With WrestleMania 34 coming up this Sunday night, we’re increasingly running out of what very little time we have left for there to be any additions to the card for 2018’s biggest show of the year.
Of course, there are still a few days for WWE to manipulate something and change the lineup, either by announcing more people to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or the Women’s Battle Royal matches on Twitter or the website itself, and tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live, but as it stands right now, those kind of superstars are either such massive afterthoughts or WWE is purposely keeping them a secret.
As such, even though the card is always subject to change, we should take a look at the men and women who are currently not being promoted to take part in this event in any kind of previously scheduled capacity.
When it comes to some of these superstars, it is entirely justified due to injuries or just plain lack of importance, but in other cases, it’s surprising how they have been left out in the cold regarding an event that really has room for every single person to make an appearance in some fashion, albeit some in a very small role.
Normally, this would be a two-edition post for Raw and SmackDown separately, but thankfully, this year, there aren’t enough people skipping out on WrestleMania to justify splitting the difference. With that being said, let’s take a look at the talent missing from the pay-per-view lineup as far as the advertisements are concerned right now.
Singles Male Stars Not Yet Announced for Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (or elsewhere):
— Bray Wyatt: Still no word on Bray Wyatt after falling into the Lake of Reincarnation, even if he’s just been acting like himself on live events…
— Curt Hawkins: He’ll pop up. He’ll lose. Same shit, different day. The only way it will matter at all is if he’s the first person eliminated in the ATGMBR, and even then, nobody will really care. There’s no way WWE would have spent even five seconds of air time dedicated to advertising Hawkins ahead of time, because his job is to be a loser.
— John Cena and The Undertaker: Technically speaking, these two aren’t announced, but let’s be honest, their match is happening.
— Kane: He momentarily returned to be a sacrificial lamb for John Cena’s build to wrestling The Undertaker. That story didn’t pan out to be all that much, but Kane did show that he’s not on the injured list by being able to wrestle. This means he’s either going to be slotted into the battle royal without any fanfare, or he’s just skipping this year’s WrestleMania entirely.
— Mike Kanellis: If I have my information correct, Mike Kanellis hasn’t been seen on television since October 3, 2017 when he lost to Bobby Roode in a match that lasted 2 minutes and had came after a 3 month stint where he was off television before that. Basically, he hasn’t been in WWE, as he never got the ball rolling and then disappeared. He could pop up in this battle royal, and it would be a good means for him to reinstate his push if he were to win, but I wouldn’t even bet a dollar on him making an appearance without thinking I’d potentially lose it.
— Sin Cara: In November of last year, there was this brief stint where Sin Cara got pushed. He was battling Baron Corbin as a contender for the United States Championship, which was strange. Of course, he came up short, to no surprise, but that was a rare moment of him being relevant. That ended on November 14th and he’s not made a television appearance since then. Like many others, he’ll be in the battle royal, but just to earn a paycheck and get tossed aside.
— Zack Ryder: While he has a more recent showing than some others here, Long Island Iced Z is still somewhat MIA, as he’s not made a SmackDown Live appearance since the beginning of the year. January 30th was his most recent match, wherein he lost a Fatal 4-Way to Rusev, failing to earn a United States title shot. Not long ago, Ryder was winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania, and this year, he’s going to be another cog in the wheel at best. (Update: On SmackDown Live, Ryder was announced for the battle royal.)
From the Women’s Division
— Carmella: While Carmella initially cut a promo to say that there’s a connection between she as Ms. Money in the Bank and the Fabulous Moolah, they haven’t had her in any of the promotional material as being part of this match since then. It’s strange. Not even WWE.com has her listed, even though it should be a foregone conclusion that she’ll compete in the match. (Update: After SmackDown Live, she was added to the list for the battle royal.)
— Dana Brooke: The statistician for Titus Worldwide is undoubtedly the bottom of the barrel for the main roster women’s division, as they never, ever give her any kind of thought. She’ll compete in the battle royal, but it’s sadly not surprising at all that she hasn’t been included in the graphics and promotional material.
— Nikki Bella: Nikki Bella is still in limbo when it comes to her status in WWE. She obviously made her appearance earlier this year in the Royal Rumble, so it’s safe to assume she can pop up again here, but it isn’t as much of a guarantee as it should be.
From the Tag Team Division
— Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin: Look out for them in the ATGMBR, which they haven’t been advertised for, yet, but will certainly appear.
— Heath Slater and Rhyno: Look out for them in the ATGMBR, which they haven’t been advertised for, yet, but will certainly appear. (Update: In a Raw Fallout video, they both announced themselves for the battle royal.)
— Aiden English: At the moment, the singing half of Rusev Day isn’t being advertised, but it’s safe to say he has two potential roles on the show. First off, he can obviously compete in the ATGMBR, and it’s extremely likely he does so. Second, he can and likely will accompany Rusev to the ring for the United States Championship Fatal 4-Way match.
— The Ascension: Look out for them in the ATGMBR, which they haven’t been advertised for, yet, but will certainly appear.
— The Good Brothers: You’d think Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows would have something better going on than the battle royal, considering their two buds are fighting for championships and they’re officially in a stable with one of them at the moment. Strange. Chalk this up to the regular track record they have of being pushed aside, for some reason. They could join their Balor Club brethren and make an appearance in the Intercontinental Championship match as well, though.
— The Colons: While Primo Colon is still eligible to make an appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Epico is still on the injured list, which explains at least part of their absence. These two have been gone from WWE since going over to SmackDown many, many months ago. It’s really past the point where we should be suspicious that they may not ever return, based off their booking for years before they hit this run of injuries. (Update: On SmackDown Live, it was announced that Primo will be in the battle royal.)
— The Miztourage: If Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas do anything, it will be to appear alongside The Miz in his Intercontinental Championship match and/or to wrestle in the battle royal.
— The Singh Brothers: Sunil Singh has continued to be the lackey of Jinder Mahal, so it’s safe to assume he’ll accompany The Modern Day Maharaja to the ring for his Fatal 4-Way match against Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and Rusev. Samir Singh is still recovering from his injury, so even if Sunil is ringside or in the battle royal, Samir won’t be.
— Titus Worldwide: Apollo and Titus O’Neil failed to earn a tag title shot in the battle royal that Braun Strowman was victorious in, and since then, they’ve just been sitting around and waiting for the next battle royal. Neither will make a splash on this card, but they’ll be two more faces in the crowd for that match.
From the Cruiserweight Division
When it comes to the 205 Live crew, all of them essentially fall into the same category: there’s only room on the card for one match, and that’s the Cruiserweight Championship fight between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali.
This is standard operating procedure. There is very rarely ever more than one cruiserweight match on the card, so unless the title match on the card is some kind of Fatal 4-Way or there is a six-man tag team match added, every event basically follows the same procedure of having only two cruiserweights while everyone else sits on the sidelines.
Granted, these men could be eligible to wrestle in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but even in that case, three of them are unlikely to do that if it were an option on the table.
Those three are Neville, Noam Dar and The Brian Kendrick, who have been out of commission for a while. Neville is still in the midst of a contract dispute while Dar and Kendrick are injured.
The cruiserweights who are eligible to join the battle royal, but not scheduled for the card right now, are as follows: Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Buddy Murphy (kind of an NXT star and a 205 Live star at the same time), Drew Gulak, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Gran Metalik, Hideo Itami, Kalisto, Lince Dorado, Mark Andrews , TJP, and Tony Nese.
The Injuries:
— Alicia Fox: Fox is currently out of action with a broken tailbone that she suffered in January.
— Big Cass: After tearing his ACL last summer, Cass has been on the shelf and is preparing for his return, which could be happening any day now, including at WrestleMania.
— Big Show: He’s advertised for the Greatest Royal Rumble, so he’s at least in good enough shape that he can be in the running to make an appearance in the ATGMBR or as Braun Strowman’s partner. In fact, he’s such a smart bet to pop up that it’s tough to even classify him as someone missing from the card, even though he technically has yet to be confirmed.
— Dean Ambrose: The Lunatic Fringe has been out of action since December 2017 with a triceps injury, but may be returning very soon.
— Jason Jordan: Jordan was written off television on February 5th to deal with a neck injury that should keep him out for a least a little while longer.
— Jeff Hardy: Hardy is set for an imminent return, having sat out the past few months since the fall with a shoulder injury.
— R-Truth: R-Truth was last seen in action many months ago, having undergone surgery in October for a shoulder injury.
— Samoa Joe: Joe has been out of action since early January, before the Royal Rumble. He is expected to return soon.
— Tamina Snuka: Tamina is currently sitting out with a torn rotator cuff following her last appearance, which was at the Royal Rumble.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
