Boretista? I Don't Think So

[The Brain]

There’s no doubt that a good percentage of the IWC favors a certain style. Guys like Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Eddie Guerrero are Gods of the IWC. On the other side of the spectrum are bigger, more muscular power wrestlers who, while often more successful, don’t receive the same respect. From what I’ve read here over the years Batista has a lot more critics than fans.

I’ve read Batista was slow and sloppy in the ring. I’ve read he looks like a roided up monster. I’ve often seen him referred to as Boretista. I don’t get it. What was so bad about Batista? I thought he was pretty damn good and he was obviously very successful in WWE. Batista may not have had the finesse and agility of some of the more popular wrestlers among the IWC but I never noticed him being sloppy in the ring. Why are wrestlers who use aerial moves regarded as being so much better than wrestlers who use power moves? Just because a guy doesn’t move quickly and bounce off the ropes a lot doesn’t mean he’s sloppy.

He looks like a roided up monster. Since when is that a bad thing? You know what Batista looked like to me? A wrestler. A star. Let’s say you’re taking someone who has never seen wrestling to a show. You show them a picture of Batista and a picture of Punk. Who do you think they would be more interested in seeing? Wrestlers are supposed to be larger than life and Batista had a great look. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly view his look as a negative.

Boretista? How was he boring? Batista could be intense, dramatic, and funny. He was always comfortable on the mic and never came off as rehearsed. He had big feuds with Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena that all told a great story. For years he was an extremely popular face and during his last few months played a great heel. The fans always seemed interested when Batista was in the ring.

Maybe I’m exaggerating the Batista hate around here. Are there any other Batista fans here who have noticed the lack of respect Batista has always received on this forum? Are you one of the Batista haters? Either way I’d like to read some general opinions on Batista.

 

[Big Papa Santo]

There’s no doubt that a good percentage of the IWC favors a certain style. Guys like Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Eddie Guerrero are Gods of the IWC. On the other side of the spectrum are bigger, more muscular power wrestlers who, while often more successful, don’t receive the same respect. From what I’ve read here over the years Batista has a lot more critics than fans.

I’ve read Batista was slow and sloppy in the ring. I’ve read he looks like a roided up monster. I’ve often seen him referred to as Boretista. I don’t get it. What was so bad about Batista? I thought he was pretty damn good and he was obviously very successful in WWE. Batista may not have had the finesse and agility of some of the more popular wrestlers among the IWC but I never noticed him being sloppy in the ring. Why are wrestlers who use aerial moves regarded as being so much better than wrestlers who use power moves? Just because a guy doesn’t move quickly and bounce off the ropes a lot doesn’t mean he’s sloppy.

He looks like a roided up monster. Since when is that a bad thing? You know what Batista looked like to me? A wrestler. A star. Let’s say you’re taking someone who has never seen wrestling to a show. You show them a picture of Batista and a picture of Punk. Who do you think they would be more interested in seeing? Wrestlers are supposed to be larger than life and Batista had a great look. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly view his look as a negative.

Boretista? How was he boring? Batista could be intense, dramatic, and funny. He was always comfortable on the mic and never came off as rehearsed. He had big feuds with Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena that all told a great story. For years he was an extremely popular face and during his last few months played a great heel. The fans always seemed interested when Batista was in the ring.

Maybe I’m exaggerating the Batista hate around here. Are there any other Batista fans here who have noticed the lack of respect Batista has always received on this forum? Are you one of the Batista haters? Either way I’d like to read some general opinions on Batista.

Your right, me and you are in the small minority of people who actually respect Dave Batista. I believe that the reason why the IWC doesn't like him is because even though I don't believe that he's on steroids, lets be honest, when you see a giant like him in the ring one of the first things that hits your mind is that his body isn't natural. And of course over the years people would overlook his ring ability, and just focus on his body. I haven't seen one discussion about Batista where he's not called by the unflattering name "Roidtista" or something like that. And I think that as you mentioned, he was actually to some degree bearable on the mic. Which, lets be honest, is very hard to find for big guys like him who are normally bronze over brains.

 

[Tyler44]

Well think of this.

Most of us here online are "critics" of WWE, and I believe all of us are at an age where we find our liking to WWE superstars more so of how they entertain us. I find myself more interested in the promos and segments rather than matches nowadays. Now yes Batista's appearance is great. He's jacked, huge, and powerful.

But the thing is, that was all. In my opinion his mic skills were somewhat tolerable on a good day, but he had no excitement to him. He was a big guy, a powerful guy, a strong guy with a good move set, but what else? We were coming off of Brock Lesnar, so the big guy wasn't unique anymore. He just didn't have that original feel to him, so I just couldn't get behind him. He didn't entertain me.

 

[SuperSteve16]

I am a Batista fan and I have also seen the lack of respect that he gets from the IWC. People say his boring and can't wrestle because of his size. That is bullshit. He is actually one of the better big man wrestlers and isn't sloppy in the ring. Sure his style is slow, but that's just the big men style. The main thing that pisses me of when people insult Batista is they say he is boring. I have hardly ever seen Batista as boring, he is decent on the mic and entertaining in the ring. He also has the look of a champion.

 

[Spuddogg]

There’s no doubt that a good percentage of the IWC favors a certain style. Guys like Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Eddie Guerrero are Gods of the IWC. On the other side of the spectrum are bigger, more muscular power wrestlers who, while often more successful, don’t receive the same respect. From what I’ve read here over the years Batista has a lot more critics than fans.

I’ve read Batista was slow and sloppy in the ring. I’ve read he looks like a roided up monster. I’ve often seen him referred to as Boretista. I don’t get it. What was so bad about Batista? I thought he was pretty damn good and he was obviously very successful in WWE. Batista may not have had the finesse and agility of some of the more popular wrestlers among the IWC but I never noticed him being sloppy in the ring. Why are wrestlers who use aerial moves regarded as being so much better than wrestlers who use power moves? Just because a guy doesn’t move quickly and bounce off the ropes a lot doesn’t mean he’s sloppy.

He looks like a roided up monster. Since when is that a bad thing? You know what Batista looked like to me? A wrestler. A star. Let’s say you’re taking someone who has never seen wrestling to a show. You show them a picture of Batista and a picture of Punk. Who do you think they would be more interested in seeing? Wrestlers are supposed to be larger than life and Batista had a great look. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly view his look as a negative.

Boretista? How was he boring? Batista could be intense, dramatic, and funny. He was always comfortable on the mic and never came off as rehearsed. He had big feuds with Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena that all told a great story. For years he was an extremely popular face and during his last few months played a great heel. The fans always seemed interested when Batista was in the ring.

Maybe I’m exaggerating the Batista hate around here. Are there any other Batista fans here who have noticed the lack of respect Batista has always received on this forum? Are you one of the Batista haters? Either way I’d like to read some general opinions on Batista.

I totally agree with you, i loved Batista i thought he was great and he achieved alot in the wwe and for that i respect the guy he went out there and put this body on the line for US!!! the Fans!!!

 

[ThinkinSmart]

Batista just was not able to put on as entertaining a match. Yes, he has the look of a wrestler, but when did he ever have a match where you thought "Man! Thats match of the year material!" When did he have a segment or cut a promo that you thought was a history making moment in WWE like ones made by Punk, Jericho or Guerrero? He is definitely judged very harshly but his limited in ring ability and very limited promo ability does make him rather boring to watch compared to many others regardless of size and look.

The problem is that with a guy like Lesnar who was huge and agile Batista just looks like a big muscle head who can't deliver.

 

[CleverName51]

I liked Dave. I just think he got over-exposed as someone who didn't have a lot to offer.

Like most power guys, he wasn't agile and didn't really innovate any "new" moves. He was also injury prone.

The thing for me is, he could only do so much, and once he did it a few times, it got old.

I don't hate the guy, he was one of my favorites, but I don't miss him either because there are other guys of similar size who can do more (Sheamus, Barrett) and that's basically for me, why I do not miss Dave Batista.

 

[Aberle4Life]

The main thing that bothered me about Batista was that I didn't think he should have been a main event guy the majority of the time he was. We were fed too much Batista, damn it!

He was adequate in the ring but nothing special. He didn't do anything for me on the mic until his final heel run, when I'll give it up for the guy. I thought right before he left was the best work he was doing, and I was sorry to see him go because I wanted him to continue that new character he was doing.

In fact, if he had stayed longer my opinion likely would have been that he was totally deserving of a main event spot if he continued down the road he was heading. But he didn't, and I can understand why people will never believe that Batista was all that. For the majority of his career, he just wasn't all that. He was good enough and that's it.

 

[The Brain]

Batista just was not able to put on as entertaining a match. Yes, he has the look of a wrestler, but when did he ever have a match where you thought "Man! Thats match of the year material!" When did he have a segment or cut a promo that you thought was a history making moment in WWE like ones made by Punk, Jericho or Guerrero? He is definitely judged very harshly but his limited in ring ability and very limited promo ability does make him rather boring to watch compared to many others regardless of size and look.

The problem is that with a guy like Lesnar who was huge and agile Batista just looks like a big muscle head who can't deliver.

I'm not saying Batista was a perennial match of the year candidate but I don't think his matches were boring either. I thought his program with The Undertaker was very good, especially their WM23 match. That was a great match. HIAC with Triple H was good as was his work with HBK. Just because he didn't deliver a match of the year doesn't make him boring.

I thought he had a few promos that were excellent. The entire build up to WM21 was well done. His feud with HBK after WM24 was also very good. He did a great job of showing anger, bitterness, and emotion over Michaels retiring Ric Flair. His promo before WM26 about how John Cena was given a spot that should have been his was one of the best promos I had seen in years. It was my vote for best promo of the year last year. People who call Batista a big muscle head who can't deliver aren't giving him a fair chance. So many times people claim the little guy doesn't get respect because of his size. Batista is a victim of the same thing. People see his big musclar body and automatically assume he has nothing to offer but a look. The look is important but Batista had more to offer than apperance.

 

[marklouis]

I would say that I enjoyed Batista much more as a heel than as a face. His last few months in the company were very good, as he found a very effective heel character & worked well with Cena & Mysterio. I think you make an interesting point. Unfortunately, many people in the IWC don't want to admit that what they like usually would not make a lot of money for wrestling promotions. If the internet had been around in the 80s, they would have hated Hogan & his feud with Andre. They would have thought it was an awful WrestleMania main event. But look at the money it made. There has always been a role for big guys, & if used effectively, they can make a promotion a lot of money.

 

[H33LTurn]

I have to say I agree with you 100%. The IWC does, unfortunately prefer one style over another. It doesn give us great guys like Jericho, Eddie, etc. but it hinders a lot of things as well. Men who spend more time on movesets than mic skills are hired in a time period when WWE is doing whatever it takes to be praised by anyone. In an effort to satisfy the IWC, WWE has hired people who are incredibly one dimensional and dont look the part. Its like they've considered every aspect of a wrestler instead of one very important one, credibility. The Miz, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, etc dont look like they stand a chance against someone like Batista. Now add in that theres guys like Mason Ryan, Skip Sheffield, Big Show, and Mark Henry walking around and you create the perfect scenario for fans at home who dont know about backstage politics to question why someone like Punk is WWE champion when someone like Ryan looks like he could kill him with one hand tied behind his back. Appeal also has a great thing to do with the perception of the product. If you see a video of two kids backyard wrestling, and you're not a die hard wrestling fan, you see two kids messing around. If you throw two guys who look like crackheads or models in the ring, well you can fill in the rest. Wrestlers are supposed to look like fighters. Batista satisfied that and at the same time had so many other things to add to the table. He could talk but his actions spoke more than his words. Batista did satisfy the Ruthless Aggression era that began when he won the WHC and Cena won the WWE title. To each his own, variety is a good thing in any business because it helps you analyze your audience better. Just because Batista doesnt fit the mold of what WWE is like today, doesnt mean that he should be compared to someone whos trying to satisfy different requirements i.e Punk or Bryan. Batista did what he had to do and was a success and he should be remembered as such, not compared to a mat wrestler for the sake of making it know that certain people prefer mat wrestlers.

 

[The American Legend]

I was a big Batista fan when I started watching wrestling. I had only seen WWE. He was big, good on the mic, had cool moves my brother and I could do, and beat JBL.

Then I started watching all kinds of wrestling. I got into Punk and Danielson and Mcguiness and Styles and Joe and Daniels, and realized Batista wasn't doing anything new, he was just the same in the ring all the time.

But then something funny happened. He started feuding with Cena. And kind of like what they did with Cena and Punk this summer, they started letting him use more moves. And I got interested again.

I appreciate Batista. Solid talent. Good in ring work and promos. I just wish that WWE would have let him expand his arsenal sooner. That's what makes guys boring to me. Limiting there move set. Its the same problem I have with Cena right now

 

[Richard Blonoff]

It wasn't that he was awful. You just knew what to expect. Couple big punches and clotheslines. Spear, spinebuster, Batista Bomb. 3 count

 

[willross]

Batista just was not able to put on as entertaining a match. Yes, he has the look of a wrestler, but when did he ever have a match where you thought "Man! Thats match of the year material!" When did he have a segment or cut a promo that you thought was a history making moment in WWE like ones made by Punk, Jericho or Guerrero? He is definitely judged very harshly but his limited in ring ability and very limited promo ability does make him rather boring to watch compared to many others regardless of size and look.

The problem is that with a guy like Lesnar who was huge and agile Batista just looks like a big muscle head who can't deliver.

YES.....against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 23, against Triple H at Vengeance just to name a few.

His final work as a heel is as entertaining a heel as the business has ever had. "Kissing babies and hugging fat girls" - best one liner ever

 

[Lion's Sacrifice]

In looking at Batista there isn't much more you could want from a wrestler. He has the look, he has the skill on the mic, then he could put solid matches. The only problem with Batistia is that people began to get tired of him. Because whenever he come back from an injury it was if he was thrown right back into the title picture. It seemed he was always feuding for the title. It was only in the last couple years around mania 24 that he began to move away from the belt. (Note: I'm not referring to his last run as heel.) Though,during that period he was able to put on some nice feuds with Umaga, and HBK. The problem was there was a good two to three year period that he was always challenging for the title. He became like Cena in the sense that we were always seeing him main event pay per views. That is why I believe people got tired of him and began to claim that he was boring. Same moves, same matches, same story. It is just like the hate with Cena. However, once he changed his character, going heel, Batista became cool again. He was the tough heel that could run through anyone. He's good, people just wanted something else.

 

[Bernkastel]

To be honest, it took some time for Batista to grow on me. I didn't particularly like his style in 2005, I will admit that he came across as a clumsy version of Brock Lesnar. The first feud of Batista's that really caught my eye was his program with the Undertaker. I stopped labeling him "boring" at that point.

Batista was one of those guys who just seemed not to be able to deliver while being forced to carry a match on his own, but shined brightest whenever he was matched up with veterans who knew exactly what they were doing. His matches against Khali and Umaga's weren't nearly as polished as say Cena's, but against Khali I'd say, from my point of view, I really saw Batista grow as a character. His selling, and overall delivery became top notch.

By the time he was fueding with Cena as a heel, I already considered Batista to be a top notch talent; miles better than he was in 2005 or even 2007. I was actually disapointed to see him walk away when he did, as I considered that to be his career prime.

 

[navyveteran]

This could just be my perspective of it all, but the IWC these days seems to want wrestlers that they feel relates more to who they are as people. The names I see celebrated the most are Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, and a few other smaller framed guys. Batista was a man twice to 3 times the size of any normal man. While Punk, in all appearances, is a guy you can run into a street. Same with Daniel Bryan. They are not large men. They don't have the height, the weight, the muscle mass that the big man does. So the IWC relates to these smaller guys.
Batista was fast for his size, of course he was strong. He wasn't bad on a microphone. I was a bit younger and more of a casual fan during his time. But I enjoyed him. I remember going to a show in OKC and having a sign for him during his face turn from Evolution.
But I agree with your point. He wasn't a bad talent and I would personally like to see him come back. And the IWC will disagree with me and call me a mark and blah blah blah.

 

[Psychopathic Savior]

You know why i dont like batista........because in his book he mentions how his wife has cancer and then brags about cheating on her and its her fault bc she should clean the house or cook. She is fn dying and he is worried out a few towells left out or a damn meatloaf. Biggest POS ever

 

[rge2010]

Brain - what you need to remember is the IWC is full of 'wrestling snobs' who jizz daily over ROH. These guys are more entertained by people like Colt Cabana and Trent Baretta than Batista.

Batista was entertaining. Not the best wrestler out there but he was the full package - decent ring work, decent on the mic and a great look/gimmick. He had great success in his tenure and some memorable moments. WWE doesnt need Batista, but it sure as hell misses him and I suspect even the haters miss him in some way.

If WWE continues to get that little big edgier I see Batista returning for one last run. Maybe a year on the road. Batista vs Brock at Wrestlemania 30. Yes please.

 

[FearMyBeard]

Good topic.


I liked Batista. I liked the way he was built up in his eventual win at WM21. That's how a main-eventer is made unlike some fools today who climb the mountain w/o that proper build-up. I enjoyed his feuds with the veterans of the company because he hanged both on the mic and in the ring. Lastly, his 2010 run as a heel was terrific(Comparing to his face-run). He cut great promos.Sadly though, he wasn't awarded a single win over Cena but what matters is that we, the audience, were entertained.

The Batista-hate isn't as strong compared to the Cena-hate(Which I feel is too much as well) but I'm guessing that some of the people who disliked Batista are the type of fans who really value in-ring performance(I'm not saying Batista's bad but he isn't great either especially if he's the one who's expected to carry a match. He's great when paired with another veteran.) and prefer a certain style as well. I won't badmouth 'em of course because we all have our own preferences. Some put more value in in-ring ability and believes that mic-skills are secondary while others(like me) value mic-skills more compared to in-ring ability. Either way, Batista was pretty decent in those two categories combined with his believable appearance and the opportunities he received, it's no wonder why he became a main-eventer and managed to show he deserved that spot.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I really liked Batista. He actually made me hate him during his heel run. He played one of the best heels ever and the WWE suffered a big loss. I always believed that Batista was always the better man in comparison to Cena. I believed he was the Austin of this era and Cena was The Rock. He was just unlucky. He lost two Wrestlemanias due to injuries.
He also had pretty memorable feuds. HBK, The Undertaker, Cena, Triple H just to name a few. And he could deliver in the ring when a given a proper opponnent. His matches with Edge were always entairtaining. His matches with The Undertaker at WM 23, Triple H at Vengeance and CM Punk at The Great American Bash were great.
I don't really want Batista to return because he is 43 now. He must be washed up. There are a lot more things for him to offer like using his name in order to put over talent. Batista had something that made each and every of his feud look personal.

 

[fenfool]

I honestly never saw any real personality in Batista or Brock Lesner. Batista was ok with Flair, HHH & Orton, but on his own I just never really enjoyed him. With him, it might be because every interview (off-tv) I read always presented him as totally disinterested with wrestling...to me, that's what I saw in the ring. With Lesner, it was like he never had a chance to develop into anything unique, personality-wise...he was always Jack Swagger on steroids to me. I don't know if it was because they were huge, because back in the day I liked Goldberg and Lex Luger, and a few other big men who could easily be ripped apart for their personalities too.

But I always thought I was the one in the minority, it seems everyone is clamoring for both to return, I never really cared to see either of them back. I don't hate them, but I just never really saw anything in their personalities to gain my interest.

 

[bko]

I always wondered why Batista got so much hate on. He wasn't exactly HBK or Bret Hart in the ring but not many people are, he was good for a big guy, he knew how to sell a match, control the crowd and tell a story, which I believe is lacking from 80% of the roster. He was not exactly The Rock of the mic but who the hell is, but at least he sounded natural and knew how to sell emotion when needed most. He got stale at points but that happens to all guys eventually when your on top for so long. look at guys like Triple H, HBK, Undertaker, Cena, and even Jericho have all had stale points of their careers.


You have to admit though, his final heel run was pretty darn cool.

 

[Miakisaki]

I see no place for Batista in the current product, because the industry is moving toward the more charismatic little guy approach than having big muscular dudes around. Batista has little to no charisma and only sticks out when he plays the bully character. We have that now in Mark Henry, and to bring him back into that role would be really unfair to Henry who finally built something good to run with. That and the PG atmosphere won't really be too good for him.

All I really remember of Batista aside from his Evolution stint was the feud with Mysterio and the whole resonating (and uncalled for) "EDDIE'S DEAD" quote.

 

[Dilligaf]

Batista for me was good when he first came into WWE, and over the 2 years after he got better, but once he made his way to the title picture he got snobby and was up his own arse with money and thought he was better than anyone else.

Then all he became was "im the biggest guy in WWE, every title shot is MINE and no-one else's" just like John Cena is/was.

I remember when he came to my town for an autograph signing, and he was advertised for a 3 hour meet & greet, but he left after an hour & he just signed autographs refused to talk to any of the kids or have photos took of him with the kids.

It caused so much uproar, the parents who took their kids complained, and it made our local newspaper.

TBH, I wouldnt be surprised if he came back to WWE sooner rather than later, if WWE offer him megabucks to match his so-called expensive lifestyle, as he left to try his hand at movies, and that didnt come to anything.

Then he treid MMA, and nothing. So WWE maybe the only way he make himself "Famous/relevant" again.