While the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has been announced, WWE has yet to make the women’s division equivalent of that official for this year’s WrestleMania.
It stands to reason it most likely will be added to the card, as it would be quite strange to have a match for “every other man who doesn’t have anything to do yet” and not do the same for the female talent, particularly after including it in last year’s plans.
In case that does happen and there is another WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, who are the top five potential candidates who could walk away victorious?
Here are my picks as I see them right now…
1) Lacey Evans
SOMETHING has to happen with Lacey Evans in the next month, right? I mean, WWE has had her come out and do literally nothing but walk partially down the ramp and then back up over and over and over again at such random times that she can’t even start a feud with anybody.
Supposedly, Evans is being looked at as a future big star in the company that WWE wants to push far this year. I can see that being the case, as she’s got a great look and has a backstory that WWE would love to capitalize on.
But in order for that to happen, she has to, you know, wrestle—and win, at that.
Coming out of a multi-woman battle royal and winning that as the first thing she’s really done on the main roster at least gets her started on the right path and she can go from there, rather than randomly starting a feud with someone after doing the same walk out interruption nonsense that won’t get that storyline moving with any heat.
2) Mandy Rose or Sonya Deville
I was under the assumption both Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville would win the No. 1 contender’s match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship title shot at WrestleMania, which would allow the two of them to fight each other and lose to Asuka.
Obviously, that isn’t happening, so now, I’m defaulting to a backup plan that maybe, if the battle royal takes place, the final two will be Deville and Rose. This will allow Rose to dump Deville out of the ring while her back is turned, making her the winner by proxy of taking advantage of her friend.
That will push those two further into a split as their friendship will be strained even more, which will be the story coming out of this, while the win for Rose gives her a boost in credibility and placates that part of the WWE creative mindset that wants to make her a bigger deal going forward.
3) Shayna Baszler
If The Queen of Spades loses the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: New York, she’s going to skyrocket to the top of my list for a possible winner of this match, as it’s the easiest way for her to turn that momentum around and move on from her loss.
I still think no matter what the scenario, Baszler is coming up to the main roster and holding a championship by the time SummerSlam is finished, so a victory in this battle royal could start her down that path.
The main reason I don’t rank her higher is that it’s always a gamble when it comes to NXT stars making the jump to the main roster, so while she could show up on the Raw after WrestleMania or take part in the Superstar Shake-up, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll even perform in this match, let alone win it (if the match even happens, naturally).
Out of everyone in NXT, though, she stands the best chance of making that transition and being spotlighted.
4) Asuka
The Empress of Tomorrow was robbed of a spot on the card for this year’s WrestleMania, so if they aren’t planning on doing a women’s battle royal, she’ll just be left in the cold, which is a major shame.
Since I clearly think they’re still doing this match, I have to add Asuka into the list of contenders just to offset that decision to take the SmackDown Women’s Championship away from her. Effectively, WWE might give her this victory to say they’re sorry and to attempt to tell audiences that while she lost to Charlotte Flair, she isn’t a loser.
I have very little faith this is actually going to happen, as I think the previous three choices are FAR more likely, but given the rest of the field, Asuka is still my #4 since she’ll be one of the most credible wrestlers in the match who is coming off being a champion and has the public support and sympathy.
5) Bianca Belair
My somewhat oddball pick that I’m not confident at all about, but figure I should mention just in case, is NXT’s Bianca Belair.
Prior to her match with Shayna Baszler at the last TakeOver event, she was undefeated. She still attests to that, even though it’s factually wrong, and despite that loss, she’s still being booked as a big deal.
Plenty of men and women have made the transition from NXT to the main roster without ever winning gold in developmental. Just look at Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Nia Jax and Becky Lynch. Belair could be the next in line to go in that direction by just skipping the NXT Women’s Championship entirely and moving up to the main roster by winning this battle royal.
Honorable Mentions
While I don’t think any of these are particularly likely, especially since there are five (technically six) candidates above who fit the bill much better, I do think a handful of other women deserve to be brought into the discussion as still being above the rest of the competition.
Alexa Bliss or Carmella: This idea of Carmella and R-Truth hosting WrestleMania may or may not just pan out to be complete nonsense and absolutely nothing, or the battle royals can play out to be where all this insanity comes to the forefront. Bliss already inserted herself into the picture of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, so who’s to say she doesn’t announce the women’s battle royal and inserts herself into it? If that’s the case, maybe she wins. If not, maybe it’s Carmella, the other host (of sorts) who dumps her over the top rope to win?
Ember Moon: On the very rare off-chance that Ember Moon’s injury has healed up enough that she’s cleared to compete and they plan on actually pushing her after the Superstar Shake-up, this could be the platform she uses to get some actual credibility, as she hasn’t established herself on the main roster yet.
Mickie James: Last year, Naomi’s win was sort of arbitrary and probably just to give her a pat on the back. If they do that with anybody this year and give out the victory to “whoever, congrats” then I think Mickie James is a major contender to be the recipient of those kudos.
Who do you think will win the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal? Do you think they won’t even do the match at all? Tell us your predictions in the comments below!
