Why Batista Left, According to Meltzer

[Turd Ferguson]

Meltzer covers MMA for both The Wrestling Oberver and Yahoo Sports. Last night, he attended the Strikeforce event that was also attended by Batista, Goldberg, and Ernest "The Cat" Miller. Of course, Meltzer seized the opportunity to get what would be an interesting interview with Batista, who had just left the company.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer asked Batista why he left WWE. Batista said he was sick and tired of WWE's direction and had to get out. He said that it wasn't the kind of wrestling he grew up watching and wasn't the product that he had always enjoyed.

Batista didn't rule out a return to WWE but did not seem in a hurry to work with the company again. Batista, who has lost some weight since leaving WWE, said he was out in Los Angeles looking for work. He was seen talking with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker but The Animal entering the MMA world to fight seems highly unlikely.

First off, I find it real interesting that Batista left due to the WWE's direction. Sure, he might not have agreed with the more family-friendly approach, but he was a unique and very interesting/entertaining character on his way out. If it's one thing the Raw writers had right over the last few months, it was how great Batista was in both his character and on the mic. These comments seem very out of left field, especially where he seemed like he was having fun as a heel too. He was having the best run of his career before leaving.

It also begs the question as to whether or not we're going to see more guys (who are financially well-off) leaving the company in the future. Chris Jericho really has no reason to continue to be there, and I'm sure he might be considering leaving the company again, especially where he's taking on a game show project with ABC. I think as the months go on, we're going to see more veterans let their contracts expire, as they may not see eye to eye with what the WWE's mission is right now, and if they've already made a lot of money, and feel like they're financially secure, there's no reason to continue to bust your ass for a grueling job like professional wrestling.

As far as Batista considering to attempt MMA goes, that's a very laughable endeavor for him. Sure, he seems like a huge fan of the sport, but what kind of formal training has he had? What kind of background does he have that makes him credible? Actually... that topic is probably better suited for the MMA/Boxing forum.

 

[XgringolocoX]

I'd be VERY surprised to see Bautista in an MMA ring. He doens't have the history for it. He is/was a bodybuilder/bouncer turned wrestler. He may be one bad motherfucker on the street, but a well seasoned mma fighter would kick his soul right outta him. He shouldn't attempt it.
I feel that there are a few cross over stars, but not a great deal of them. Anyone attemt to watch that flick "Wrong Side of the Tracks". I made it to about minute 5 and had to turn it off. Love RVD in ring...sorry he can't act. How much appeal to the general public do any active wrestlers have? Certainly no where near Dwayne Johnson's. How well will any of them really do? Jericho comes across well spoken...when he's not yelling racial epithats that is.
I don't think we need to worry about an exodous just yet. How do you all think would be qualified anyhow?

 

[mreastbay]

Im sure he isnt the only one who feels this way. Id wager most in the locker room due. With Jericho doing game shows, Edge talking retirement in 2 years, and the hypocrytical working conditions in the back, I gotta agree with Batista. It really isnt the product i grew up loving. Models trying to wrestle...yeah they look better now...but hell they cant even do a backbody drop (even tho bending over I would guess would be their forte). Daniel Bryan...fired for doing something on the "reminded of Benoit" list......wasnt it not that long ago HHH did the crossface on Jericho? Its a business now running away from the audience that made them millions............too bad too.

Eric Bischoff once said that "you deal with alot of masters' when you become a publicly traded company.....and for the WWE...its really becoming odvious to us all. Vince isnt the man anymore................Mattel's richer, so theyre the man. I just feel for the guys who got into wrestling to be wrestlers and proud of the history of their profession, only to become "sports entertainers", and have all your potential ignored cuz you wouldnt make a good action figure.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Thank you, Dave Bautista for having the balls to say what so many of us have been saying for almost three+ years now, and thank you for calling the spade a fucking spade when all the world should realize it's been one for some time now.

The ever-present always-loud-at-the-mouth Jim Cornette put it better than I possibly could when he referred to the WWE's product as "child-like, inane, inconsequential pablum". Pablum, for those of you who don't realize it is a processed cereal for infants.

Batista's character may have been over with the crowd [of children], but it wasn't over with him, and I don't blame him one bit for that. I couldn't possibly agree with his sentiments more, in fact. The PG era nonsense has changed the WWE's product to it's core, and I for one can't stand it. It's why I can barely watch ten minutes of their programming anymore without fast-forwarding past the ridiculousness. When is enough enough? Wrestling fans are not all six-year old children who's parents are willing to buy them all the Cena t-shirts and Jeff Hardy arm bands they want – plenty of us have been around for decades and lived through pro-wrestling's heyday, which most certainly had more than a leg up on viewership because of how compelling and realistic it's nature was. It was raw – all pun intended – and real. It gave you a reason to care and didn't try appealing to you through the kind of simplistic jokes the mentally ******ed laugh at.

The WWE today is little else but a scripted series of child-proof G-rated jokes conveniently disguised as "logical" booking/writing. I don't care how much it "makes sense" to have John Cena feud with Dave Batista over a title – the entire story as to why they were even feuding to begin with was as boring as shit is brown, and it's an absolute travesty that the garbage the WWE has been producing for the last few years can actually lay claim to being produced by the same company that gave us (the real) DX, Austin v. Hart, The Undertaker, The Rock, the entirety of the Monday Night Wars and countless other absolutely classic and legendary figures/feuds in it's history.

Somewhere in his grave, Lord Sidious has a grinning smile on his face so wide you couldn't possibly measure it with conventional means.

 

[Money Inc.]

Hmm if anything I would of expected him to announce he was tired with the direction last year when his character was staler than ever. IMO his last 4 months with the company might of been the best Batista since Evolution Batista.

His spotlight gimmick was very over, and even the smart fans got into his angle with Cena. I expect to see him back sometime next year.

I also agree it'll be very unlikely to see him try to convert to the mma world.

 

[Slyfox696]

First of all, those of you who are blaming this on the PG stuff, get a grip. Batista is 40+ years old, he didn't grow up on the Attitude Era. When Batista was growing up, wrestling catered to idiots and children, so this PG nonsense needs to end right now in this thread.

Second of all, Batista is certainly within his rights to walk away if he doesn't like the direction. He's no obligated to the WWE, if he doesn't want to be there, then you leave. No big deal.

Finally, however, I'm sure the WWE really doesn't give a damn if Batista likes their product or not. They're making money, and they're retraining their fans to their style of wrestling again, which, in terms of in-ring work, is FAR superior to what it was in the Attitude Era.

As far as Batista in MMA, not a chance. What would be the point? He's never been trained in any legitimate fighting, he's over 40 years old, and he's a 'roid head. I don't see Batista in MMA at all, ever.


But yeah, seriously, this has nothing to do with PG.

 

[closet_fan]

eh, batista was ok, but nothing great. he got his first real push because HHH liked what he saw, but over time he looked like an over the hill wrestler much in the same mold as scott steiner. still roided up, but saggy as all hell.

i had read the mma rumors the past several weeks and kind of snicker that he thinks he would be any good. for one thing, they have a much stricter steroid policy. he'd fail at the first test. secondly, it takes more than just being a big guy to win a match. just ask lesnar. lesnar was in much better shape and still couldn't compete early on.

 

[RupertPupkin]

No way would be be successful in MMA. He is stiff in a wresting ring---I don't wanna know how he'd look in a cage.

And yes I saw him in that movie----he shoulda stayed in the WWE haha.
I'm not really sure what kind of character he could play in a movie...other than someone in the military, ex-military, or a bouncer.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

First of all, those of you who are blaming this on the PG stuff, get a grip. Batista is 40+ years old, he didn't grow up on the Attitude Era. When Batista was growing up, wrestling catered to idiots and children, so this PG nonsense needs to end right now in this thread.

Second of all, Batista is certainly within his rights to walk away if he doesn't like the direction. He's no obligated to the WWE, if he doesn't want to be there, then you leave. No big deal.

Finally, however, I'm sure the WWE really doesn't give a damn if Batista likes their product or not. They're making money, and they're retraining their fans to their style of wrestling again, which, in terms of in-ring work, is FAR superior to what it was in the Attitude Era.

As far as Batista in MMA, not a chance. What would be the point? He's never been trained in any legitimate fighting, he's over 40 years old, and he's a 'roid head. I don't see Batista in MMA at all, ever.


But yeah, seriously, this has nothing to do with PG.

Batista is 40+ years old, which means he grew up watching wrestling in the Golden Era, which didn't cater to idiots and children – it dealt with real world issues.

Are you really going to sit there and tell me that Rowdy Piper was a child's character? The Million Dollar man was a child's character? The Undertaker? They may have been cartoons, but let's not be so ignorant as to presume that cartoons equate prepubescence by nature. If that's the case, how do you explain the popularity of Family Guy?

This has everything to do with PG. It has everything to do with the way the WWE has developed it's product and the childish ways in which it presents it.

An NXT invasion angle is not enough to sell me on this product not being PG when the remainder of the show insulted my intelligence at every step and when one of the guys involved in it was subsequently fired for reminding some CEO somewhere of Chris Benoit, and furthermore nothing the WWE's really done outside of perhaps that Orton/HHH feud has even remotely touched on the depths to which humans will go to beat one another in competition as brutal as wrestling is in it's true nature.

 

[Dean Winchester]

Well if Bautista grew up in the 80s watching wrestling they still had better wrestling and storylines then they do now. I mean they did silly stuff back then too but they did not go over the top like stuff with Hornswoggle, terrible womens division, bad storylines.

 

[AttitudeAJM]

Batista is allowed to have his opinion on the WWE's direction. I wish he would think differently since he's been one of the best heels since Triple H over the past several months.

As for MMA, who knows. If he's been training and feels that he can be competitive then he should give it a shot. There are a lot of people that are quick to criticize but no one knows how serious he really is about this. Either way, he'll be missed in the WWE.

 

[Slyfox696]

Batista is 40+ years old, which means he grew up watching wrestling in the Golden Era, which didn't cater to idiots and children – it dealt with real world issues.

Please, it catered to idiots and children...it had to, it was still trying to maintain the perception of reality, and only idiots and children believed it to be real. Sure there were some who knew it was fake, and still watched, but that's not who wrestling catered to.

Are you really going to sit there and tell me that Rowdy Piper was a child's character?

It depends upon which Roddy Piper you're referring to. The one in the WWF? Absolutely.

The Million Dollar man was a child's character?

You even have to ask?

The Undertaker? They may have been cartoons, but let's not be so ignorant as to presume that cartoons equate prepubescence by nature. If that's the case, how do you explain the popularity of Family Guy?

You're right, I'm sure 95% of the adult population watching wrestling in the early 90s ACTUALLY believed the Undertaker was a zombie who drew mystical power from an urn.

Please. It was catered towards children, and saying otherwise is either naive or stupid.

This has everything to do with PG. It has everything to do with the way the WWE has developed it's product and the childish ways in which it presents it.

Wrestling is no more childish now than it was in the past, barring the Attitude Era. Just go back and watch old wrestling shows, you'll see what i mean. Do you really think midget wrestling and outlandish characters from other countries ONLY came into existence in 2008? That's just silly.

An NXT invasion angle is not enough to sell me on this product not being PG when the remainder of the show insulted my intelligence at every step and when one of the guys involved in it was subsequently fired for reminding some CEO somewhere of Chris Benoit, and furthermore nothing the WWE's really done outside of perhaps that Orton/HHH feud has even remotely touched on the depths to which humans will go to beat one another in competition as brutal as wrestling is in it's true nature.

What the fuck are you talking about? No one is denying the WWE is PG, what I'm saying is that wrestling has ALWAYS been childish and catered towards idiots, aside from the time period between 1996-2003 or so. Except for that limited time period, wrestling has ALWAYS been what we would now call "PG".

Thus, if Batista "grew up watching" wrestling, then the wrestling he grew up with was just as much PG as today's product. MY guess is Batista is referring to the type of in-ring style now employed by today's workers, which I completely agree with his assessment a few years ago being little more than "a big carwreck".

I would say THAT is what he's referring to, much more than PG.

 

[drobs85]

BAtista did what many are scared to. He stood up and said how he along with a whole lot of people felt about wwe. Actually the company has been in this "state" for 6 or more years, not just a few like some people seem to think. He saved his money, made investments, and realized that he would only start to hate it even more than that if he didn't get out, so he did just that bounced. Maybe that's why jeff hardy really left and he just didn't make it known. But now since batista did this, more wrestlers will follow suit, more will save there money etc, and leave. So then wwe could be wcw all over again. Vince has a huge problem on his hands.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Please, it catered to idiots and children...it had to, it was still trying to maintain the perception of reality, and only idiots and children believed it to be real. Sure there were some who knew it was fake, and still watched, but that's not who wrestling catered to.

I'm not referring to the perception of it as realty, Sly, I'm referring to the perception of it as a reality-based program that didn't mask it's obvious falsehoods (like the fact it wasn't actually real) with childish jokes. How was Hogan/USA v. Shiek/Middle East childish? It dealt with a real-world issue in a cartoon manner.

It depends upon which Roddy Piper you're referring to. The one in the WWF? Absolutely.

Agree to disagree. I thought Piper was a pretty nasty villian, and hardly suitable for children the way most of the heels in the WWE are right now.

You even have to ask?

DiBiase? Absolutely. He shoved money in the mouths of his victims, man. He paid poor schlubs $100 to degrade them in front of the world. He made kids cry – literally.

You're right, I'm sure 95% of the adult population watching wrestling in the early 90s ACTUALLY believed the Undertaker was a zombie who drew mystical power from an urn.

Please. It was catered towards children, and saying otherwise is either naive or stupid.

I'm not saying they actually believed it – again – I'm saying they were able to maintain the perception of it being reality based. The Undertaker wasn't actually dead, but the concept of him being so was believable in a kayfabe kind of way. He dealt with very gothic and "evil" concepts like burying his victims alive and drawing power from an earn that was obviously believed to be filled with the ashes of the dead. Not exactly a bed time story, is it?

Wrestling is no more childish now than it was in the past, barring the Attitude Era. Just go back and watch old wrestling shows, you'll see what i mean. Do you really think midget wrestling and outlandish characters from other countries ONLY came into existence in 2008? That's just silly.

Not at all, but that's not really what I'm referring to when I'm talking about how childish the program has gotten. Look at any number of the segments that go on backstage – hardly any deal with real life conflicts anymore. Most are running gags. Dance-off contests, arm wrestling contests, etc. Every segment with a guest host turns into a huge joke, and it all started (IMO) with the Napoleon Dynamite kid wrestling, or even with Seth Green doing the same. It's just silly. There's barely a snippet left of any reality based concepts there.

What the fuck are you talking about? No one is denying the WWE is PG, what I'm saying is that wrestling has ALWAYS been childish and catered towards idiots, aside from the time period between 1996-2003 or so. Except for that limited time period, wrestling has ALWAYS been what we would now call "PG".

Thus, if Batista "grew up watching" wrestling, then the wrestling he grew up with was just as much PG as today's product. MY guess is Batista is referring to the type of in-ring style now employed by today's workers, which I completely agree with his assessment a few years ago being little more than "a big carwreck".

I would say THAT is what he's referring to, much more than PG.

I just can't agree, Sly. I wish I could, but I can't. I look at the conceptual basis for the matches and feuds then and compare it to now and it just doesn't equate. I'd go so far as to say prior to '96 it was PG-13, perhaps, but not PG. If that was PG, this current incarnation is G.

As to what he's referring to specifically, I'd also agree that the actual wrestling abilities of the performers today is far inferior to what it was when he grew up watching. The guys he grew up watching were capable of telling a story in the ring most of the roster currently employed are not.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'm not referring to the perception of it as realty, Sly, I'm referring to the perception of it as a reality-based program that didn't mask it's obvious falsehoods (like the fact it wasn't actually real) with childish jokes. How was Hogan/USA v. Shiek/Middle East childish? It dealt with a real-world issue in a cartoon manner.



Agree to disagree. I thought Piper was a pretty nasty villian, and hardly suitable for children the way most of the heels in the WWE are right now.



DiBiase? Absolutely. He shoved money in the mouths of his victims, man. He paid poor schlubs $100 to degrade them in front of the world. He made kids cry – literally.



I'm not saying they actually believed it – again – I'm saying they were able to maintain the perception of it being reality based. The Undertaker wasn't actually dead, but the concept of him being so was believable in a kayfabe kind of way. He dealt with very gothic and "evil" concepts like burying his victims alive and drawing power from an earn that was obviously believed to be filled with the ashes of the dead. Not exactly a bed time story, is it?



Not at all, but that's not really what I'm referring to when I'm talking about how childish the program has gotten. Look at any number of the segments that go on backstage – hardly any deal with real life conflicts anymore. Most are running gags. Dance-off contests, arm wrestling contests, etc. Every segment with a guest host turns into a huge joke, and it all started (IMO) with the Napoleon Dynamite kid wrestling, or even with Seth Green doing the same. It's just silly. There's barely a snippet left of any reality based concepts there.



I just can't agree, Sly. I wish I could, but I can't. I look at the conceptual basis for the matches and feuds then and compare it to now and it just doesn't equate. I'd go so far as to say prior to '96 it was PG-13, perhaps, but not PG. If that was PG, this current incarnation is G.

As to what he's referring to specifically, I'd also agree that the actual wrestling abilities of the performers today is far inferior to what it was when he grew up watching. The guys he grew up watching were capable of telling a story in the ring most of the roster currently employed are not.

I'll go as far to say that this current product is less PG than it was before the Attitude Era. Just look at what he have had the past four years. Orton damn near tortured Cena and tried to blow him up in their matches, JBL and Jericho basically trying to hang each other, and HHH invading Orton's home with a sledgehammer.

I never saw the reality in the Attitude Era. I'm sure some employers out there hate their superiors but do you think your average disgruntled employee would go the lengths Austin did? The WWE is trying to get away from the Attitude Era because it hurt them more then it helped.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

Since Batista is 41, wouldn't it make more sense that he was watching old AWA/NWA/WWWF stuff with Flair, Rhodes, Zbysko, and Greg Valentine kind of stuff. I mean, he would've been 16 already by the time the first Wrestlemania happened. I guess it depends on how we're defining "grew up on." Still better stuff at any rate than anything we've seen in the past couple of years.

At any rate, whether I agree with him or not, I think it's insane that a guy who has been main eventing the past five years and who just had a world title run a few months ago could be "sick and tired" of the direction. Shit, give me a title run and you can book me against dachshunds for all I care. It doesn't make any sense; Christian and Matt Hardy can be sick of the direction. Batista WAS the direction; why are you sick of YOURSELF!

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'll go as far to say that this current product is less PG than it was before the Attitude Era. Just look at what he have had the past four years. Orton damn near tortured Cena and tried to blow him up in their matches, JBL and Jericho basically trying to hang each other, and HHH invading Orton's home with a sledgehammer.

I never saw the reality in the Attitude Era. I'm sure some employers out there hate their superiors but do you think your average disgruntled employee would go the lengths Austin did? The WWE is trying to get away from the Attitude Era because it hurt them more then it helped.

Well no, not at all, but at the same time it epitomized the frustrations of every day workers with "management" types like McMahon – hardened jackasses on a power trip, or at least a power trip as perceived by the worker.

I'm not really sold on the idea that it hurt them more than it helped them – if anything it created the biggest boom since Hogan. If anything hurt them it was their failure to develop a new era that could actually top just how over-the-top the Attitude Era got, or more so their failure to develop characters who could have ushered in said era.

This era hasn't really dealt with real-world issues like wartime conflicts and politics the way the era prior to the AE did, so how is this era less PG than the last?

 

[Supernova]

PG apologists need to stop - Batista was clearly complaining about the dumbed down nature of the show (i.e. catering to children) more than anything else and trying to say he was preffering to in-ring style or anything is ridiculous as it hasn't changed that much since he debuted. And that guy who said the Attitude Era hurt the WWE more than it helped them is even more wrong, I'm sure Vicne McMahon would love to go back to the ratings and income he had during that period. I'm sure the fans would love to go back too (apart from a few IWC guys who want to look alternative by bashing it).

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Well no, not at all, but at the same time it epitomized the frustrations of every day workers with "management" types like McMahon – hardened jackasses on a power trip, or at least a power trip as perceived by the worker.

I'm not really sold on the idea that it hurt them more than it helped them – if anything it created the biggest boom since Hogan. If anything hurt them it was their failure to develop a new era that could actually top just how over-the-top the Attitude Era got, or more so their failure to develop characters who could have ushered in said era.

This era hasn't really dealt with real-world issues like wartime conflicts and politics the way the era prior to the AE did, so how is this era less PG than the last?

I feel like the Attitude Era hurt the WWE much in the same way the nWo hurt WCW. Both were good at the start because they started in small doses. Then they just overloaded and it damaged the product. There were actually wrestlers with personality back then but they were overshadowed by the nWo and the Attitude Era. Fans screamed for shock and violence all the time and when they couldn't get that, they became disinterested. You can't give the fans what they want all the time. Kids get enough information about real world conflicts and issues all the time these days by going on the Internet or reading the newspaper. I think kids see wrestling as a way to be entertained to get away from all that stuff but that's just me.

I just don't see many real world issues that are conducive to today's product. They were going somewhere with Muhammad Hassan but the London bombing was just unlucky on WWE's part because that storyline could have really taken off. Unless they want to do something that deals with oil spills or immigration laws, I don't see many issues that the WWE can use.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've literally watched wrestling for as long as I can remember. For most of that time, all wrestling programs in the United States would qualify as being "PG" rated. We can argue about which era was more PG rated that the other and all that shit, but what's the point? What made the Attitude Era something was the fact that boundaries were pushed, not because anything was more "realistic" or catered to a more "intelligent" type of fan. If you watched the WWF from the mid 80s to the late 90s, you'd see a lot of cartoonish characters that were kid friendly. Can anyone tell me with a straight and honest face that Hulk Hogan's character during the 80s was any "deeper" and more adult than John Cena's? Roddy Piper was a cartoon character on crack half the time and Ted DiBiase's "maniacal and evil millionaire" character was something right out of an old school comic book a lot of times. The WWF and WCW products for a very, very long time were family oriented and have been for most of their existence. The Attitude Era contained a lot of controversy and that's all well and good. However, let's not try to pretend that the Attitude Era was all about quality because I damn well know better. It had more than its fair share of shit both in terms of angles, storylines and most certainly wrestling. That doesn't mean that it wasn't revolutionary in a lot of ways, but it was filled with lots of stunts done for shock and awe quite a bit of the time. I've said it time and time again that PG can be quality and TV-14 can be pure shit. All the proof you need of the latter is to have watched TNA for the past 5 or 6 months.

As for Batista, if he doesn't like the direction then more power to him. To be perfectly honest, I'm not all that sure how much he hated the direction or not seeing as how he has consistently been a main eventer in the WWE for about 5 or 6 years now. He's been featured in a number of high profile feuds and matches, headlined major shows all over the world and made tons of money. From what I've seen of the WWE's direction more than anything else is that much younger wrestlers are being brought in, pushed and built into stars. That usually means that the older guys are going to be pushed to the side a bit whether they want to be or not. It happened to Hulk Hogan in the early 90s and was a contributing factor as to why he went to WCW.

 

[The Champ]

Yeah, I'm not getting why Batista had such a problem with the company's direction, seeing as he wasn't doing a whole lot differently aside from having an awesome heel run. I guess he wants to go make action movies, which is cool, but I fully expect him to come crawling back sooner rather than later if that doesn't work out. Or better yet, he can go to TNA where they bleed buckets if that's the wrestling that he's "always enjoyed." Either way, somehow I doubt that his days in a wrestling ring are completely over. But who knows, maybe he'll get some good big man/bodyguard type roles. You never know, right?

 

[The Champ]

PG apologists need to stop - Batista was clearly complaining about the dumbed down nature of the show (i.e. catering to children) more than anything else and trying to say he was preffering to in-ring style or anything is ridiculous as it hasn't changed that much since he debuted. And that guy who said the Attitude Era hurt the WWE more than it helped them is even more wrong, I'm sure Vicne McMahon would love to go back to the ratings and income he had during that period. I'm sure the fans would love to go back too (apart from a few IWC guys who want to look alternative by bashing it).

They tried to recreate what happened in the Attitude Era for several years afterward. Quite simply, it didn't work that well. They had plenty of offensive material from 2002-2007, and it didn't recreate the same kind of success. There were a lot of factors that made the Attitude Era successful, including the stars involved, the competition with WCW, and the fact that that style of programming was much more prevalent a decade ago. Wrestling is a cyclical business, and WWE has simply gone back to its family friendly roots. And like you said, Batista really hadn't been doing a whole lot differently, so I don't really understand why he might have had such a huge problem with this whole initiative.

 

[Lyson Rayne]

PG apologists need to stop - Batista was clearly complaining about the dumbed down nature of the show (i.e. catering to children) more than anything else and trying to say he was preffering to in-ring style or anything is ridiculous as it hasn't changed that much since he debuted. And that guy who said the Attitude Era hurt the WWE more than it helped them is even more wrong, I'm sure Vicne McMahon would love to go back to the ratings and income he had during that period. I'm sure the fans would love to go back too (apart from a few IWC guys who want to look alternative by bashing it).

This pretty much says it better than I could. Batista entered wrestling, not watched or whatever, but started his career during the hectic period between the Attitude Era and the PG Era, so that's what he's used to. It didn't cater to kids, and while most people stopped watching, it wasn't because of a bad product, but because they liked the Attitude Era, not actual pro wrestling (not to say the AE wasn't, but I think you get it). Getting mobbed by little kids and having to hear squeaky prepubecent "I hate you Batista"'s isn't what he wanted, and when he's being a badass heel, I doubt he really felt badass walking into an arena with 20,000 kids. I can't stand watching sometimes because the fucking kid next to the camera man won't shut his mouth, and the horrible programming isn't enough to make me stick around and listen to it for 2 hours, and I didn't miss a RAW for 6 years until a few weeks ago when it was just way too stupid.

Sure Vince is making money now, but those kids have to grow up, and eventually mom and dad are going to say "fuck you, buy your own damn t-shirt" and the kid won't want one anymore. The attitude era brought in fans who could afford their own merch, and it wasn't considered "gay" to wear wrestling shirts. Hell, most of my parents friends still wear SCSA or nWo shirts, but I've only seen a couple little kids and a mentally handicapped teen wearing a John Cena shirt (that's actually true, no joke). Not to mention this doubled rating's income aand whatnot. Those profits gave Vince a hard one for 5 or so years, and I'm sure he'd love that again.

Last, but not least, the IWC amateur trolls who have to go against whatever the majority is saying to look cool. It's annoying. Posting an opinion is cool, arguing it when you can back your claim is awesome, but shitting on everything and making no valid argument is stupid.

 

[BatistrioFlyPunt]

It's very simple, and being a Batista fan it's hard to see him leave. The "direction" that they were going in is stale, and losing the majority of fans over the age of 15. Yes Batista did have a great heel run after a very boring 4-5 year face run. To put it simply, the WWE is going hugely downhill. They have been for 6 or 7 years now. He will not go to TNA for two obvious reasons, the money and the fact that he would not be treated right there. So yes, he did have a good reason to leave. He might be back, he might not be. But he left everyone else thinking about if they saved their money and left what impact that would make.

 

[Dave]

I would love to see Batista in the world of MMA.

Now, as Guy has already said, he has no credentials to be in an MMA octagon, or what have you. However, there is no denying that we would all tune in to see how well he does. The same was true of Brock Lesnar when he went to the UFC. He was out of action for a long time and people really didn't know how well he was going to fare after having a run at American Football. However, we all tuned in to see him and he has taken to it like a duck to water.

However, I wouldn't like to think that Batista wont be back in a wrestling ring. I think he was just hitting stride with the WWE and it really is sad to see him go and consider a new career. I think he has a lot of momentum in the WWE and he could come back and be successful again. He really was quite entertaining towards the end of his WWE contract and I enjoyed seeing him. MMA is relaly competitive at the moment and it takes a lot of experience and skill to make it to the top of the business. Otherwise, you will be out on your ass and forgot about by the time the next PPV rolls around.

He might not be the best in the ring but in MMA, he really would be an unproven quantity and I would be excited to see him in Strikeforce or the UFC. He is still a draw and I would tune in to see him fight. Like him or not, he is a draw and Strikeforce could definitely use him for a couple of fights. The worst that could happen is that he gets beat. The best case scenario is that he actually does some damage and gets people interested.

As for the veterans of the WWE, I really wouldn't like to see them step away right now although it is likely to happen within the next five years. This is especially true of The Undertaker and Chris Jericho. They have done it all in the business and it wont be long until they see their future being written elsewhere.