Since WrestleMania is such a huge event, it requires a Kickoff Show that can be an event all by itself. Spanning two hours, the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff features three matches. The card for the pre-show was confirmed on Monday Night Raw this week, and it features both battle royals and the Cruiserweight Championship match.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
For the second time, New Orleans hosts the annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The fifth edition of the battle royal features two former winners in Baron Corbin and Mojo Rawley, as well as numerous other Superstars from Raw and SmackDown. Of course, there can be surprise entrants as well. This acts as a way to get all of the Superstars not featured on the main card a WrestleMania payday.
Confirmed entrants in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal are as follows:
- Dash Wilder, Scott Dawson, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Tye Dillinger, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Goldust, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Zack Ryder, Primo Colon
Prediction:
Battle royals are almost impossible to predict because of the number of participants and the potential for surprise, but we did correctly predict both Royal Rumble winners this year. Based on the participants, I’m going with the creator of the Ultimate Deletion. Winner: Matt Hardy
WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Just like the men, the women now have an annual WrestleMania Battle Royal (yay?). This features all of the active women not involved in title matches and there is plenty of room for surprises. Originally, this was supposed to be the Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal, but tons of online backlash forced WWE to change the name.
The most intriguing thing about this Battle Royal (outside of the surprises) is the feud between Sasha Banks and Bayley. The tension between the two got to a boiling point a couple weeks ago and on the Grandest Stage of Them All, things can easily get out of hand.
Here are the confirmed entrants for the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as of this writing:
- Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Lana, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Mickie James, Carmella
Prediction:
A perfect wrinkle in the Sasha Banks/Bayley story would be for one to eliminate the other for a Battle Royal win. It is a toss-up, but I’m going with the Boss. Winner: Sasha Banks
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
After Enzo Amore was fired, 205 Live quickly took a turn and went in a new direction. WWE brought in Drake Maverick as the General Manager and the show is back to being focused on incredible in-ring action. Maverick kicked off a 16-man single-elimination tournament that lasted over the past couple months.
Mustafa Ali defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Buddy Murphy, and Drew Gulak in that order to make it to the finals. Cedric Alexander scored victories over Gran Metalik, TJP, and Roderick Strong to earn his spot at WrestleMania.
Prediction:
There is no bad winner here. Either Mustafa Ali wins the title for “us,” or Cedric Alexander finally conquers his last hurdle. In this case, it seems like Alexander’s time. Winner, and NEW WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Cedric Alexander
