Boretista? I Don't Think So

[The Eighties]

The angle with Triple H that made Batista a star was one of the best of the decade in my view, however once the hype settled it was clear how average he was in the ring and that the guy's working with him were moving a lead statue around in there.

To his credit though he got better as the years went on and by his last two years he was capable of a good match if his opponent could hold their end up, and even a great match if the opponent was HBK or Taker.

On the mic I thought he was dull except for his heel run at the end. As for looking like a champion? I personally have never bought into the Vince idea that a champion should look like a He-Man figure, but to Batista's credit he carried himself like a champion with his presence and how he dressed, something many big men can't pull off.

The boring accusations I think came from the fact he was vastly inferior to his powerhouse predecessor Lesnar, was made champion before he was ready and the fact he was endlessly in title matches on Smackdown, a lot of which were badly booked to stretch out over the silly amount of PPV's WWE have these days.

 

[Davi323]

I can't stand Batista...but it has nothing to do with his size or his in-ring ability. It's because Dave Bautista, the man, is a total douchebag. I have heard numerous stories about him telling fans to fuck off, and then there is this:

Now, don’t get me wrong, my ex-wife is the love of my life and I would never knowingly hurt her. However, while I was busting my butt on the road like a dog, she would sit around the house and do nothing. I mean, yeah, she had cancer, but she couldn’t vacuum? And since the chemo made her ‘not in the mood’, I had no choice but to have threesomes on the road. I mean, she’s talented and I hated to see her waste her life like that when she could be a dancer, or maybe a nurse. But she’s not a bad person and I take full responsibility for my actions, even though it was her fault.

It's HER fault that she got cancer? It's HER fault that Batista was "forced" to have threesomes on the road? He takes full responsibility but it was all her fault? Bullshit. I hate Batista because he is a fucking piece of shit poor excuse for a human being.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, I'll admit to being a hypocrite about this. When he was here, I didn't care for him. In addition to the negative factors mentioned by the OP, I found that Batista's opponent had to coax a good match out of him; that Dave himself wasn't capable of leading the action and making a good contest of it. In other words, it was his foe who determined whether Dave came off as Bore-tista or not.....Dave didn't have the ability to carry a match by himself.

Also, I didn't like what I read about him. He seemed to be perpetually angry at management when they wanted him to be less than a raging monster who wins every match. He wanted to be the champion and allegedly couldn't understand why WWE saw him as anything less. Yet, he illogically agreed to job to Rey Mysterio.....and watching him get cleanly pinned by a runt like Rey remains one of the most visually ridiculous things I ever saw. Even more, it annoyed me he would agree to do that while expressing dissatisfaction about losing to other top-flight wrestlers. (As I said, this is what I read. If all of it was untrue or unfair, then I stand corrected).

So where does my hypocrisy come in? Well, now that he's gone, I find myself wishing he was back. Whether it was due more to Dave or to his opponents, I did enjoy a lot of the matches he was in. If he can come back with genuine enthusiasm for wrestling, it would be good to see him again.

 

[RD_21]

Personally I had nothing against Batista. I started to really respect him when he did his matches against Undertaker and you saw he was good in the ring for a big man.

As for his mic skills what's really a bummers is that for me he hitted the jackpot when he left when he was in a kind of "Hollywood Batista" gimmick like Rock and Hogan. Just wished he had stayed as he was pure gold and the most interesting he ever been for me.

 

[Workrate]

I think Batista has a terrific look, but otherwise he's garbage. I'm not entertained by him on the mic, in the ring, or based on my perception of how he is in "real life". And it's not a prejudice against "bigger power guys" -- I actually like those types of guys and think there's a real value in having them. But to me, Batista brings nothing I want to see to the table. I hope he never returns.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I agree with almost every part of the OP's analysis of the "Animal" Dave Batista. I also thought he was very talented and a solid (yet injury prone) worker. In my opinion he was the top face of the WWE in 2005 and would've remained on top if he didn't get injured so often after WrestleMania 21. The only thing I disagree with, is the OP's opinion that Batista was great on the mic. He was silver (not quite pure gold) as a heel and produced several memorable promos in his last feud with John Cena but as a face I never thought he was good. Just like Orton, Batista seems to truly be in his element when playing a top heel but struggles with the concept of being face. They both try to seem light-hearted and funny but fall flat, making them look dumb in the process. Other than that though, Batista is great and one of the top draws of the last decade.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I can't help but think that Batista had motivation issues. Look at who his best feuds have been against. Cena, Undertaker, HHH and a short but decent feud with HBK. They are the who's who of the WWE. And yet when Batista has feuded with stars that were just a whisker below these greats, those feuds have blown big time. Booker T, Edge and Orton are great superstars in their own right and have had great feuds and matches with good and bad wrestlers alike but for some reason were unable to have with Big Dave.

Motivated Dave was a good worker by all means. He could cut a good promo, got his expressions right and could really play off the crowd. I remember watching him getting a huge reaction even by doing small things by taking off his sunglasses in his feud with HHH and I thought that there was some real charisma in this guy. Motivated Batista also fought like a true animal. You could see the spring in his step when he feuded with a big name guy. He seemed more intense, worked stiffer and was more willing to entertain.

Bored Batista was an average worker at best. He did not really seem interested in what he was saying or doing and his matches suffered because of that. At the end of the day you could say that he did a good job for the company but I guess we have been spoiled by the likes of Austin, Rock, Cena and Orton for years, guys who have had a great work ethic( bar that summer of 2002 for Austin), and so Batista suffers in comparison. I guess he could make your company some good money but unlike Cena and Orton, he would not be the guy I would choose to put an up and comer over.