Who Else Feels Bad For Big Dave....

[OYDK]

After reading these quotes from a recent interview.

"I think it was more the impression that they were just so anti me. It was almost the trendy thing to be anti me. So yeah, it wasn't like they were booing me because [I was] being the heel or whatever. They weren't booing it because it was a show. It's like a personal attack. It really wasn't something that was show related or entertainment based. It was really like a personal attack. It became everything I did. It was an internet thing. Everything I did, I came back and I demanded to come back at the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania and none of that s--t was my idea. I just wanted to come back. I didn't ask for a lot of money. I didn't ask for a lot of money. I didn't say I wasn't going to do house shows. I didn't say I won't put this guy over. I didn't say any of that. I just wanted to come back and wrestle."

On his 2010 exit:

"I gave them almost a year's notice and I did whatever they asked me to do and I busted my ass and till the day I left, they didn't think I was leaving and on the night that I left, I think a few people said 'goodbye' to me and said 'thank you', but it was like a very few. And then I walked out. Security, Muriel and Sassy, escorted me out the door by myself. No 'see you later, Dave', 'thanks for everything', 'keep in touch'. It was sad, man. It really put things in perspective on where I stood with them. I left there with a broken back. Not a lot of people realize that or appreciate that, but in my last match with Cena, I broke my back."

After reading this interview, I really felt for Batista because it genuinely seemed like he was excited to just come back and wrestle after a really shitty and unappreciative exit the first time around. Just from reading the first quote, it kind of seems like the fans really extinguished any love or passion he had left for the business and when you think about his career, it really is a shame that everything turned out the way it did. Wrong place, wrong time I guess, but it sucks to think that the end of Big Dave's career came after some extremely unwarranted hatred.

Batista really does strike me as a guy who doesn't get the appreciation or acknowledgement that he deserves and I'm left wondering why? What was it about Batista, a guy who really did seem to care about the business and the fans, that rubbed people the wrong way?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think it's a combination of a couple of things, at least for me and I'm sure some people have a similar opinion.

I was never a fan of Batista; I was just never really all that into the guy and wasn't particularly impressed by what he ultimately brought to the table. He had a fantastic look, no doubt about that, but that was the only thing about him that struck me as fantastic. Like a lot of other people, I felt that Batista's look was one of the big reasons why he was pushed so hard despite the fact that there were more interesting and more talented wrestlers on the roster.

I think another problem was that when Batista returned, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Batista returned to WWE, it was ultimately the decision of Vince McMahon, as Vince signs off on everything, to push Batista right back into the spot he was given and many fans had grown tired of being told who they should cheer for or want to see pushed just because Vince said so. Fans wanted Daniel Bryan, they'd rallied around Daniel Bryan and probably no other wrestler in WWE since the days of the Attitude Era was more universally over and accepted. Yet here was Batista, this guy with a Herculean physique who had been gone for almost 4 years, being handed the WrestleMania main event spot on a silver platter despite being gone for years and, again, many fans were resentful because there were other wrestlers they felt were simply better and/or more deserving of the opportunity. As is always the case in which fans are frustrated, Batista is the guy that they vented their frustrations on because they couldn't do it with Vince; Batista was there, so he ultimately had to be the whipping boy.

I don't buy into Batista's words here because they're so different from what he said a couple of years ago after his last run ended. I remember reading an interview in which Batista said something about WWE not honoring its promise and I can only assume that it's promise was for Batista to headline WrestleMania, win the championship and spend the summer as WWE Champion. So, that always struck me with the idea that Batista's POV was something along the lines of "Okay, I'll come back but I wanna main event WrestleMania and I wanna be WWE Champion." Technically, he's right in the sense that it ultimately wasn't his decision to make, but I don't believe that he had noThe problem, as we all know, was the fans were so disinterested in the notion of Orton vs. Batista for the title that it threatened to derail WrestleMania itself. As I alluded to earlier, Daniel Bryan was so over that Vince ultimately felt that he had no alternative and in a very rare instance, Vince was ultimately forced to change whatever creative ideas they had in order to save WrestleMania. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that the event still would've drawn and made lots of money but adding Orton vs. Batista onto the same card where the streak was ended and you'd have what many would have called one of the most lackluster WrestleMania events in history.

As for his first exit from the company, I dunno really. I'm always skeptical whenever wrestlers give these sorts of interviews because it's only one side of the story and they almost always paint themselves as the victims who never did anything wrong, never rubbed anyone the wrong way, never did or said anything to cause problems, etc. That's not to say that he couldn't be completely sincere and actually right, I just have no way of knowing as I have a suspicious nature and I've heard too many of these self-serving interviews from too many disgruntled wrestlers in which they all try to paint similar pictures.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Batista really does strike me as a guy who doesn't get the appreciation or acknowledgement that he deserves and I'm left wondering why? What was it about Batista, a guy who really did seem to care about the business and the fans, that rubbed people the wrong way?

Mostly its circumstantial. At the end of his first run he was injured a lot and it started showing in his work. Plus it was a time when people started even booing Cena let alone him who was characterised by IWC as lazy worker. Second time it was all about Daniel Bryan, even Rey Mysterio got booed out of building. There was nothing he could do about that especially when WWE wanted him to mainevent even when they knew he was not gona stay long.

Its a shame really. From what I heard he is a good guy and even in his first run he did a match with Daniel Bryan where he was told to squash him and he wanted a real match because he knew Bryan was talented guy. Even his work through Evolution and after it was pretty good. Heck, if he wasnt that "injury prone" maybe they would go with him over Cena. He could be(and he was at some times) what Lesnar is today. So yes, he is underaprecciated by fans.

 

[Navi]

I was never Bastita's biggest fan and I do feel sort of bad for what happened to him when he returned, but even he should know that the fans resentment was more directed at the WWE not him.

Look at it this way. We've had the last 11 years of John Cena. Admittedly a great wrestler and probably one of the best ambassadors this sport will ever have, but in order to keep bringing the fans and the money in they won't change him. His gimmick while it works for the younger fans it has grown stale for a lot of older fans. What do the fans do, they boo Cena, does anything change, no. Not his fault, it's the fault of the man in charge Vince McMahon.

We can see it happening again with Roman Reigns. The guy is getting boo'd out of buildings but Vince keeps plugging away and doesn't seem to see the forest for the trees. Is it hurting McMahon himself, no it's hurting Reigns, but I honestly don't think McMahon cares. As long as the gravy train is flowing he is happy. It doesn't matter how his wrestlers are received, and it should.

That's what happened with Batista. He was gone for 4 years, never saw the guy, and all of a sudden there he is in the Rumble, ready to win and main event Wrestlemania. The fans were pissed because the guys who they've been supporting during the time Batista was gone were passed over. Like JH said, Batista is just out there doing what he's told to do, but getting shit on because of decisions made by none other than Vince McMahon.

McMahon is or should I say was a genius, but it's fairly obvious that his time on top should be over. Times have changed, fans have changed, but Vince stubbornly refuses to change with them. He said on the Austin podcast that everything is done for the fans, well that's a load of shit, it's done for him and the money. It always comes down to the money.

So yes I feel bad for Batista that his return was a shambles, but even he should have known better. As he said the first time around he barely even got a goodbye and a good luck, seriously what did he expect on his return. Vince wanted a big match for Mania and thought Orton and Batista would do it. It didn't work and things were changed, Batista was crapped on and left again. I don't think we'll see him back he' moved onto bigger and better things.

Actually he should be thankful for if it didn't happen the way it did, he might not have the career he has now. When one door closes they say another opens, one opened for him and he's making a lot more money and most likely living a happier life than he would have if he had stayed.

 

[thekooljt]

First of all, WWE either never fully accepted, or never wanted to accept the extreme popularity of Daniel Bryan. Unfortunately for Bautista, he found out the hard way. He was just caught in the middle of something he (nor the WWE) could not control at that particular time. But why feel bad for him? He was in one of the top grossing movies of 2014, and his hollywood career seems to be taking off. Things do happen for a reason.

 

[Uncle Sam]

How fucking good was Brotista though? Like, for real. The sunglasses indoors, the leather vests, the tight pink polo shirts. World class character.

Batista's most recent run was sabotaged by some of the same terrible writing that Roman Reigns has suffered from, which basically boils down to giving the people one thing when they plainly want another, and going ahead with it when it's blatant it's not going to work. In fact, Batista's lucky that they pulled back from his coronation just in time - one shudders to think the reception a match between he and Randy Orton would have received without Daniel Bryan in the mix. Vince McMahon must tear the Adventure Time figures out of his grandchildren's hands at Christmas and red-facedly scream in their faces until they reluctant play with the weathered GI Joe playset he bought them.

Batista stole the show in Guardians of the Galaxy, and was possibly the best thing about that abysmal Bond film they shat out recently, so it seems likely he'd be given a hero's welcome if he returned now.

Both times he's left, it's been on his back, in service to people who are still going to be there for years to come. He has nothing to be ashamed of, except perhaps his inability to colour match.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Poor guy has to get by now on a successful acting career, piles of money, good looks, millions of fans, a closet full of clothes left over from a rich sixteen year old Drama Club member, and a silly belly button tattoo. I'll get the sympathy Kickstarter campaign going online right now.

So no, I'm not sympathetic. But I'm also the guy who thinks the DB WM story was planned out well before the fans revolted.

Whether or not Batista was in on the work is not clear. They sent him out after being introduced by the evil Authority looking like the opposite of a wrestling fan. They never did anything to fix the fact that he left WWE as a despised heel. The kind of heel that had no likeability at all. He was clearly not in wrestling shape but he kept performing. Everything he did screamed heel beside a lackluster program with Del Rio. He should have known what he was getting in to. So no, I'm not sympathetic.

I do feel sorry for the guy for breaking his back.

 

[BaconBits]

His last return would have gone 100% differently if it had been the surprise return the WWE actually intended. The arena in Vegas blew the spot and the WWE was forced to acknowledge it and took all the excitement/surprise of his return before it even happened.

 

[Azane]

I have literally thousands of people who are worse off to feel bad for, Dave made plenty of money, fans, and impact, and he left in good health. I'll go back to feeling bad for people like Droz.

 

[ccotreau1]

I do, but I don't...The way he was booked makes me feel a little bad, but he could have talked to the bookers about doing something similar to what Jericho has been doing, and that's building the younger stars

 

[rmp0012002]

I don't blame Dave as what he wanted was agreed upon by Vince but Vince did a Reigns and the fans didn't go for it. It worked out in Daves favor in the end as he's scoring big bucks in movies.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I do, but I don't...The way he was booked makes me feel a little bad, but he could have talked to the bookers about doing something similar to what Jericho has been doing, and that's building the younger stars

I think Batista is too busy being in Marvel films and fighting James Bond to come back to put people over.

However, I could see him doing the "part-timer" WWE gig at WM. I always thought a feud between him and Brock Lesnar would be interesting, or maybe have "Movie Star" v "Movie Star" The Rock v Batista, especially if they hold WM or Summerslam in L.A. again.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Firstly, let's correct something about those who complained about Batista winning and Daniel Bryan not winning the RR.

Point to me anywhere, ANYWHERE, where WWE PROMISED or MENTIONED that Daniel Bryan would be in the Royal Rumble in 2014. WWE never said that he would, and considering that he fought Bray Wyatt that night (and lost), and Wyatt wasn't in the RR either, and neither was anyone else from the undercard, then I think it is logical that Bryan was not going to be in the Rumble. Any thoughts that he would comes from the delusional, imbecilic mind of someone who wrote it on the internet, and the sheep who read it and believed it because it sounded good.

What happened to Batista, Rey Mysterio and a bunch of others in that Rumble was a disgrace, and it is 100% because of the stupid fans in attendance that night.

"I want Daniel Bryan, I want Daniel Bryan". What a bunch of f...ing children. This is why I have 0% respect for most of the IWC, and only still post here because there are a handful of fans who write here who aren't destroying the product by their self-serving demands.

Maybe Batista shouldn't have main-evented Mania, more because he wasn't going to stick around too long, so it would make more sense to use that spot for someone who would push the company forward, and stay around for a while (and that person ISN'T anorexic, injury-prone Daniel Bryan).

What Batista says just shows how damn selfish a lot of wrestling fans are. When you boo, jeer and yell out at these performers, and it isn't because they are doing fan or heel stuff, but it gets personal, you deeply hurt these people who work longer than you work, put their bodies on the line, get little recognition in the mainstream, except to be treated as a joke by the media, and to only be put in a position the company puts them in, and then have internet trolls bag their looks, wrestling ability, stickwork etc, because they don't like that the wrestler isn't a mirror image of the wrestling fan.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rey Mysterio quit soon after Royal Rumble because of being booed for not being Daniel Bryan, and being No. 30. Admit that that was disgusting. It wasn't Rey's fault, and all the years he has wrestled in Mexico, ECW, WCW and WWE were spat on by immature kidults who hate not getting what they want. The fans probably drove the guy out of the company.

You say that they get paid a lot. They damn deserve it too, every cent, since they put their body and livelihood on the line, every night, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year, and then have people who have done a lot less in their life dare criticise them for achieving their dream, just because the person criticising is jealous and insecure. They deserve to get paid more, because WWE doesn't pay their medical bills, or anything else for them (other than transportation, to make sure they show up and make Vince money).

You try living the wrestling life. You try walking in their shoes, and then tell me if you maybe have been too harsh, and have unrealistic expectations.

But then, Batista doesn't need the IWC, or any of the imbeciles at RR 2014 to define him. He has been part of two huge blockbuster films, and is on course to have quite a profitable Hollywood career, maybe not as big as the Rock's (because he isn't as versatile) but he probably makes more money fighting James Bond and being part of the MCU than he does being booed on his return at the Rumble by a pack of beer-swilling numbskulls.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

No I don't feel bad for Batista. He is a heel. He is supposed to be disliked. I don't dislike him personally. Anyone who won that Rumble was going to be booed, except for of course Bryan. I'm a huge fan of Batista, but he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think things turned out just fine. He was back to doing what he does best - being heel. He also had some very good matches, against Bryan and Orton at WM30 and against the Shield at Extreme Rules and Payback. How do you feel bad for him? He was in one of the highest grossing movies of that year and made a ton of money.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Considering he was known to be a major asshole backstage to the point where Booker T had to kick his ass to bring him back to earth.....no, I don't feel sorry for egomaniacs like that. Turtlehead seems to be doing well in the movies and making cash on that side so, no I don't feel bad about that either.

 

[New Hot Fed]

When wrestlers are badly received the blame should always go to Vince for putting these guys in these positions. Even Cena who I hated for a long time and who has improved a lot in the ring over time, it's difficult to root for him cause how annoying they are portraying to be. Same with Reigns. I don't think Cena has ever been booked right. Ever. And I'm not even talking about the heel/face thing. They could have made a great engaging babyface top star out of Cena but they somehow put the wrong recepy together creating something bad probably cause Vince and Steph had wrong ideas of what a guy like that should be. And it's the opposite of "fun".

Hopefully if Big Dave comes back they'll book him better(which I doubt).

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

About 2010:
Batista just got the treatment every #2 face in the company gets. Like CM Punk and Savage in the Hogan era. WWE wants to have only one top face of the company and that's who they're going to push.
What people get wrong is that they think that wrestlers MUST wrestle their enitre lives. Pro wrestling, is a job though. In a job, if you are not developing, then you either stay there forever or go somewhere else to try new things.
Batista had done it all. 6-time World Champ, Royal Rumble winner, had some big feuds with Undertaker and Triple H. He was the face of Smackdown up until 2008. And I think that when he was on RAW in 2008, Batista had overshadowed Cena. However for some reason WWE had dicided to make Cena the WH champ right after his return, not giving Batista a proper chance.
Batista also had problems with injuries, in 2006 and 2008. The first injury was what probably gave Cena the leading position in the company, since until that point Dave was #1. His second injury also halted his momentum. He had a huge victory over Cena at Summerslam and he also def. Jericho for the WH Championship (which he lost 2 weeks afterwards for some strange reason).

Batista felt that he couldn't develop more in the WWE so he left. He didn't moan or walked out like certain others. I think he even worked a small extension in order to finish his feud with Cena. He lost that feud 3-0 and lost in the most stupid ways and also looked stupid in that wheelchair when he quited. But he never moaned about that.

In a previous interview, Dave said that he "didn't like the direction the company was heading to". Which might meant "give everything to Cena, plus move Big Dave aside, since a new generation is coming".

As far as 2014 goes:
Batista came in the wrong time. We had Daniel Bryan. We had people complaining that The Rock and Lesnar were stealing the spotlight of younger wrestlers. So fans wouldn't accept Batista. This run was entirely WWE's fault. Even if Batista said that he wants to be a WWE Champion if he is to come back, he isn't the one to blame. WWE should just realize the situation and say "sorry Dave, but we have Punk and Bryan, who the fans want to see main event 'Mania". But it is clearly the WWE the ones who made the call and said that Batista was going to be WWE Champion.

And not only that, but afterwars they completely humiliated themselves and they never made Batista the champion. So they never kept their promise. And even after that, Batista was man enough (once again), to tap out to Bryan at Wrestlemania in order to put him over and also protect Orton who was staying longer than Dave aaaannnd also lose 2-times in a row against the Shield in the next two PPVs.

After all these events I have nothing but respect for Batista.

PS: And no, he is not a quiter, like Punk. Punk bitched and moaned about angles and wins and losses he had. FFS, he quited because he didn't want to wrestle HHH. Dave never moaned about a loss. He lost every big match in his 2010 heel run and also had a bad run in 2014. Plus, he never walked out and respected his contract and his employers.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Considering he was known to be a major asshole backstage to the point where Booker T had to kick his ass to bring him back to earth.....no, I don't feel sorry for egomaniacs like that. Turtlehead seems to be doing well in the movies and making cash on that side so, no I don't feel bad about that either.

You don't have to be an asshole to get into a fight. Things like that happen all the time when things get heated. Sure Batista might not be one of the best of people, but one fight isn't a measure to judge somebody.

 

[justinept]

No, I don't feel bad for the guy at all. I was excited when he returned in January 2014 because I'm all for nostalgia, but when the dirt sheets started to report that Batista came back to headline WrestleMania 30, I was pretty pissed. That reaction had a lot to do with Daniel Bryan, sure - but a bigger factor was simply that Batista was NEVER a huge star. A main event talent? Sure. But not an elite guy with name recognition like Hogan, Rock, Austin or Lesnar. Why the hell was this guy getting the elite star treatment of being a PTer paid to headline the biggest events?

It's like the company had completely forgotten how the fans rejected Batista as a major star all the way back in 2005! This was a guy handpicked to be the face of the company, winning his first title from Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 21. That same night, Cena won his first world title. But it was Batista who headlined. It was Batista who earned the title shot by defeating Cena at the Royal Rumble (best ending ever, complete with VKM tearing his achilles.) And it was Batista who was headlining the flagship show following WrestleMania.

But Cena's popularity, coupled with Batista's lack of popularity, led to the two switching brands two months after 'Mania. So 9 years after being rejected by the fans, 4 years after leaving altogether, the company was bringing back this guy to headline another WrestleMania? Imagine if Reigns left the company and came back in 10 years to headline a WrestleMania. That's how I felt about Batista headlining in 2014.

And here's why I don't feel bad for Batista... he negotiated his own damn terms. He came back BECAUSE they were giving him WrestleMania. He knew exactly what he was getting himself into, and he chose to do it. Had he come back to work a match with CM Punk (still possible at that point) or Triple H or Reigns, then I think the reception would've been a lot better. But to throw himself into the main event was just idiotic on his part.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I have literally thousands of people who are worse off to feel bad for, Dave made plenty of money, fans, and impact, and he left in good health. I'll go back to feeling bad for people like Droz.

So when you read the headline "Who Else Feels Bad For Big Dave...." were you, in that moment, too busy already feeling bad for Droz that you couldn't create some sort of empathy for Batista? Like, your head has a finite total of people in a lifetime that you can feel sorry for, and once you've hit that quota it's just "fuck you" to anyone else? I just have never understood the "people have it worse so get over it" mentality, because it totally dehumanizes the target and doesn't actually help the other people that are "worse off". Droz doesn't get any less dead if you were to spend a second discussing or thinking about the potential problems behind Batista's last run and exit from the industry. Like when a bad thing happens to someone, you're the kind that says "it's okay, there are people out there going through worse, so get over it", like that actually solves the problem or makes that person feel any better about their shitty situation. All it does is allow you to disassociate yourself from them, which maybe makes you feel better, and them feel more shitty.

Anyways. That's not even the point. Even if you don't like Batista, assuming what he's saying is true (and Jack-Hammer made a valid point about only hearing one side of the story but let's just operate under the assumption that he's being truthful) he's still a guy that cared a great deal about the industry and was passionate about it for a very long time. He was one of three people that led Smackdown during a very good couple of years of main event programming. He, Edge and Undertaker always had something between the three of them that was worth watching. And that was his job; imagine being in that position, where you just feel like nobody gives a shit about you, and everyone hates you despite the fact that you just wanted to show up and work and have given so much of yourself to people. I don't know. I'm quick to empathize with others, so maybe I'm just too soft (sawft?) but I do feel for him. We're not talking about his money or his fame or success here, we're just talking about the guy behind it all, the human being with goals and ambitions and feelings, that kinda got a shitty hand dealt to him, and now probably has no interest in ever trying again.

 

[kadroan]

First of all, WWE either never fully accepted, or never wanted to accept the extreme popularity of Daniel Bryan. Unfortunately for Bautista, he found out the hard way. He was just caught in the middle of something he (nor the WWE) could not control at that particular time. But why feel bad for him? He was in one of the top grossing movies of 2014, and his hollywood career seems to be taking off. Things do happen for a reason.

Yeah true. Batista got it good. He should look at not being in WWE as a good thing.

 

[Trill Co$by]

I do, but I don't...The way he was booked makes me feel a little bad, but he could have talked to the bookers about doing something similar to what Jericho has been doing, and that's building the younger stars

WHAT?! Are you mad? You do realize that not counting the Rumble since his return to the WWE, the only guy Batista beat at a PPV was Alberto Del Rio, right? He literally put over Daniel Bryan and the Shield... and then he left, as he had a right to do so. You don't use a box office draw like Batista to simply put people over. The Rock sure as hell had no problem mowing over CM Punk, R-Truth, and The Miz so why should Batista be expected to put people over? Especially given the fact that Batista was way better in the ring than Rock ever was.

Batista has been my favorite big guy since I stumbled upon Rhino in an ECW game. There's something about him that just screamed bad ass to me and it was awesome to watch him in the ring. From day one, I knew he wouldn't be a lifelong guy in the WWE meaning he was one day going to do something else. And he successfully has done so. He had a successful MMA fight against a 40 fight veteran, he has made a lot of money in Hollywood, and he's been easily the best former WWE guy to follow on Twitter. He's been a huge fan of guys like Daniel Bryan, the Shield, AJ Styles, and more. He has no problem calling the WWE out on their shit, and to be honest he probably saved the career of MVP.

Now his previous run, I can't entirely put on the fans. We wanted Daniel Bryan as their guy. We loved that Batista was coming back, remember the pop we gave for the initial Batista return vignette? We wanted Batista back in the WWE, and we loved that he was coming. Even after WrestleMania, we still wanted Batista because we got the return of Evolution going up against the Shield. Sure, Batista got hit by the Meme Bug, but that didn't mean we hated him. It's the internet, and that's just how it goes sometimes. Personally, I wish Batista had stayed in the WWE a lot longer because I would've loved to see him reclaim the WWE title. But had he stayed, would the Shield have become the stars they did?

Personally, I hope to see Batista in the WWE again some day but I won't be mad at him if he decided to never appear again.