Report: No Batista This Year

[Jack-Hammer]

According to PWInsider.com, WWE made Batista an offer for some sort of role for WrestleMania XXXII last week. Batista was visiting backstage during last week's SmackDown tapings in Tampa, where Batista lives. Allegedly, Vince and other officials pitched the idea for Batista to be the special referee for Reigns vs. Triple H; Batista is said to have really appreciated the offer, but turned it down as he has no interest in a match or a WrestleMania moment just for the sake of making an appearance. Reportedly, if he were to return to WWE, he'd prefer that it be something more along the lines of a final run with more meaning behind it.

After reading this, I was glad on two fronts. For one, I've no interest in seeing Batista; I'm not a fan of the guy, never really was a fan of the guy, so the idea of him popping up just for the sake of popping up holds even less appeal for me. For the other, while I'm not a fan of Batista, I at least respect his decision not to be part of the show just for the sake of being there. The nostalgia factor is sometimes too heavily relied on rather than focus on building up current talent in the first place, so the less it's involved for WrestleMania the better, at least in my eyes.

As for the notion of Batista having one final run, I see no reason to think that such a run wouldn't get the same negative response as it got two years ago. Batista hadn't been in WWE for nearly 4 years, pops up at the Royal Rumble and is handed the main event spot; the result was that fan response was so overwhelmingly negative that it actually forced the Almight Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself to alter his plans for WrestleMania XXX.

On the plus side, from my perspective, I think there's less likely of a chance of Batista returning for a match as time goes by. For one thing, he's getting older and it'll be all the more difficult if his career as an action film star continues to gain steam. With insurance companies being unwilling to cover the Rock for film projects if he wrestles, it's all but crushed any ideas he may have had for an in-ring return at some point and, if Batista's star continues to rise, it won't be surprising if studios or insurance companies don't use the same strategy with him.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Special guest referees do little for me. Like Jack Hammer I'm not a huge Batista fan but I differ greatly with JH in that I thought his last run was amazingly valuable to WWE and Batista should be proud if that was his final run. He is the guy to me that every veteran should look at it when trying to make a final run. Batista helped put over Bryan, Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins in little over a few months. His last run had little to do with him and everything to do with the other guys. He took his licks and loses like a champ and left with a big "fuck you" to management.

But good for him for wanting more than just a quick pay day for little work.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm not sure why Batista would come back when he has a viable, more credible career elsewhere. He was also treated poorly upon his return. Which is a shame, he couldn't have done more for Bryan at Mania and his heel turn made me realise how underrated he is.

 

[midgensa]

I would like to see Batista back for one final run, honestly.

I think he is one of the few people who has been humbled by hitting it big in Hollywood. He seems to understand what wrestling gave him and, when he was given the chance, he gave back and put others over.

I don't know that I would want to see a title run or anything, but he certainly could provide some memorable moments in a short run.

 

[#tamale]

What Batista can be is the major antagonist to any scrappy protagonist. You want to build up an underdog, pair him with Batista. Fuck it, make Batista champion. Have him tear the roster apart. He has enough left in the tank for a solid year long run and can bring in somewhat of a casual audience because of his growing film career. It seems to me that WWE is being very short-sighted with the potential of Batista.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I kinda wanted to see a heel Batista return for Wrestlemania and feud with either Brock Lesnar or Dean Ambrose. My desire seeing him grew even more after all those injuries were announced and I really believed that given the fact that WWE wants to reach 100.000+ in capacity, they'd do anything possible to make Batista wrestle.

But I guess they really didn't contracted him earlier, plus he also has many other obligations now, with Hollywood and given the fact that he's one of the main characters in one of Marvel's highest grossing films.

Special guest Batista doesn't do it for me. I don't think he's fit for that role. He's the Animal. He's there to "kill" people, break them, not officiate a match.

So, I guess if I had to choose ref Batista or no Batista, I'd choose the second option.

 

[Navi]

I would have assumed that with the depleted roster McMahon is trying everything he can to get celebrities involved. The more big names he can get, the more tickets he sells. Batista was treated like shit in his last outing with the WWE by the fans. No wonder he's saying a big FU to the WWE and fans in general.

I think most fans saw it as you don't bring the guy back after 4 years and immediately give him the title. The Rock shows up every once in awhile, Batista don't think every came back. One day he was there, next day he was gone and 4 years later he's being handed a shot at the main event at Mania. That's why they rebelled, and because Daniel Bryan was overlooked.

Vince will just have to go looking for another celebrity to fill this spot cause Batista obviously isn't interested in a one shot deal. Don't see him having another run with the title either, as someone else said he is getting older, and he has a much more lucrative career going for himself now. Wish him all the best, but would be nice to see him show up periodically like the Rock does.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I'm not sure why Batista would come back when he has a viable, more credible career elsewhere.

He could return for the same reason as the Rock, because he wants to give back to the form of entertainment that allowed him to become a movie 'star' in the first place, realizing that had there been no Batista the wrestler, there would have been no Batista the actor.....(and I use the term 'actor' loosely. That someone as wooden and stilted as he could carve out a career on the big screen is amazing.....but more power to him for accomplishing it)

And, like the Rock, he'd only have to make a few adjustments in his allotted time to accommodate the brief wrestling appearance.

That said, I think he....and WWE....were very unpleasantly surprised by the negative reception Batista received during his last run. Given that, he's wise to not come back, even for a limited engagement.

Once bitten, twice burned.....

 

[midgensa]

He could return for the same reason as the Rock, because he wants to give back to the form of entertainment that allowed him to become a movie 'star' in the first place, realizing that had there been no Batista the wrestler, there would have been no Batista the actor.....(and I use the term 'actor' loosely. That someone as wooden and stilted as he could carve out a career on the big screen is amazing.....but more power to him for accomplishing it)

And, like the Rock, he'd only have to make a few adjustments in his allotted time to accommodate the brief wrestling appearance.

That said, I think he....and WWE....were very unpleasantly surprised by the negative reception Batista received during his last run. Given that, he's wise to not come back, even for a limited engagement.

Once bitten, twice burned.....

More on this ... I think the reason The Rock came back and Batista came back last time is clear ... there is no feeling on Earth like coming through that curtain when your music hits.

No amount of money, no amount of fame, no amount of anything provides that kind of thrill.

The problem is ... Batista, fair or unfair, did not get that reaction he was looking for and it became a "job" literally and figuratively. He wanted the goosebumps, instead he just had to take lumps and put people over (which he did so, seemingly without complaint).

I think, under the right circumstances, Batista could come back for a brief face run and be solid, but he would need to be against a clear heel, or against Roman Reigns ... anyone who goes against him is a face.

 

[TStorm]

It's for the better. The special referee role just works better with someone in the ring with the ability to tell a story, and this was never Batista's strong point. He's not bad, he just doesn't understand how to work drama into the situation correctly.

As for the notion of Batista having one final run, I see no reason to think that such a run wouldn't get the same negative response as it got two years ago. Batista hadn't been in WWE for nearly 4 years, pops up at the Royal Rumble and is handed the main event spot; the result was that fan response was so overwhelmingly negative that it actually forced the Almight Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself to alter his plans for WrestleMania XXX.

I disagree with this.

Fans didn't want to hate Batista, they had no reason to hate Batista when he first arrived. The issue simply came down to three key factors. Batista was given a very easy ride in the Royal Rumble (he didn't have to work for it), they wanted Daniel Bryan, and in perhaps the worst booking decision, they never even allowed Daniel Bryan to be in the match. They had every reason to turn on him and the booking didn't help him at all.

If he'd come back earlier, had a chance to work his way through a few PPV's, went into the Royal Rumble with an earlier number (and Bryan had been involved in said Rumble), things wouldn't have been nearly as bad for him, he'd probably still get boo'd but at least he would have a legitimate reasoning to be there. This situation is interestingly, similar to Reign's situation. He should have stayed in the match the entire time, rather he was taken out early, came back late and ran out to a chorus of heavy boo's because he'd done very little in the Rumble.

In all honesty though, it was a lose-lose situation, he came around at the wrong time, and even if they had booked him like they did above, he'd probably still get a noticeable negative reaction because it was Bryan's year, and nobody (outside of Punk at the time), was going to get cheered for winning the Royal Rumble and moving onto WrestleMania.

If he came back now, and this run was treated with a bit more grace, then it wouldn't be a problem. Depending on if this run leads to another World title run or not depends on how it should be booked. However, I feel if he is going for one more run, he doesn't need the World title, have him help with the mid-card and balance him out as a upper-mid-carder.

 

[ShinChan]

To be honest, I have never liked him much as a wrestler. He was a powerful brawler and i did like his feud with The Undertaker though. His return at Royal Rumble was at an unlucky time atleast for Batista. He did impress me in his matches against The Shield. The end of his return wasnot good enough.

I would surely have liked him going against a mid-card or upper mid-card star to put the guy over at Wrestlemania. He doesnot need title reign anymore. I am surely against him as a referee. Either dont show up or put a young talent over.

​

 

[OYDK]

I think Batista is one of the few guys who actually gets the business and I may get roasted for saying that, but his handling of his return situation and all the craziness that happened after was spot on. Batista has said that he knew the fans weren't going to go for the original plan and he tried to talk Vince into making him a heel right off the bat, but Vince didn't listen. Then, when everything he was promised upon his return went up in smoke, he still stayed long enough to tap to Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Now, I respect the fact that Batista doesn't want to just come back for a one-off payday like so many others, that he only wants to be used if he's actively contributing. I know I only care to see Batista return for a match if he was going to come back at all.

People seem to forget that Batista wasn't booed right off the bat, he got cheered heavily upon his return. It was only after the Rumble that people really started to give it to him. This had very little to do with Batista and everything to do with Daniel Bryan in my opinion. I don't think the fans necessarily wanted to shit on Batista, I mean they may have enjoyed it later on, but I think mostly they were just furious at WWE and the only way they could show it was to boo Batista.

If he were to come back, I could see reactions being rather mixed, simply because half of internet fans can't let anything go. Why would he though? He was treated like garbage by everybody involved.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

He's better off staying away from a WWE ring for the rest of his career outside a special event. Like Raw episode 2000 or something. Batista looked really, really rusty in his last WWE run. His one on one matches were awful to watch during this time, the fans almost instantly turned on him, forcing WWE to turn him heel.

Plus, he's a way better type cast player in movies. I loved Batista in Guardians, I thought he played his role to perfection and he was funny. Sadly, Batista in the ring doesn't appeal to me unless he's doing a special tag team match of some kind.