established, called the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal.
The sixth annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was held as part of WrestleMania 35's Kickoff pre-show on April 7, 2019. This year's battle royal was unique in that there was a storyline going into the match with the two celebrity guest participants. Prior to the event, comedians Colin Jost and Michael Che of Saturday Night Live began appearing on Raw as part of a storyline with Braun Strowman, which ultimately led to them being scheduled as participants in the match. Strowman ultimately won the match by last eliminating Jost.
The match did not occur at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 due to concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought many changes to WWE's programming during that time, and the battle royal was not scheduled so as to limit the number of wrestlers in the ring at the same time. WrestleMania 36 itself, which was WWE's first pay-per-view and livestreaming event affected by the pandemic, was relocated and held behind closed doors at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
On April 1, 2021, WWE announced the return of the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Unlike previous editions of the match, the seventh battle royal was not held at WrestleMania itself. Instead, it aired as part of the April 9 episode of WWE SmackDown, the night before WrestleMania 37, with the episode promoted as WrestleMania SmackDown. The show was Broadcast delay on April 2, and Jey Uso won the match by last eliminating Shinsuke Nakamura.
The eighth André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place on April 1, 2022, during the special WrestleMania SmackDown, which aired Live television the night before WrestleMania 38. Madcap Moss won the match by last eliminating Finn Bálor.
The ninth André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place on March 31, 2023, during the special WrestleMania SmackDown, which aired live the night before WrestleMania 39. Bobby Lashley won the match by last eliminating Bronson Reed.
The 10th edition of the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place during WrestleMania SmackDown on April 5, 2024, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the night prior to WrestleMania XL. The prior year's runner up, Bronson Reed, won the 2024 match by last eliminating Ivar.
The 11th edition of the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place during WrestleMania SmackDown on April 18, 2025, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, the night prior to WrestleMania 41. Carmelo Hayes won the match by last eliminating Andrade.
Reception
Winners
Notes
|
|
