Do you like Batista better as a babyface or heel?

[CM Steel]

YES the animal Dave Batista is back in the WWE!

From his time in OVW to when he made his debut on Smackdown in 2002 as the bodyguard of Rev. Devon Dudley all the way up to the mega faction Evolution. Batista had always been a heel. Until the night where Batista gave the rest of Evolution the "thumbs down", he became a babyface over night on the road to Wrestlemania 21 in Hollywood. And from then the main eventer Batista Batista bombed our hearts as a babyface for the next 4 and a half years.

But in the fall of 2009 Batista had turned on his best friend (in the WWE) Rey Mysterio making him a heel once again during his final run in the WWE before leaving the company for 4 more years. Now past January of this year Batista returns back to the WWE after a period from making movies and other projects like he's back at the babyface role, from what we thought. But after the results of this years Royal Rumble Batista has become a big target for boo's from the crowd. Now Dave Batista is getting John Cena-like heat from the hot WWE crowd! What is Batista to do?

Now Batista is once again a heel going to headline this years Wrestlemania after taking a long vacation from wrestling against WWE champion Randy Orton, who is also a heel. But as for Batista all in all. Do you like Batista better as a babyface or heel?

 

[Dirk]

The whole thing with Daniel Bryan could not have been worse for poor Dave. Getting booed really has less to do with him and more with the fans wanting Bryan at the moment.

Maybe Wyatt should've beaten Bryan so badly that the fans would've known he wouldn't win the Rumble. Hindsight's 20/20, isn't it?

As for Batista, I view him as very much cut from the same cloth as Brock Lesnar. Sure, Brock's more technically sound and Batista's voice has actually matured, but they're the same size, with the powerhouse / savage gimmick. That's why I'd prefer Batista as a face, because Brock is that much better as a heel with Heyman. They balance out. By that same reasoning, I would book Show face when Henry's heel.

 

[JJV]

Better heel. He should have returned as a heel and feuded with Cena, defeating him at the Rumble and Orton should have had a match against Brock or someone else. That way Orton's reign wouldn't have been stale. Batista could have gradually turned face, he didn't really need to win the Rumble!

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

For me personally it has to be as a heel. Batista as a face just lacks charisma, he was never the best talker in the world but as a heel, you're less restricted so you can say more. IMO, everyone is better as a heel and Batista is awesome as a heel. Not that I dislike him as a babyface or an anything like that but heel is just the better option for him right now.

I think Batista vs Brock Lesnar is a match that's going to happen at some point and Batista will need to be the face for that feud.

 

[Zycho32]

On a fundamental level he made more sense as a heel even back in the day; his face turn in '05 made sense because Triple H was the pinnacle of Heel back in that time, and when you have a monster babyface, you have to deliver with a Grade A villain for him to vanquish. Doesn't work as well in a vacuum.

As for his present day status, Batista being a babyface BY ITSELF wasn't the major miscalculation, it was making him the Babyface HERO of the story being told that screwed him. I've reiterated this before, but while returning stars have come back to top spots in the past, they have NEARLY NEVER hijacked a key Wrestlemania storyline upon their returns- which is why I find the Batista angle to be so insultingly blatant that I believe it to be a sinister work on the fans.

But I'm digressing. A babyface Batista, looking to help dismantle the Authority, would've gone over reasonably well, provided he wasn't bottlenecking the title match with his Royal Rumble win.

 

[GeneralKarim]

This isnt a "Solve the problem by turning heel thing" for me.He is flat out better as a heel.His promos are better his body language, everything is better when he is a heel, it suits him.

As a face he seems very very very forced and his promos are terrible for the most part.He just doesn't have the necessary charisma to pull it off.All he has going for him as a face, is his physique.

 

[sulfureo]

well, the problem is...

1. Does wwe need a top heel or a top face? In my opinion, in this moment we have only one belt and a lot of top face (Cena, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and maybe Cm Punk, I'm not sure he's done), wwe need another heel.

2. The return of Batista was builded as a face, they obviously think people have loved his winning the rumble. Everyone of you have seen what happened... I've ever seen a face boed like Batista that day. It was impressive.

So, I think now wwe have no chance, now, then a heel Batista (and change the wrestlemania main event, no one cares about Batista vs Orton): they don't need a Batista face, people dont want a Batista face.
For me, it's sad... cause I've ever prefered the face Batista. Turn a top face into heel is often the start of his decent... look at Ryback

I think Batista vs Brock Lesnar is a match that's going to happen at some point and Batista will need to be the face for that feud.

totally agree with you

 

[jrock8382]

Ill pick heel....only because NEITHER wasn't an option.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Some guys can do heels, some can do faces, some are able to do both with equal grace. In the case of Batista, the only way I've ever found him at all tolerable is as a heel. During the last 8 or 9 months of his last run in WWE, there were times he could be pretty entertaining. While never great, he's much better on the mic as a heel and he's just easier to get into.

When I look at Batista, he screams heel to me. I know that you can't really tell whether or not someone is a "good person" just on how they look, but Batista always struck me as someone who looks like a "bad guy." I suppose that perception was also heavily influenced by reading Batista's book. In real life, as least based on a lot of what was in his book, the guy's a pure bred asshole. On Twitter, the guy comes off like a pure bred asshole, so why not go the natural route of portraying him as a pure bred asshole? He just seems to be much more comfortable in the role of a heel, it feels more natural.

 

[Mustang Sally]

At this writing, the poll is running 10-3 in favor of "heel," which supports my contention that most wrestling fans prefer everyone as a heel. If you read past posts on different performers about whom this question pertains, just about everyone answers "heel" to whichever wrestler is being asked about. I believe that the wrestlers themselves also prefer to play heels. I would imagine this is so because it's easier to make fans hate you than like you.

In Batista's case, though, it seems there really is little choice. The fans won't accept him as a good guy.....in fact, I think WWE was caught completely by surprise by the negative reaction the Universe had to this guy coming back at all. Did they figure we were clamoring for Big Dave to return after he voluntarily left?

So, it's really simple. The guy is back; he's tied to a 2 year contract and the company is stuck with him, probably paying a very large sum of money to get him.....and possibly ceding a significant amount of creative control to keep him happy.

Going on the principle that there's nothing that ruins WWE's plans more than having their good guys jeered, the company probably figures if the fans are going to boo him anyway, they might as well make him a heel so it's harder to tell what they're booing: the performer, or the dastardly deeds he's executing in the ring.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The whole thing with Daniel Bryan could not have been worse for poor Dave. Getting booed really has less to do with him and more with the fans wanting Bryan at the moment.

I think there's a good deal of truth in that. I've never been a huge fan of Batista, but the way Bryan's popularity has exploded, especially since his return to the singles ranks last summer, is something that I don't think anyone could foresee. While I do believe WWE underestimated Bryan's popularity, I also think they overestimated Batista's. Batista had been gone for close to 4 years and during that time, guys came along and were showcased that a LOT of fans simply preferred. Inside the ring and/or on the mic, there are many younger talents on the roster that are far superior to Batista.

However, fans have just simply rallied around Daniel Bryan in a way that hasn't been seen in a very, very long time in wrestling. The age old saying about everyone loving an underdog is true, but they especially love an underdog that has not only the heart, but the talent to go with it. Prior generations were brought up with the notion that if you apply yourself, really work hard, do your absolute best and be who you are that can do anything. Unfortunately, real life doesn't quite work out that way no matter how much all of us might wish it did. All the same, it's an example of old school optimism that a whole lot of people wish was still around. When you turn on the TV to CNN, surf any news website, see some sort of tabloid cover on the rack in the grocery story while you're checking out; just about all you see is negativity and cynicism. Even though pro wrestling is staged, I think a lot of fans like the notion of someone more "old school" like Daniel Bryan make good. Batista sort of pointed that out in his heel promo on SD! last week when he mentioned something along the lines of "if he can do it, maybe I an do it too" with Batista, Orton, The Authority, Kane & others sort of representing that cynicism & negativity. Nobody likes seeing someone get screwed over, especially when that someone has the ability to justify being someone that "makes it."

Fans have chosen Daniel Bryan because of his ability, his passion and even his sense of "normalcy" when compared to guys like Batista. It may not have been the original plan, but WWE has to be seeing money in Bryan.

 

[kumarjtk]

I like batista as a babyface. He carried smackdown with eddie and rey as babyface is good.

wwe wants batista as a top baby face. But they put him in a wrong place and wrong time. Now they forced to turn batista heel. Fans wont hate batista, actually they cheer when he return before royal rumble. After he get the spot of bryan, they booed him.

Wwe creative think batista vs randy for wwe title at mania is big main event. But fans think bryan vs randy for wwe title at mania is big main event.

Its very sad that fans hate batista.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I definitely agree that the failure of Batista as a babyface upon his return was less about him and more about Daniel Bryan, he didn't get booed out of the building upon his actual return. The fans didn't turn on him until after it was clear that Daniel wasn't in the Rumble. If they went a different route with him, he probably would have been okay.

There's a reason I say probably, though. The last time saw Batista before he returned, he threw a bitchfit and quit in the ring after losing to Cena again. Has anyone considered that maybe it hasn't been long enough and that memory is still fresh in the casual fan's mind? A bit of a stretch, but I'm just trying to look at it from a different angle.

He was good as a face. He had the skill set to do a good job getting over while maintaining enough of an edge to keep the dumb ***** from Cena-ing him. But as a heel, he excelled greatly as a performer. I have to assume that being a douche just came naturally to him, he was way too good at it for it to have been an act.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Before he left I preferred him as a heel. As a face he never shown that much personality on the mic and imo never really moved away from the popular big guy character he played in evolution, which was cool when he turned on HHH but then again HHH was really carrying that feud. Once he became a heel his promos suddenly had a lot of life to them and it was like he finally found his groove on the mic.

Current day I probably would pick heel as well just because his "face" promos when he first came back was really lackluster. Yes I know there's a giant goat-faced elephant in the room and his return could have definitely been handled better, but really he just seems more natural at trolling the audience than trying to get cheers from them.

 

[Pedigree1]

Batista is a much better heel than a face. He is just someone that screams Im in it for me,i could care less about the fans pay me my money. There is a lot of truth in what i just typed,batista last run in the E,his last year was again his most entertaining he ever did.

While no one can confuse him with a technician,when Boretista is focused and zoned in,the dude is quite entertaining. Now Im sure Him and the E couldn't imagine the hate he has gotten since he came back. A lot of that has to do with Batista claiming he loves this business. Us the fans dont buy that shit for a minute.. If you love it,why did you leave?

I dont begrudge him for leaving,but dont come in and say a bunch of shit and expect us to believe it. Batista just needs to go full-blown heel tell the fans he doesn't care about them and is it only for himself.. Cut an epic promo such to a degree that people throw their cups and whatever they want at you..

 

[Loveless]

When I look at Batista, he screams heel to me. I know that you can't really tell whether or not someone is a "good person" just on how they look, but Batista always struck me as someone who looks like a "bad guy." I suppose that perception was also heavily influenced by reading Batista's book. In real life, as least based on a lot of what was in his book, the guy's a pure bred asshole. On Twitter, the guy comes off like a pure bred asshole, so why not go the natural route of portraying him as a pure bred asshole? He just seems to be much more comfortable in the role of a heel, it feels more natural.

Exactly. The guy is a dick, we know he's a dick, so him pretending not to be a dick doesn't work because you can see straight through it.
I can't really stand the guy either way and just wish he'd go away, but if he has to get in the way, it's better he uses the antipathy of the crowd.

 

[suleman09]

Ill pick heel....only because NEITHER wasn't an option.

I second that. He is much better as a heel because it's so easy to hate him.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

So much feels wrong about Batista's return that it's hard to know where to start. He leaves four years ago as a whiny heel that gets good heat. Two years ago Jericho (also a heel) trolls the Universe upon his return. Ever since HHH returned from his quad injury its nerved me to have bad guys disappear and return good guys without any story. It bothers me that the audience accepts such lazy writing. I hope that Batista's luke warm return was somewhat in part to the fans having a memory and an inability to accept laziness in WWE's writing.

On top of that, the guy gets reintroduced by the two biggest heels in WWE. As leaders in WWE it makes sense to have them want to be the ones to introduce his return but he somewhat seemed to embrace them. WWE is smart enough to understand and take advantage of people's perceptions of HHH but almost seemed to ignore it with Batista. Would have seemed to make more sense to have King reintroduce Batista.

Also in that return he seemed to be begging for pops. His posing carried on too long and felt forced and unwanted. Plus what grown man dresses like that?

Since then he won The Rumble without making it look great and after others like Cesaro, Kofi, and Reigns kind of stole the attention. DB also cast a huge shadow in general.

From there, there was no saving him. Beating up ADR only goes so far. The two look to be better buddies than rivals.

But to answer the question I'd say Batista makes a better heel. He can pull off both but without proper story telling he is not talented enough to do either. In fairness, not many guys are gifted enough to succeed without a proper story (Rock, Jericho, Piper) but Batista is definitely a guy that needs help.

 

[The Perfect Max]

It's easier to be a heel because it's easier to be hated than to be loved. Batista seems to use this formula, because quite frankly, whether it was before he left in 2010, or now during this train wreck of a run in 2014, it has been so much easier to hate him. Why? Well, the situation, especially now. I suppose the crowd tends to split when anyone faces John Cena, so that doesn't count. He made a poorly worded comment about a fallen hero in Eddie Guerrero, so the basic switch got him heat, and now, because he's in the WrestleMania main event and not called Daniel Bryan, he gets heat.

This has been Batista's career. In 2005, when he broke away from Evolution, he was interesting because Triple H was so hated as the brilliant heel he was, and people were desperate for a new face. I'll admit I enjoyed his run in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but he was rather bland towards the end because he never changed as a face. The closest he came to a turn was in 2007 against The Undertaker, but this never happened.

They tried so hard with him during his heel run, and it sorta worked. His promos during late 2009 and early 2010 were the best he'd ever done, and his character was fresh and somewhat interesting again. I suppose because Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker was the headliner, that took away from his destructive run. I also suppose the fact he lost most of his matches, and the only ones he won were cheap, he didn't come across well. It's arguable that booking was the issue for Batista, and not because he lacked charisma. To be fair, he did, but booking didn't help things.

Now, he is a fully fledged heel. For now, I suppose. He's only hated because people disagree with the WWE's decision to have him come back and headline WrestleMania. That in itself is not a reason to dislike a superstar. This proves that fans are booing Batista to actually boo the WWE as there isn't a walking logo wandering around to boo.

Overall, as watered down he was or is as a face and heel, I'd have to go heel, as his best work was during this period.

 

[joduke41]

I think he just comes across as a bit smug.Never liked him as a face.Plus can't take a guy serious as a good guy with his nose pierced.Seems a bit douche baggy.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Batista is a FAR better heel that babyface, seemingly because he is kind of a jerk in real life.

Batista's never had a really good run as a babyface IMO. His original turn on Triple H before Wrestlemania 21 was solid but that was quickly ruined when he was drafted to Smackdown shortly after where he would go on to only have one really solid title defense against Eddie Guerrero before having to take time off with injury. Then when he came back to Smackdown his only great feud was with The Undertaker which he wasn't really a face for any of those matches. Then if I recall correctly, his only work as a face since then was a short lived run on RAW in 2008, another short term stint on RAW at the end of 2009 before turning heel on Rey Rey & of course his current "face" run if you can even call it that anymore.

So unless a tweener Dave vs. The Undertaker counts, the only really great work Batista did as a face was: Putting Triple H through the table prior to WM 21 - Batista vs. HHH inside Hell in a Cell at Vengeance 2005.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

He's more entertaining as a heel.

As others said, Batista has a natural flow as an asshole. On top of that, the heel persona is a better fit for his wardrobe. As a face, Batista looks like someone, who's going through a mid life crisis. As a heel, his wardrobe (the irony for a "real man" wearing skinny, tight jeans) accommodates his persona as a narcissistic dick, with a massive ego.

 

[Headman]

Baby faces shouldn't have nose piercings and belly button tattoos. All he's missing is a tramp stamp. I do enjoy him as a heel though. He seems more comfortable in that role anyway.

 

[CM Steel]

All I know is. Batista can play a bad ass Kanye West! Like how big Dave did at the WWE Slammy awards that year with Maria playing the Taylor Swift role. The only difference with those two at the "scene of the crime" was they needed security guards to come and get Batista though.

Okay so I guess he is a heel.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Batista is infinitely better as a heel. He's had good runs as a face before, but he was always more entertaining as a heel. His best time during his last run in the WWE was the final string of months he spent as a heel. The feud with John Cena that was going on exactly 4 years ago from this time was excellent and even after 3 PPV events worth of feuding, it was still highly enjoyable when most feuds reach the point need to end after the second PPV match these days. Batista gets more of a reaction out of fans when he is a heel and his look benefits him more as a heel than it would as a face. I don't dislike him in the face role, it works if needed, he's just that much better at making the fans angry enough to pay money to see someone like Cena or Bryan defeat him. Let him do what he does best, keep him a heel.