Is Batista overrated?

[CM Steel]

Dave Batista is back in the WWE! We've been hearing about him re-signing to the WWE for the past month and now he's here once again. And he's the winner of the 2014 Royal Rumble, which didn't set well with most WWE fans. Batista just got back, now he has a first class ticket to main event Wrestlemania 30. Pissing off the WWE locker room filled with superstars who have been working their asses off for the past two years trying to get where Batista is at right now.

When Dave Batista first got started in the WWE he was just another big meathead who played the bodyguard role in the form of "Deacon Batista" to "Rev" Devon Dudley in 2002 on the Smackdown brand. After awhile he moved to the RAW being hand picked by both Triple H and Ric Flair to join the group known as Evolution along side Randy Orton. After two years in Evolution Batista became his own man defeating his former leader and mentor Triple H for his first world championship at Wrestlemania 21. And after getting drafted to the Smackdown brand in 2005 he helped carry the brand on his back for a number of years. And in 2010, he left.

Before Batista left wrestling he had already had a epic career in such a short time. He was in his mid-30's when he started wrestling and had retired while at his peak. Now he's back pretty much picking up where he had left off, on top. Big Dave had been mentored by the best in wrestling history (Triple H & Ric Flair). If it had not been for Evolution just where would Batista's WWE career had gone down the road? Batista is a great wrestler so don't get me wrong here. But in a sence. Do you think that Batista is a little overrated if not alot?

 

[sTyLnK]

I was personally never a fan of his. As you stated he was just another big meathead and because of that his matches were always very slow and at snail speed.

I did enjoy his mic work over the years though. I felt that when he left, he was at the top of his game in that regard. That said I never ever considered him to be main event material despite being at the top. His matches made me want to gouge my eyes out. But he had the look that Vince wanted and he was friends with all the top guys, so there you go. It's all about connections in life. That is usually how most people land jobs in general. Through connections. I can't speak for others, but for me, he just never did it for me.

 

[Best in the World]

It's topics like this that makes things tough, because I have problems speaking for others opinions, and in order to answer this topic, I have to base my opinions on others opinions of him, which is all subjective to begin with.

But, if I have to go by what I've heard/seen, and what I believe, I do believe so. Batista kind of went through the phase after he left, where I noted people changing their opinions about him, compared to when he was in the company, I heard constant talk about how he couldn't wrestling, his promo-work was horrible (mind you this might have been more the minority than the majority, it's also impacted by the people you're around, the people I was around or communicated with, did this, so I have to go by that more-so than anything) and such, then he came back, and suddenly it was like he was one of the greatest wrestlers in the business, and could probably cut a promo with Roddy Piper.

Nowadays though, you'd be hard pressed to hear anything good about Batista, so I'd go as far to say at the moment he's underrated, because of how terrible people think he is, I still think he's somewhere in the below-average and average range, just maybe lower nowadays. But when it comes to big men in the business, there are definitely others, him being around HHH and Flair, certainly helped him out with the business and as we see today, REALLY did help him out in the business.

Then there was the whole face/heel run, that certainly did change a lot of peoples minds on him. Didn't really change mine, I thought the guy was average, maybe slightly below, but from a my view, he wasn't great and that's from my opinion and my viewpoint of him. If I had to say, yeah, he can be overrated, he's good, but definitely not great.

 

[solidsnake]

Not going into the past to me personally batista looked below average for whatever 10 odd minutes that he was in the ring at the rumble for.
Wwe hasvmade all this about him coming back and all but look what they have gotten into. At the moment none of its fanbase cares about the title picture everybody is either worried about where daniel bryan is or cm punk or sting or hogan or whats gonna happen with the undertaker.
Its good hes back but its not that big of an impact that he should immediately be headlining wrestlemania.
So id say yes he is overrated and the moment being pushedbdown our throats as well.

 

[kumarjtk]

No he is not overrated. Not all bigger mens get the main event spot. He work hard and gets that spot. wwe run smack down with him and edge as their top draw.
he is a top draw for wwe in 2010. No doubt it. After his depature wwe pick cm punk as their top draw. On that time i told to my friend that wwe make cm punk for batista spot.

Now 2014 Wwe put him back to his spot. Its definitely wrong decision. Once he come back he earn his spot. Cm punk worked very hard to get that spot.

Batista returning to raw is good for buisness. But his timing is bad and booking is very very bad. He wont get spot of main eventing wm30. Only one man deserve the main event spot is DB.

CM PUNK vs hhh is good one. They put the match as main event with cm punk carrier vs hhh coo job on the line. Cm punk wins and then DB comes to ring with titles and put yes lock until hhh taps. All fans chant yes yes yes. It is perfect way to end wm30.

 

[Dragonslayer]

I've always sort of liked Batista back in the day. Sure, he never was THE best in-ring worker, but he obviously had a great bad-ass look, and for a guy who got into the game quite late and who has his size and look, he was still capable of putting on above-average matches when paired with a good worker (see his series of PPV matches with HHH or Undertaker back in the day).

That being said, Batista in 2014 has become a victim of what I will from here on out call the "Danielson Decree".

The Danielson Decree states that anything and anyone that at this point in time gets in the way of Daniel Bryan being in the main event of Wrestlemania 30 and winning the WWE WHC right then and there, is an act of HEEL. So by way of the Danielson Decree, Batista was instantly turned heel when he won the Rumble, which the people interpreted as him "stealing" that spot away from Bryan, because the people didn't hope for Bryan to be in the main event at WM... they KNEW it. When he wasn't even in the match, they almost rioted. Heck, even poor little Rey Mysterio, for probably the first time in his entire CAREER (at least in WWE), was turned friggin HEEL by the crowd.

And it's understandible: the crowd has really bought into Bryan these past few months, basically since the "Authority" screwjobs began at Summerslam, and has heavily invested into him - of course they were expecting to get the pay off at Wrestlemania. And obviously, that's what WWE must do at this point - not at Payback or Extreme Rules, and not at Summerslam or Survivor Series... but NOW. At FRIGGIN WRESTLEMANIA 30. Period.

Now of course WWE could (and probably will) still spin it like Batista is the face in the planned Orton - Batista main event at WM. Only, that won't be the case. By way of the Danielson Decree, this will end up at heel vs heel main event, and all the spin doctoring in the world won't save WWE this time, because the Bryan movement has just taken on such a dynamic of its own, it will be impossible to orchestrate the crowd reaction the way WWE wants and usually also is able to do it. Both the reactions to the Orton/Cena match and the finish to the Rumble are testament to that. Heel vs Heel matches are never easy to pull off, and with the current state of affairs, it's impossible to do that at Wrestlemania, even if inadvertedly. The crowd would just sh*t all over the main event of Wrestlemania 30, if it's really Batista vs Orton.

What WWE should do now, is get Bryan into the main event of Mania, by any means necessary. And f*ck logic here; at this point - again by way of the Danielson Decree - anything that gets Bryan into the main event of Mania is an act of FACE.

So what I'd do is this: have Orton defend (or even Cena win) the strap at Elimination Chamber. The next night, the Authority comes out, talks a bit about the winner of the EC and how Bryan couldn't get it done "yet again"... but they say they have listened to the people, and give Bryan "one last chance" if he can either defeat the champion in a non-title match (effectively earning a shot) or (better, but more unlikely because he won't wrestle before Mania) defeat the Undertaker in a singles match on a RAW before Mania. Against all odds, Bryan somehow pulls it off, and gets into the Main Event of Mania, making it a Triple Threat of Orton - Batista - Bryan or (if Cena's champ, by way of Orton's rematch clause) even a fatal four way between Orton - Batista - Cena and Bryan.

And at the end of the day, again against all odds, Bryan must and will somehow win the WWE WHC. This is what must happen by way of the Danielson Decree.

Sure, Bryan vs HHH is an "alright" match for Bryan at WM30 (if he wins, that is), but the only way WWE can really get the crowd reaction it wants out of WM30, is if Bryan's in the main event and wins that damn title, with fireworks and confetti and all. Period.

Batista is still a valuable asset, and once he's shaken off his ring rust (that clearly showed in the Rumble), he can win the belt as well. Maybe at Summerslam or something like that; but hot-shotting him into the WM main event for a singles match with that much ring rust, and putting the belt on him just like that is not the smartest way to go about it. Unfortunately, it's most likely what WWE will do.

 

[Raptor93]

Very overrated , as a face I remember countless matches he did shit all except a spear/spinebuster then batista bomb. He was a huge who could have done many big moves but let his opponents do all the heavy lifitng. His heel run was better but so is pretty much everyones hell even R truth got to the mainevent by turning heel. He dosen't deserve DB's spot he can still have a match with someone and provide star power but thats it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He's underrated. Look at this forum and peoples opinions on him. Then look at his body of work. They don't match up. He's hit and miss, admittedly. But when he's in a headline position and he's motivated, he's one of the best WWE has.

 

[enviousdominous]

There's an ancient expression I'd like to excavate for the purposes of this thread; getting the most bang for your buck.

Unto Stephanie and her golden retriever, just saying the name "BATISTA!" is an act that causes WWE fans to compulsively throw their hard earned cash at them in hopes that some of it sticks to their glowing artificial Jersey tans. They feel that there was a severe lack of tantric orgasms and spontaneous combustion among the crowd, the crowd should have been screaming like a pack of suburban white women who just learned that Oprah was giving them all free shit. The Batista chants were supposed to carry on worldwide until they cancelled the Super Bowl just to acknowledge how fucking awesome Batista is. This thread, according to the Cunt Connection, should be considering just how terrified God is of Batista and whether or not he'll accept his challenge to measure each other's dicks.

It's impossible to "over-rate" Bastista in the eyes of Triple Ache and his brain damaged howler monkey. Much less even think to consider that maybe in a world where such things could be possible that perhaps the unlikely scenario of a once in a million years opportunity that there's a snowball's chance in hell of making a shot in the dark toward the notion that CM Punk could be comparable popularity-wise to Batista. No fucking way, no no no, EVERYONE loves Batista.

Ladies and gentlemen, Batista isn't over-rated. He's not rated nearly as high as we should be rating him. Batista should do himself some justice and come out with a giant white beard every show and just shout "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" before shooting Myoplex out of his pores and onto the adoring audience. Batista should engage the WWE roster in a fifty on one handicap elimination TLC match if only to measure just how many wrestlers he can tea bag in one *bloop*. Batista should tattoo his name and "fucked me" backwards on every human being's lower back upon reaching adult hood. Batista should have all the world's gold melted into a giant bust of his snarling face and have it implanted over the man on the moon's face.

Are you people as excited as I am about Wrestlemania?! Batista vs Randy Orton, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Motherfuckers! You know the best part? Because they combined the titles, but still have the champ carry both, Batista will have his world title count bumped up by two after he smothers Randy with his sandpaper taint. Oh, it's going to be epic.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

Batista is A grade main event superstar, forget all the BS from this fans. They seem to dislike him merely based off of the fact that HE won the Royal Rumble. Oh weh weh weh, get over it! Daniel Bryan is not a draw like Batista, Bryan was put in the main event back the fall and buy rates ALL SUCKED. When Daniel Bryan was closing Raw every Monday night, ratings SUCKED. There's a stroke of truth to all the butthurt Bryan fans out there who think he's god. Batista is better than Daniel Bryan and NO he is NOT overrated.

 

[Jmeeks]

Yes he is overrated, Damian Sandow is the most underrated and miss used person in the wwe, he is even more miss used the db end of story, I could only imagine the pros he would have with top stars if wwe just gave him a chance

 

[Zu11y]

I believe batista was so popular before due to his size and beastly nature, but tbh he currently looks very small and ill, he seemed very tired and in bad health. Obv this my own opinion

 

[capnwillie]

The powers that be definitely overrated Batista. It's obvious most of the fans don't concur. The E overrated him by giving him a title shot and WM main event for returning. That worked with the Rock because he was one of the two guys who no doubt made WWE the most money. His fan base is unmistakably large. He is a box office juggernaut.

It also made sense to give Lesnar a big spot for his return because of his accolades in UFC. Again, Lesnar has a very large fan base.

Batista is a guy who got as high up on the card as he did because guys loke The Rock and Lesnar were no longer with WWE at the time. He had a laughable MMA outing where he almost got knocked out by a soup can with a hangover gut. He's done a few movies, but his name on a theater marquee doesn't equal a huge box office.

And can we please talk about his return? Guy comes out looking like the airline lost his bag so he had to borrow one of Antonio Cesaro's track suit tops. Seriously, he looked like an Italian tourist. That jacket was like Warrior's baseball cap. Lukewarm reception followed by posing on the ropes for what seemed like the whole first hour of Raw. Then, his "promo" which was about as exciting as a Johnny Ace promo.

WWE horribly overestimated his star power, that's for sure.

 

[HillBilly]

Yes he is overrated. The WWE is trying to recreate the magic and excitement of "Once in a Lifetime" and Once in a Lifetime Part 2" created by the Rocks return. However, Batista despite being a former superstar and "movie star" is nowhere near the Rocks level. He was a top dog during a down time in wrestling and is a C list movie star at best. He is not the Rock. He should have been given the Jericho treatment. Brought in, given a meaningful role, given some meaningful top tier feuds and memorable matches, but ultimately used to job to the stars of tomorrow.

 

[sjdigitall]

Im not sure if Overrated is the right word. Batista is a good main eventer. Thing is the way he has been booked since his return is that WWE think of him like a big superstar that is famous, kind of like The Rock but Batista really hasnt achieved that status... yet. He has a massive movie with The Guardians of the Galaxy this summer coming out which can in turn be an important thing for his Hollywood Career. But that is this Summer, not now. Right now he's just the same Batista who left 4 years ago.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

To some degree, I think that he is. When it's all said & done, the only thing about Batista that ever struck me as extraordinary has been his build. The guy has a Herculean physique, no question about that. When it comes to getting into the ring or on the microphone to do his thing, however, I've rarely been impressed. If some people are into the guy, more power to 'em but, as I said, the only thing that's ever struck me about Batista that's great is his look.

When it comes to his level of star power, I think the guy's massively overrated and I think the reaction that he's gotten from a good number of fans bears that out. I think that WWE management has tried to generate an impression of Batista as someone that's on the level of The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin when it comes to star power and he simply doesn't come anywhere close to being on their level. I think it's especially true as pertaining to The Rock. The Rock himself has a great look, is far better in the ring, let's not even get into how much better he is on the mic, has the charisma to keep people on the edge of their seat with just a facial twitch and is a legit movie star.

 

[MasterDebator]

To some degree, I think that he is. When it's all said & done, the only thing about Batista that ever struck me as extraordinary has been his build. The guy has a Herculean physique, no question about that. When it comes to getting into the ring or on the microphone to do his thing, however, I've rarely been impressed. If some people are into the guy, more power to 'em but, as I said, the only thing that's ever struck me about Batista that's great is his look.

When it comes to his level of star power, I think the guy's massively overrated and I think the reaction that he's gotten from a good number of fans bears that out. I think that WWE management has tried to generate an impression of Batista as someone that's on the level of The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin when it comes to star power and he simply doesn't come anywhere close to being on their level. I think it's especially true as pertaining to The Rock. The Rock himself has a great look, is far better in the ring, let's not even get into how much better he is on the mic, has the charisma to keep people on the edge of their seat with just a facial twitch and is a legit movie star.

I think it's WWE's fault that we're having this conversation in the first place. Wrestlemania season has become, at least a facet of it, a time in which returning stars "come home" and perform on wrestling's biggest stage. The WWE outdid itself the past three years by bringing home arguably the biggest action movie star in the world and having him wrestle WWE's hands-down top guy in John Cena. That match/feud got HUGE mainstream attention -- way more than any wrestling match has gotten in a long time outside of one-night-only attractions like Floyd Mayweather and Mickey Rourke.

It isn't necessarily Batista's fault that he has to follow Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I mean, imagine having to follow Louis C.K. after he absolutely KILLS on stage. That's what it must feel like for Dave Batista. The bulk of Batista being "overrated" lies with the way he is being booked. He's being booked as this year's "Rock" and, while that isn't fair, Batista is certainly no Rock. WWE would have been better suited by bringing him back and easing him into the main event by having him squash someone like Ryback, or even by having him bump the tag division a little by maybe having him team with Mysterio in a feud with the Wyatt Family or the Shield or whatever. Shooting him into the main event highlighted his rust, his flaws, and rubbed some people the wrong way (I'm looking at you, Phil). I digress.

Point is, you have a dynamic here that is working against Batista in the meteoric rise of Daniel Bryan, a lame challenger (and boy, I like Orton, but creative has made him a crushing bore), and the hardest act in the world to follow. Big Dave has been involved in some major angles and was SUPER over when he defeated Triple H. At the time, that event was the biggest wrestling PPV ever, buys-wise, and Batista went over a legit heel in HHH and provided a memorable moment. No one ever said he was Ric Flair on the mic or Bret Hart in the ring and no one would ever claim that either. I think it's unfair to call him overrated when, let's face it, his build and his look are what gave him a top spot and he worked to his best ability as a musclebound big man. No one ever calls other "big men" overrated because they work the way "big men" are supposed to work. In fact, in Batista's prime, he moved pretty well and delivered some vicious looking power moves.

I happen to like Batista, but I think this is a clear case of wrong place, wrong time. I think the time is right for a David v. Goliath story with Daniel Bryan and big Dave and I also see a heel turn in his future.

 

[Dyscord]

Batista is A grade main event superstar, forget all the BS from this fans. They seem to dislike him merely based off of the fact that HE won the Royal Rumble. Oh weh weh weh, get over it! Daniel Bryan is not a draw like Batista, Bryan was put in the main event back the fall and buy rates ALL SUCKED. When Daniel Bryan was closing Raw every Monday night, ratings SUCKED. There's a stroke of truth to all the butthurt Bryan fans out there who think he's god. Batista is better than Daniel Bryan and NO he is NOT overrated.

Amusing that you're pinning the blame on Bryan when it takes two people to be in the main event. And who was Bryan put against in the main event? ORTON. Not to mention it was ridiculously booked in the first place.

At any rate, Batista isn't overrated. He's not the best talent, but he's not god awful either. However I don't think he should have gotten a title shot at WM six days after he came back. This isn't a "Bryan should have won" thing but a "No one should get a title shot the instant they come back" thing. I would have much rather he got a feud or two in before getting a title shot.

 

[The Eighties]

In terms of how big of a star WWE seems to think he is, yes, he's massively overrated. He was hot for about 6 weeks when he turned on Triple H in 2005, then people got to see and hear him week after week and the shine was gone, he settled into being the #2 guy behind Cena, a spot that has been occupied just as successfully by several guys since.

It's a shame the way things have worked out, Batista was a solid performer by 2007 and left in 2010 on the back of his best character run ever. If they'd brought him back as an enforcer for The Authority and back-up for Orton I think things would have went well, instead he's a supposed face who gets more heat than Orton, the supposed top heel.

 

[BaconBits]

I think he's overated only in the eyes of people looking to tear him down.

I don't think he was really ever rated that high to begin with. Yeah, he's been a near constant main eventer/high upper midcarder during his WWE tenure, but he's never really been the guy. I'd place him on a smiliar level to Randy Orton. They're guys that can can move in and out of the main event with ease and are good for transitional title runs. They're also good for building new main eventers.

Every roster need those kinds of guys.

 

[No Count Pup]

Simply put: Batista is neither overrated nor underrated. He is simply a main eventer working in a main event spot.

WrestleMania 30 and the WWE Network are on the horizon. How will both succeed? By bringing in casual viewers. With Stone Cold, The Rock, and presumably Shawn Michaels opting not to wrestle, Batista is next on the "big return" depth chart. WWE is making the best of a thin "wow factor" bench.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Simply put: Batista is neither overrated nor underrated. He is simply a main eventer working in a main event spot.

Interesting way of putting it. One can compare it to, say, Dolph Ziggler who also fits that description, the difference being that Dolph was here all along, getting air time on both major shows every damn week.....while Batista got his favored status by coming back after being separated from the company for a long time.

We're not really sure whether it was wise to give him the Rumble win right off the bat, are we? When management is negotiating with people they really want in WWE, do they make "performance deals" in addition to the talks about compensation? Are they promised a certain amount of air time? Or, conversely, are they promised significant amounts of time that they don't have to work (like RVD?).

In that vein, did WWE pursue Batista, who agreed to come back only if he got his own way? Was he holding all the cards because he didn't really care if he returned or not, but was made an offer he couldn't refuse?

If all that is so, I suppose he could be called overrated since he actually is a mid-card performer being featured above his head because WWE needs people who have a name from prior association with the company.

Of course, with the negative reaction he seems to have gotten at the Rumble, it remains to be seen whether he's worth the mega-push he's getting. One way or the other, the company has him for two years; let's hope they don't live to regret it.

 

[Logisticalbooker86]

Not a big fan of Batista. Do not want to see Orton and Batista go one on one for the title at Mania. With that out of the way, I actually have to defend Batista here.

If, and I mean IF Batista's first story out of the return gate is to be the guy that dethrones Orton, creative has really made it hard on him.

Here's what should have happened at Royal Rumble.

Batista's return should have been a surprise with no promos beforehand (cliche I know), at #30. Punk should have been all alone with the Shield in a 3 on 1, Batista's music hits, he stares down the shield as he gets to the ring. Eventually, Punk and Ambrose eliminate each other and Batista overcomes Rollins & Reigns two on one.

I know it isn't perfect, but it would have been a better shot in the arm for Dave than HHH's diatribe welcoming him back.

 

[L@RISANO]

I believe batista was so popular before due to his size and beastly nature, but tbh he currently looks very small and ill, he seemed very tired and in bad health. Obv this my own opinion

I agree with the above. Batista is known as the Animal, but he has looked a different person since he returned.
Remember when he was like below:

THAT was the "IT" factor that Batista had. Now......as people say, he looks like Pitbull....which doesn't get people anticipating Batista at all,unfortunately.

 

[L@RISANO]

Not a big fan of Batista. Do not want to see Orton and Batista go one on one for the title at Mania. With that out of the way, I actually have to defend Batista here.

If, and I mean IF Batista's first story out of the return gate is to be the guy that dethrones Orton, creative has really made it hard on him.

Here's what should have happened at Royal Rumble.

Batista's return should have been a surprise with no promos beforehand (cliche I know), at #30. Punk should have been all alone with the Shield in a 3 on 1, Batista's music hits, he stares down the shield as he gets to the ring. Eventually, Punk and Ambrose eliminate each other and Batista overcomes Rollins & Reigns two on one.

I know it isn't perfect, but it would have been a better shot in the arm for Dave than HHH's diatribe welcoming him back.

Doing that would have made the Reigns push null. WWE has been making Reigns look stronger and stronger since Survivor Series.
Even when the Shield lost 3-on-1 vs CM Punk, Reigns' spear and his eye injury were the highlights.
To have Batista eliminate both Rollins and Reigns would make no sense whatsoever.


On the internet; on every website I have visited; the mere fact that Batista has come in and won the Rumble and is slated to win the WWE title at WM is a big Fail according to the overwhelming majority.
Judging by the reactions in the arenas, at the RR and on RAW, it isn't only the IWC that is not happy.
The booking of Batista itself by creative has destroyed his momentum, and keeping him face now, especially with Punk walking out due to the Main Event direction(reportedly) makes ZERO sense,whatsoever.
WWE has to turn him heel and insert a Face into the title picture(either Punk or Bryan) or the WM Main Event is going to be a troll fest, mark my words.