It might surprise even the most avid WWE fans to realize just how many battle royals have taken place throughout WrestleMania history. They date back to the second-ever installment of the event and have featured almost every kind of competitor imaginable. Men, women, tag teams, and celebrities have all taken part.
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Some of these battle royals were a lot of fun for the audience. A few were a drag that fans wanted to skip. There were iterations that meant nothing and some that had a lot on the line. The only battle royals not included are unaired pre-show ones from years like 2008 and 2010.
13 Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal (2009)
Long before the days of the Women's Revolution, things like this happened in WWE. They hyped the "Miss WrestleMania" Battle Royal and announced the return of several ladies from the past including soon-to-be Hall of Famer, Molly Holly.
While that did happen, it got no fanfare. Every woman came out during a Kid Rock concert nobody asked for and got no official introduction. The match itself was a mess, the camera missed a bunch of rushed spots, and it ended with Santino Marella winning while dressed as a woman.
12 Tag Team Battle Royal (1998)
To start WrestleMania XIV, WWE threw a bunch of their tag teams into a large battle royal with the winners earning a future title shot. That's a fine idea in theory but the division wasn't in the best shape for it.
The bout had pointless duos like the Truth Commission and DOA. There were random teams like Steve Blackman and Flash Funk or Bradshaw and Chainz. Past their prime tandems like The Rock n' Roll Express and the Quebecers were also involved. The repackaged LOD 2000 won in a dull affair.
11 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2015)
2014 saw the debut of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and it was a fun one. The sequel at WrestleMania 31 moved from the main card to the Kickoff Show and ended up being far less interesting.
Like in the 2015 Royal Rumble match, Big Show dominated and tossed out popular favorites. Guys like Hideo Itami and Damien Mizdow were disposed of, all so Big Show could gain another accolade. Unfortunately, getting there was also pretty bland.
10 WWE vs. NFL Battle Royal (1986)
There were plenty of attraction bouts at WrestleMania 2. From a boxing match to a Steel Cage main event, there were gimmicks everywhere. The biggest was this WWE vs. NFL battle royal, taking place at the Rosemont Horizon.
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The match pitted WWE stars like The Hart Foundation, Pedro Morales, and The Iron Sheik against NFL players like William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Jimbo Covert, and Russ Francis. It was a mildly enjoyable match for what it was, won by Andre the Giant himself.
9 Trophy Battle Royal (1988)
There was no fancy name for this battle royal but it is one of the most memorable, at least for the post-match antics. With WrestleMania IV focusing on the tournament for the WWE Title, most of the roster members who weren't competing were thrown into a show opening battle royal.
Nothing of real note happened in the match itself other than a partnership between Bret Hart and Bad News Brown. However, Brown turned on Bret and tossed him out to win a trophy, which Hart famously destroyed.
8 Gimmick Battle Royal (2001)
Sometimes, all fans want to do is scratch that nostalgia itch. They got the chance in a huge way at WrestleMania X-Seven with the Gimmick Battle Royal. The whole idea was for wrestlers with ridiculous gimmicks from the past to return and compete in this match.
Fans got to relive the absurdity of the Goon, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Kamala, Repo Man, and more. They even got Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene on commentary. Iron Sheik scored the win in a short match simply because he couldn't take the bump over the top to get eliminated.
7 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2018)
To start WrestleMania 34, the men competed on the Kickoff Show in the fifth Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. There weren't any surprise entrants this time around, which disappointed a lot of fans.
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The most interesting bit was Aiden English getting eliminated first, going to the back, and returning later in the show with a haircut. It was also fun to see John Cena watching excitedly from the audience. Thanks to the return of Bray Wyatt, Matt Hardy won in the end.
6 WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (2018)
Beginning in 2018, the women's division was so prominent that they also got their own battle royal featuring the roster members who weren't otherwise booked. Headlining the Kickoff Show, this wasn't quite the big deal that it should have been, especially given some of the big names involved.
Some notable things happened including various NXT girls competing (like Dakota Kai, Tay Conti, and Kairi Sane), Carmella getting eliminated quickly due to talking smack, and Bianca Belair hitting a 450 splash. The finish was lame as Naomi hid for some of the match and threw out Bayley to win in a very un-babyface-like move.
5 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2019)
A jam-packed Kickoff Show in 2019 was capped off by the sixth Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The most unique thing this go-around was the inclusion of Saturday Night Live stars Colin Jost and Michael Che.
They had a storyline coming into this with Braun Strowan, which obviously played into the finish as the big man tossed out both to win. The true highlight was Andrade's interactions with the likes of Chad Gable and Kalisto.
4 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2016)
When this battle royal concept was first announced, many fans believed it would be used to help elevate new stars. That hasn't always been the case but it certainly was in 2016. At WrestleMania 32, Baron Corbin made a surprise main roster debut and won the trophy.
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While the winner was a good decision, the enjoyment came earlier. Shocking entrants like Diamond Dallas Page and Tatanka got a pop but then Shaquille O'Neal stunned everyone by randomly showing up. He had a face-off with Big Show that was somewhat memorable.
3 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2017)
In terms of these battle royals, this one probably had the most unexpected and weird ending. As the fourth iteration of this match, fans thought they knew what to expect. For the most part, this went as planned until it got kind of weird late.
Jinder Mahal threw a drink in the face of future 24/7 Champion Rob Gronkowski, who was in the crowd. He hopped the guardrail to get his revenge. Gronk's buddy Mojo Rawley then dumped out Killian Dain and Mahal to claim the victory.
2 WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (2019)
The second women's battle royal at WrestleMania was an improvement. This one featured fewer NXT stars but still some great ones in Candice LeRae and Kairi Sane and there was also the return of Ember Moon.
The match itself had some fun spots even a few came off awkwardly. Having it come down to Asuka, Sonya Deville, and Sarah Logan was unique. Logan seemed to win until Carmella snuck in to dispose of her, repeating the finish from the prior year.
1 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal (2014)
It's really not even close because the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX was easily the best in event history. Some fans first saw this as a way for WWE to just throw a bunch of people onto the card.
It may have started that way but this ended up being a treat. Kofi Kingston had a great save from elimination, the crowd got to do the Fandango dance, and the talent level was quite high. The ending where Cesaro carried Big Show and dumped him out remains impressive to this day.
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