Backlash: Shawn Michaels vs. Batista

[A.J.]

Singles Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Batista​

After two confrontations this past week, one on SmackDown and then again on Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, it’s official: Shawn Michaels and Batista will go one-on-one at Backlash.

The two Superstars have argued back-and-forth on whether or not HBK made the right decision by ending Ric Flair’s career at WrestleMania XXIV. The Animal blames Michaels for ending his mentor’s livelihood, going so far as to tell HBK he should have laid down for Flair on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Interpromotional Challenge was inked by Raw GM William Regal and SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero moments after the Highlight Reel confrontation on Raw.

Never one to back (or lay) down, Michaels has fired back that he gave Flair “exactly what he had asked for at WrestleMania,” adding that, he did “what anyone would have done.”

What will happen when these two top-caliber athletes, and former champions, collide at Backlash? Will the heavy emotion weighing on both Superstars explode in the ring when they meet in this rare encounter? Will Batista unleash his anger over Flair’s retirement on the man responsible? Or will HBK give The Animal exactly what he gave Flair at WrestleMania – the fight of his life?


Well I guess we all saw this coming with what happened on RAW last week and this week as well as Smackdown. Now I have to admit that this could be a sleeper match at Backlash. I know Batista is not the greatest in the ring but I look at him as a string puppet and if he has a good puppeteer he can have a decent match. I think this is a feud that will carry on for awhile possibly into Judgment Day. I expect this match to end in a DQ or something a Batista will be playing the heel and I expect to see him lose his cool and get DQ'd. Should be good as I think Shawn can pull a good match out of Batista.

 

[Lil Wes]

If anyone can pull a decent match out of Batista's ass besides Taker, it's Michaels. This feud is an absolute bore, why does WWE always seem to try to build storylines over something that doesn't need it? Flair retires, ok fine. Let him move on, don't be writing stupid friendship storylines that are going to carry on for months over it. Let it rest, he went out in a fantastic way, one of the greater moments for all wrestling fans, but now adding shit like this is just annoying overall and Batista is an embarrassment when he gets into the feuds that have to tell a story, his microphone work is unbearable to listen too, and he'll probably be unbearable to watch.

But I still think HBK can get at least a average match out of the hack.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

As I said in the General thread, I'd love to see HBK go over here and Batista to attack him afterwards, turning heel in the process, as Batista has nothing left for him to do as a face.

I guess their idea of a semi-long feud between Batista/Umaga was completely shot down after WrestleMania. Anybody else remember hearing about that being the catalyst for Umaga's ship jump to Smackdown? Most likely he'll just be drafted instead.

 

[Alex(Killer Of Dreams & Legends)]

i think this match could use a little more spice on it ... the wwe should put the career of hbk on the line to make the feud more interesting... but if they dont which they prob wont hbk will carry batista through this match and make it a decent match to pay money for ..... it could go either way with either batista turning heel or hbk could do it in this feud this should be quiet entertaing or a total slump we'll have to just wait and see

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I think this fued is brilliant and I will tell you why.

It provides a chance to have Batista go heel and move to raw which I think is long overdue, because as stated before there is nothing more for him as a face or on Smackdown. Batista In my opinion was a much better heel than he was a face.

It also in a way tugs at the heart strings because of Flair's retirement, and we get just a little more out of that as well. It has provided some very memorable Promo's in my opinion. With tonights Highlight Reel being very good and almost perfect.

It could also provide a decent match out of Batista which has been stated with someone else not named Undertaker. Shawn will carry this match but he could make Tista' look like pure gold as well, as long as its not like there Armageddon 2003 match.

Hopefully this will finally put an end to the Flair retirement angle as after this I dont see where else they could take it and honestly why would they. I am very interested in this fued and hope it doesnt dissapoint.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Monkey Mania is DEAD ON with his assessment. Batista has shown signs of brilliance when he's been in the ring with a veteran who can sell and add fire to a feud, i.e.: HHH, Jericho, Undertaker. And with the free-fall Ken Kennedy's career is currently experiencing, RAW could use another strong heel. JBL has been a nice reprise, but it obviously cannot last long.

Potential RAW feuds if Batista moves over include vs Cena, vs HHH, and vs Jericho again, as well as Batista vs Big Show. I am VERY MUCH looking forward to this - a feud I NEVER saw coming and I am extremely excited for.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's certainly a match I'm intrested in seeing. As of last year most Batista matches ntrigue me. I don't know if this will work. But It'll sure be intresting to see.

I have to say that I'd have prefered another month of Batista vs. Umaga. I was hoping they'd get another shot as I thought that match had real potential.

On a side note. How skinny will HBK look compared the Big Dave. That might be a problem when suspending your belief.

 

[Raw #1]

The Match between Batista and Shawn Michaels would be a big match think about it, Two men that look up to the nature boy Ric Flair but the thing is one man ended his career and one is mad as hell about it. Shawn Michaels's fans are starrting to boo him when he walk out to fight. But come on now Shawn Michales have some good moves but him compared to Batista there is no way in hell he is gonna get out of this one.

 

[Lil Wes]

Monkey Mania is DEAD ON with his assessment. Batista has shown signs of brilliance when he's been in the ring with a veteran who can sell and add fire to a feud,

He has?

i.e.: HHH, Jericho, Undertaker.

Didn't know he faced Jericho.

The Undertaker match is overrated although it's still his best yet, and HHH?

One of the worst Wrestlemania main events of this decade.

He can face veterans all he wants, he does no change. Take a look at the Edge feud last year, completely boring, uninteresting and the matches were meh on his part.

He only gets love nowadays for improvement because he was up against the Undertaker. Every since that feud's been over, he looks mediocre again.

JBL has been a nice reprise, but it obviously cannot last long

Yes it can because he's one of the companies best heels. Batista won't turn heel anyways, Vince won't risk that. This is just a mediocre storyline eating off Flair's retirement.

Potential RAW feuds if Batista moves over include vs Cena,

This will happen regardless, at Mania 25.

I am VERY MUCH looking forward to this - a feud I NEVER saw coming and I am extremely excited for.

Meh, it's ok. Like I said, if anyone can make him look good. It's HBK but in a storyline like this, that is suppose to have emotion, tell a story etc. Batista is god awful, have you heard that mic work? How do expect a good emotional feud when the guy is bland as a 2x4?

 

[Slim Pickns]

This is the match I am most looking forward to at Backlash. In the midst of all the Wrestlemania repeats and sad women and tag matches, we get something almost new, and fairly exciting.

Batista is headed for a heel turn and a possible return to RAW. Im indifferent on the latter but he needs a heel turn to avoid failing off the radar. He could go from one of the dullest stars on Smackdown to RAWs top heel with a dismantling of Shawn Michaels. He doesn't need to win the match, he just needs to beat down Shawn badly after.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I've seen this match live once before. Of course that was during 2003, and it was a House Show. Since then Batista has held multiple World Championships and had 5 years experience under his belt. You'd like to think that'd be helpful to him.

The truth is, several people bad mouth Batista for being a bad worker (myself included) but when you look at it, who has he truly been awful working with? The Great Khali? For sakes of course hes gonna suck against someone with even LESS talent. Mark Henry? No shit.

His match with Umaga was downright miserable, but I wouldn't blame Batista so much as simply come to terms with some people's styles don't always mix. Triple H. has had some brutual matches against the likes of Snitsky, & the Big Show.. does that mean H.H.H. sucks? No, it means the styles didn't mix. Anyways, this is going off topic.. so jumping back on.

This storyline is completely interesting to me, because neither guy really has much to gain from winning. Sure, Batista has an edge because a victory over Shawn Michaels would be perfect to hold onto, and I'm assuming this is a heel turn for Batista based on the amount of boo's he received on Raw. However, the reverse angle could be Shawn winning the match, as I don't see this feud going beyond Backlash.. so H.B.K. could win, settling the score with Batista, yet still helping him to turn heel.

The overall match should be good, maybe not great. I think the finish could likely come from how it ended during the House Show match I seen. Batista will go for a Batista-bomb, he'll get H.B.K. up in the sit-out position, only for Shawn to fall out then connect with a Superkick. (I'm calling it right now, quote it, sig it, do whatever)

 

[Shocky]

Terrible match. I'm with Wes on this one, why the hell milk this out any longer then it needs to? Flair is gone, everyone can rejoice, but now Shawn Michaels is stuck working with a stiff hack like Batista.

I've tried to give Batista the benefit of the doubt, but the guy is terrible. Outside of his matches with the Undertaker, the guy is dull. His matches with Triple H are some of the most over rated pieces of junk ever. The guy is a terrible worker, stiff as concrete, and just terrible all around. The only good thing to happen is Batista blowing his back out.

 

[Cage917r]

I think this match is completely a match that is going because the WWE has run out of fresh fueds right now. With the Draft coming in two weeks, well its supposed to be nothing announced yet though, they are looking for things to put on the card at Backlash. Thats were this idea truly came from.

In regards to the match, it will be pretty good for two reasons. First, it features Shawn Michaels, he can get good matches out of almost anybody and Batista is not as bad as some people say he is. This should be a decent match, wrestling wise, HBK brings credibility to it in the aspect. Second, it is another match were the outcome is truly unpredictable. I mean you would expect HBK to win, but if they are planning on moving Batista to Raw, which they should, they could give him a huge win to give him uber momentum while coming back to Raw, this is a true toss up.

The only problem I have with the match is that fact that it is based on the Ric Flair storyline. They should just let it go already, yes it was a touching moment on Raw, but after watching the recap 3 times, they should let it go, he is gone, we all know. And the whole idea of Michaels should have laid down is stupid. It doesn't make sense, nobody tried to talk him out of it on any of the shows, so why would they care now.

I think what happened is WWE realized that the Batista/Umaga thing wasn't gonna work, realized they needed a few matches for Backlash and came up with this idea. The match will be pretty good, but the idea behind I dont care for too much. So I'm kinda torn on this one.

 

[a7xoff]

Wow. This match has great buildup potential. However. There is really no point to it. Like Shocky said. Flair is gone. No need to drag out anything involving his match with Shawn any further. It's over... Now you have a match with a good buildup so far. Problem is. The match is for a stupid reason and will I think not be very good. HBK apparently is still learning a lot of moves and stuff even in his age, so it'll be interesting to see if he debuts new stuff. However we can all expect the same old stuff from Batista. The bottom line is it gets boring seeing the same thing match in and out. I hope that Umaga somehow gets involved here to spice up the match setting his exit from Raw for SD!

 

[jazwaz1]

I'm just really hoping that Shawn goes over Batista here, because I think Batista is just much more suited for the heel role. He did good as being pissed off and whatnot. If Batista needs a hard worker to make him work hard, it's Shawn Michaels.

Let's just say I won't be happy if Batista goes over Shawn because that hack don't deserve it.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Hm, gee will were did the "neither guy has nothing to gain" theory come form hhhhmmmm??

Like Willenium said, Nothing is to be gained by either guy, so the only thing I can see happening here is a full Batista heel turn, which IMO would be awesome. Ive really been liking Batista in the heel role the last couple weeks. So I can see him decimating HBK beyond what everyone thinks is necessary, and goin heel, possibly to be drafted to RAW this month. (btw, all this draft talk...there has most certainley been NO draft announced, and they generally promote that kind of thing)....HBK sells Power offense like none other, and I think he will pull a watchable match outta Batista, and this should be an interesting match to be a part of the live crowd for

 

[bucwild]

They will fight at Backlash I will be there i see this fued carry 4 two months wit Batista destroyin HBGay not by pin but tryin to end his career n puttin Batista as a heel, he needs to be heel no1 else to fight as a face.All this will do is make Batista look lame though he will lose in this fued wit HBGay cuz he cant wrestle lil guys or big guys except Taker who i am tired of seein Taker whip his ass!I hope no HHH fued wit Batista after HHH fueds wit JBL(that will happen)

 

[HBK-aholic]

So, I doubt it's going to be great. Batista doesn't do 'great' matches, but hey, here he has a chance to wrestle one of the best. Maybe it'll being out the best in him, and maybe we will see a really good match. However, I'm doubting it. Shawn Michaels can carry anyone to a good match, which is what this will be. It won't be anything special, and I doubt we'll remember it. But it'll be okay. Batista may be remembered for the match, but for HBK this will most likely just be nothing.

Hopefully, this match will be the end all of it. I don't see the point in this feud, other than neither man had anything else to go into, so they put them together. In theory, i like the idea of someone hating on Shawn for ending Flair's career. I think it's a good way to keep the legacy alive, without having Flair back every 2 seconds. Whether Batista is the right person to continue this storyline with him is questionable.

I don't see Shawn and Batista having a meaningful feud at all. Batista is limited in the ring, and I aren't a fan of his mic work. To be honest there's few people he could have a good match with. Shawn and Taker are 2 of them. But really it just seems pointless.

 

[Danmen001]

This will probably be a average, to good type of match. It will be nothing too memorable as a wrestling match. This will probably be just to hype and help us remember Ric Flair, as well as giving HBK and Batista something to do on the ocassion.

This won't last too long as a fued most likely, although I do see this match ending in DQ and continuing for a little while longer to help build some sort of steam. HBK will be they key to making this fued decent. There is not much they can do with this match but to have a 'lost friendship' type of thing.

 

[domc36]

When you guys say batista can not wrestle I totally understand what your saying. he has very limited move set. But the intensity he brings to the ring just makes awsome matches. And for anyone who said that the Batista vs Undertaker match at WM24 was bad either didnt watch or is just blind. My all time in ring performer has and always will be Shawn Michaels. My other favorite is Batista. I personally have been waiting for this fued for awhile.

 

[foof]

I'm not sure why everyone is complaining... at least this feud has a story that isn't predictable.

Take the ending to RAW as an example, with the 4 way... who didn't see that coming?
The build up from now until backlash will feature nothing but one on one matches with run-ins... and tag matches (alternating the 4 guys as partners perhaps). Nothing new, nothing interesting.

With HBK and Batista, every week we can have a different element added to the story. A different confrontation with a different level of an intensifying conflict.
I don't see Batista running in on an HBK match on RAW, because Batista is not a full on Heel (perhaps closer to Backlash, or after).

We got the Confrontation on Smackdown, the Highlight reel on RAW, I didn't read the spoilers for this week's Smackdown, but I imagine something interesting there too.

Granted the match might not be HBKs best (however probably Batista's).. it might be an average-to-good match (or maybe even great.. you never know)... but that's the same thing you can say about most of the matches nowdays. At the very least this one will have the unpredictability factor, and a buildup that isn't stale.

I'm a fan of unique, interesting, and episodic feuds/buildups... and this looks like it is going to be just that... which is more than you can say for most high-profile feuds in the WWE nowdays.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[schaeffershawn]

I have away to make this a much more intresting story. Have another confrontation where shawn tells Dave if he had laid down ric would have lost respect for him forever, and he would rather lose daves respect then Rics

Next have Dave beat down every wrestler trained by Shawn, and even bring Bentley in for it as he has been getting a try out. Dave cuts monster heel promo Shawn you took out my idol so IM going to start by taking out all those who idolized you, and finish with you at backlash.

Then Dave is Heel. Much better because being heel often hides ones limited wrestling ability(edge), while still getting them over(edge again).

To add more dpeth have Dave tell HHH to stay out of it because other wise he will be next, for not talking HBK out of wrestlemania. when HHH is the only guy who could have.

 

[chrisgod]

Is it just me or nobody has even mentioned Jericho been added to this one?

This match just seems like a bunch of pieces of different puzzles trying to be together.

I wouldn´t be surprised if next week we get a special stipulation or a gimmick added to this match (as I'm not considering the fact that a special referee could mean some sort of No DQ/Gimmick).

There will be a match between Batista and Undertaker on Smackdown, and I'm assuming this one will have some run in from either Jericho or HBK, as Jericho was superkicked last monday and I suppose Batista will beat Y2J now, in order to create some tension between them... Any other way would simply mean Y2J turning on Michaels at Backlash (but not that schocking, as he got nailed by HBK) this resulting in Y2J vs HBK again, and Batista going straight to smackdown midcard and become the official squasher of the tag team division.

But I guess we will get no heel turns (unless you consider now Jericho a heel), no brand switch for anyone, a stupid No Contest finish, and lots of months of a pointless three way feud, with two of them becoming the awful rival tag team champions after beating Santino and Carlito (all of that would happen before the next PPV). Or even worse, we may see a meh match with little or no involvement of Y2J (as it seems he is this match just because there are no plans for him... ahhh stupid Hardy), a clean pin for either men, and no mention of this feud for next night's Raw...

I’ve already read the spoilers for smackdown, so I will post a new one with my prediction as soon as this goes public, but I think nothing can add some interest to this one…

 

[The Champ is here]

This match will definitly be the showstealer

Just like HBK made John Cena a better performer in the ring he will do the same with Batista.

If Batista can trust a smaller veterun in the ring like John Cena did at WM23, this is mostly to be Batista's best in ring performance match of his career. I hope HBK uses actually wrestling moves on Batista because it will show how good Batista really is.

I pretty sure this rivaly will spill over to Judgement Day. Especially with Jerico added as the guest referee.

I think it might end with HBK attempting to give Batista the sweet chin music but then Chris Jerico just walking out of the ring saying; the hell with both of yall.

It's just going to be a fun match to watch and i cant wait to see it.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Now that they've added Jericho in with this whole thing, and they're adamant about him being a major part of it, I can see them having a triple threat match at Judgment Day...but I'm not hoping for it unless Kennedy wins King of the Ring. If he doesn't, I think the best option for WWE to take is for Jericho/Kennedy to feud over the IC title. They can still do it if he wins the KOTR, but it'll seem a little odd to me.

If they DO in fact have a triple threat match in the works, then this will end up being yet another Backlash match that will end in a DQ or "no contest". I wouldn't mind an ending like that if its the only one on the card, but it seems to me that Taker/Edge will end in that, the Fatal Four-Way will have a "controversial" ending, MVP will retain by DQ, etc.

The main thing I'm hoping for in this is that Batista turns heel and HBK comes out on top, which I think is rather likely. Maybe Batista almost gets disqualified by Jericho, which pisses him off and distracts him long enough for HBK to hit the superkick, get the 1-2-3, and then Batista goes nuts afterwards and attacks them both. If they really want to make him heel and have it start off with a bang, do that, but on top of it, have the "people from the back" come out and try to stop him, but they all get the shit kicked out of them too. I'm not a fan of Batista, but I think he'd be much better as an angry heel than the face we've been seeing for a long while.