WM XXX Gimmick/Legends Battle Royal?

[babinko]

So at WM X7 we all witnessed a Gimmick Battle Royal. Some of the wrestlers included Sgt. Slaughter, Iron Sheik, The Goon, Tugboat, and even Doink the Clown.

WM XXX is the best time to bring back this type of match. It could feature past WM legends and gimmicks. With Hulk Hogan and Piper wanting to be involved in some sort of match on the card, this would be a great way to get both men involved without them doing much work in the ring.

Any thoughts on if they should do a Legends/Gimmick Battle Royal?

If they were to do so, which past legends/gimmicks would you love to see participate in this match?

 

[TempestH]

I don't think they should do a legends battle royal. There are already so many past talents that are likely to be in marquee spots on the card that a legends battle royal would be overkill.

If there's going to be a battle royal at WMXXX, it should be for all the underutilized main roster talents (and maybe a few of the more seasoned NXT guys).

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This year so many current guys are gonna struggle to get on the card that it would actually be offensive to do this.

Look at someone like Justin Gabriel, who just tweeted "Not entering the Rumble"... the tone of that tweet was one of a guy upset but resigned to it... imagine that he then gets bumped from the Battle Royal at Mania for Sheiky Baby or Hillbilly Jim? He's not gonna a) take that well, b) give his best in the shows on the road to Mania and c) stay once his deal is up.

This year I can see a stacked battle royal, 30-40 guys, some older perhaps but Vince and Trips have an obligation to all those guys on the roster for this one Mania... they can trim the fat afterward but anyone who is hauling ass around the country/world for house shows now should be in line for Mania 30 before someone who left 10-15-20 years ago, especially lower card. As much as it might be some older guys "last chance", the Network means Mania is probably the last chance these lower talents of today have a chance to either be at Mania or get a decent payoff from it...

You're going to have some legends as part of the show... but this ties into the WWE stupidity of calling ANYONE from the past a legend.... Barry Darsow might be but Repo Man isn't... Godfather isn't... MVP isn't... they are veterans...even a William Regal or Goldust is only just creeping over that line to be a legend in reality.

Legends are the guys who won titles, made impact and sold the show back in the day...Fill Mania with as many of those as you like, but leave the lower down footsoldiers of the past out of it, cos todays are more than deserving of their moment.

 

[justinept]

It wasn't a Legends Battle Royal at WrestleMania X7, it was a Gimmick Battle Royal. Anyone that wants to claim that guys like Doing The Clown, The Repo Man, Tugboat, The Goon and the Gobbledy Gooker are legends better find a completely different word to describe the likes of Hogan, Savage, Warrior, Hart, Michaels, Rock, Austin, The Undertaker, etc... To add further disgrace to what was a wasted segment at WrestleMania X7, the match also included non-wrestling personalities like Jim Cornette and Brother Love.

Be honest now. Is there even a demand to see those participants? Do people care to see Kamala, Hillbilly Jim or Duke the Dumpster Droese? If what you're asking for is battle royal similar to the one at WrestleMania X7, then count me out.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't have any interest in watching a bunch of senior citizens well past their prime or gimmick wrestlers who hardly even had a prime, eat up precious time at WrestleMania XXX in a completely meaningless match just for the sake of giving some people a nostalgia fix.

Between the possible involvement of Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper in WrestleMania in some way, the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014 inductees, possible appearances by guys like Ric Flair & Dusty Rhodes in some role and Taker's streak match; that's plenty of nostalgia in my opinion.

 

[Randy Orton's Head Blood]

Oh dear god no. A 30 man legends battle royal would only equal 30 broken backs.

It would take up the time that younger stars need at Wrestlemania, which in my eyes would just kill the show. You're probably one of the people who complains about the WWE's up and coming not getting enough airtime, so suggesting this is short of a crime.

I'd much rather see, as the opening match, a 30-Man Battle Royal of WWE Lowercard & NxT Superstars, where the winner earns some form of match later on in the night, or in the future. Possibly a match against the Unified IC/US Champ? Or if it hasn't been unified, against one of those?

Now, tell me that doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[closet_fan]

I'd rather longer matches from all the other storylines being set up then to waste 15-20 minutes watching over-the-hill guys. A lot of them would be garbage anyway. No way they would be able to sign even 20 guys worth watching. I don't feel like seeing the Brooklyn Brawler and the Goon again.

BTW, Shiekey Baby is still walking to the ring.

 

[JAWILLIAMS]

I think it could actually be a great idea to incorporate legends while leaving room on the card for younger talent.

Have a representative per WrestleMania- Hogan #1, Piper#2, Steamboat #3, Honky#4, Duggan#5, Warrior #6, Animal #7, Jake #8, Tatanka #9, Hall #10, Billy Gunn #11, Nash #12, Faarooq #13, Roaddogg #14, X-pac #15, Big Show #16, Regal #17, RVD #18, Booker T #19, Christian #20, Rey Mysterio #21, Mark Henry #22, Khali #23, JBL #24, Jericho #25, Truth #26, Miz #27, Ziggler #28, Fandango #29, and Damien Sandow WrestleMania Debut representing #30.

You could eliminate a lot of the old timers quick to avoid injuries (valentine, animal, honkey, Duggan, tatanka, steamboat, piper) Let Fandango dance in front of the Warrior, and then get bombed out. Moments of The Kliq (Hall, Nash, and X-pac) working together. Let the Big Show dominate, Eliminating a large portion of the ring. Warrior and Hogan team up to eliminate Big Show, then the remaining members (Jericho, Mysterio, Sandow, Ziggler, Miz and Christian) Eliminate both Hogan and Warrior. Ziggler, Christian, and Mysterio go out. Jericho eliminates Miz, and Sandow sneaks behind and dumps Jericho. Leaving a Fresh Talent to boast a 29-0 WM record.

A great way to honor the past, Provide a WrestleMania spot for mid cards like (Christian, Henry, Mysterio, Ziggler, Miz, Truth, Fandango, And Show) Who may not get a spot.

 

[CeramicDuck]

Can't you do both and also help elevate the IC title at the same time?

Say there is a 20 man Battle Royal billed as: Wrestlemania Past, Present and Future

This opens the show and the winner receives a shot at Big E Langston's Intercontinental Title later in the show....

You can keep it serious with 10 returning superstars, 5 NXT superstars and 5 current superstars... But the key is the returning superstars cannot be complete dinosaurs and unable to compete...

I would book the whole thing out this way

Competitors:

NXT:
Bo Dallas
Corey Graves
Adrian Neville
Sami Zayn
Alexander Rusev

Current:
Dolph Ziggler
Mark Henry
Damien Sandow
Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins

Returns:
Chris Jericho
Matt Hardy
The Hurricane
John Morrison
MVP
XPAC
Rikishi
Vader

And for super nostalgia you ad:
Honky Tonk Man
Roddy Piper

Mostly everyone in the ring is capable and the winner isn't going to clearly be 1 person.

Everyone gets to mark out for some returning legends that they actually may have seen in their lifetime, the old timers get represented, the nxt guys get a quick second in the spotlight and guys like dolph and sandow get used on the show...

I would book it so that it comes down to one person from each category...

Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and Rusev and have Jericho win, go on to challenge and lose a hard fought battle. Big E Retains, Rusev, who looks like a monster earlier in the show transitions to the main roster and a new star is born and a program for the IC title with 2 big men begins after rusev attacks big e after the win.

 

[Kamala316]

"Be honest now. Is there even a demand to see those participants? Do people care to see Kamala, Hillbilly Jim or Duke the Dumpster Droese?"

1. Kamala's legs were amputated, so there's a pretty good chance you won't see him in the ring, boss.

2. Hillbilly Jim is still jacked, and is probably more over, years later, than half the locker room.

3. You're right - the garbage man sucks lol.

 

[rbv13]

~ Thirty Years of WrestleMania Battle Royal (30 Men) ~

Match takes place on the pre-show. They use it as a unique and high energy hype leading into the big event. They will still being pushing a lot of pay per view buys despite the Network and this match could be a solid last minute sell. For those with the Network we are going to get an all-day extravaganza and a match like this would really pop as a lead in. The contestants are made up of current day super stars, got get that pay day, with names from WrestleMania’s past.

Current Stars: R Truth ~ Xavier Woods ~ Brodus Clay ~ Fandango ~ Titas O’Neil ~ Darren Young ~ Heath Slater ~ Jinder Mahal ~ Drew McIntyre ~ Tyson Kid ~ Diego ~ Fernando ~ Justin Gabreil ~ Cutis Axel ~ Ryback ~ Zack Ryder ~ Evan Bourne ~ Santino as Doink the Clown ~

Returning: Irwin R. Shyster ~ Tito Santana ~ Hillbilly Jim ~ Tony Atlas ~ Hacksaw Jim Duggan ~ King Kong Bundy ~ Jim “Anvil” Neidhart ~ Gangrel ~ Demolition Ax ~ Demolition Smash ~ Brutus “Barber” Beefcake ~ Warlord ~ Barbarian ~

Ring Announcer Howard Finkel & Guest Commentator Mean Gene Okerlund

~ Some Reasoning ~

The Current Stars: Placed them in this pre-show match for a bit of WrestleMania rub but feel in no way shape or form should they be anywhere near the actual card. Absent from thismatch are guys like Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow. I would hope Creative would be able to find a way to utilize them on the main card in WrestleMania’s usual multi man spot fest match.

Legends House debuts around WM so the E will be going hype crazy. Hillybilly Jim, Tony Atlas, Hacksaw, Fink and Okerlund find their way into the match. I left Piper out as it seems he is pushing for a bigger role on the card.

Tito joins Diego and Fernando during their entrance.

Gangrel’s kick ass entrance.

Demolition & The Powers of Pain are just bad ass.

Nattie escorts her father and fiancé to the ring only to see the Anvil eliminate Kidd and a shoving match on the floor.

Following elimination, PTP hold Slater down on the floor while Beefcake cuts his hair.

Winner: Ryback uses it to continue to put over his insane a-hole character. Following the match a few of the old school guys make their way back to the ring to get the last laugh sending fan off on a high note or somehow involve Mike Tyson who knocks the shit out of Ryback.

Not included: Guys like Jericho, Christian & RVD are too big for this match. Guys like MVP, Morrison or Matt Hardy would be cool but the E better be ready to sign them long term. A one and done with this guys will not satisfy the audience.

 

[thebarber]

I have been sprukking a 30 Years of Wrestlemania battle royal for months now, and done properly it would be a good nostalgic pop for some legends, and a chance for current guys who otherwise would not make the main car to get a Mania payday and some exposure. My suggestion has been to have a wrestler from every MANIA involved in the match, so each years Mania is represented. It wouldnt have to go long, and is a good rest period for the crowd in between main events so they arent flat when the important matches are happening. People want to see LEGENDS, but not Piper, Slaughter, Patterson, Briscoe, DiBiase, IRS and all of the same old dudes that they wheel out each year. Having returning guys like Jericho and RVD, with current guys like Christian and guys who wont make the mai card like Ryback, DFandango, 3MB, mix them up with Steamboat, Orndorff, Bundy, Duggan, Akeem, Neidhart, Demolition, Flair, Tatanka, Martel, Diesel, Sid, Shamrock, Mero, X-Pac, Hardcore Holly, Bradshaw(JBL), Regal, Booker T, Christian, Jericho, RVD, MVP, Finlay, John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Brodus Clay or anybody really.........

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I wouldn't mind a Legends/Gimmick Battle Royal as some kind of "bonus match" on the Kick-Off show if it involved a combination of some solid Legends we haven't seen in awhile & some current talent like Damien Sandow or Fandango that will probably get left off of the Mania card this year but otherwise I think it would be a waste of time for such a monumental event.

There are already so many returning Legends for the PPV & even more rumored to be returning. Batista, Brock Lesnar, Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, etc. Not to mention Jericho & RVD possibly returning in time, Goldust & The New Age Outlaws most likely showing up somewhere on the card & Taker & Triple H lacing up the boots for their annual Mania matches. & all of the names I mentioned are too big of a deal to be in a simple battle royal at Wrestlemania.

So with so many current WWE Superstars looking like they won't make the card already, unless it was on the pre-show or something & was really used to push some of the talent that otherwise would not be featured, I really don't see much of a point since Wrestlemana XXX looks like it will already be crammed full of nostalgia.

 

[The Eighties]

If it was going to be an actual Legends battle royale with Hogan, Piper, Warrior, Jake etc..involved then I'd be cool with it, but I think 3 of those 4 would be unwilling to work it, and I see no point in a bunch of third tier gimmick wrestlers from the 80's and early 90's eating up card space.