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One of the fastest rising superstars in Hollywood, Dave Batista has had quite a fascinating career both inside and outside of the squared circle. The Washington-native was part of the famed OVW graduates that had names like John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar in its ranks. The Animal was someone who started in the business very late when he was in his 30s. Trained by Afa Anoa'i of The Wild Samoans, Batista made his WWE debut as Deacon Batista, the enforcer for Reverand D'Von.
Batista's career took a turn for good after he was paired with Ric Flair and would later join The Nature Boy, Triple H, and Randy Orton to form one of the most dominant stables in WWE history, Evolution. As part of Evolution, Batista would win the World Tag Team Championship alongside Ric Flair on two separate occasions. Batista would turn on his mentor, Triple H, following his win at the 2005 Royal Rumble. He would defeat The Game to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 21.
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The Animal has since won numerous championships and headlined numerous pay-per-views for the company. One of Batista's strongest attributes has been his ability to prove his naysayers. When he left WWE for the first time in 2010, many questioned his decision to leave the company. People were skeptical about his move to Hollywood but the former World Champion proved them wrong. Not only is he part of two of the highest-grossing movies in cinematic history ( Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame), The Animal has also been able to vow audiences with his acting chops.
As the Animal gets set to be inducted into the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame, we can't help but look back at three opponents who have defined Batista's career inside the squared circle:
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#3 John Cena
John Cena and Batista are arguably two of the biggest Superstars to have come out of WWE from the Ruthless Aggression era. The duo careers have sort of paralleled each other in more ways than one. Cena and Batista both won World Championships at WrestleMania 21 and never looked back. While Cena was ruling the roost as the WWE Champion, Batista was dominating SmackDown as the World Heavyweight Champion. The duo never got an opportunity to face off against one another during the initial phase of their careers until they were both drafted to RAW in 2008.
Batista and Cena even won the World Tag Team Championship for a brief period during the build-up to their match at SummerSlam 2008. Batista defeated Cena in the first-ever singles meeting between the duo. Cena would suffer an injury during the match which would keep him on the sidelines for the next three months.
It would be another year and a half before their paths would cross once again. After winning the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, Cena was forced to defend the title against Batista in an impromptu match by Vince McMahon. Cena would lose the title to The Animal in quick fashion thereby setting up a dream match between the duo at WrestleMania 26. Cena would defeat Batista to win the WWE Championship at The Grandest Stage Of Them All. The feud with Cena was Batista's final one before he left the company in 2010.
Before moving on the next part of the listicle, gear up by listening to the latest edition of Dropkick DiSKussions featuring the veteran ring announcer Lilian Garcia!
#2 Randy Orton
Batista and Randy Orton have had a love-hate relationship with each other inside the squared circle. As mentioned earlier, the duo was a part of the famed OVW class of 2002. As part of Evolution, Orton and Batista wreaked havoc and dominated the Red brand for more than a year alongside Ric Flair and Triple H. The Animal earned the ire of The Viper after he, along with the rest of evolution, would turn their backs on Orton after he refused to hand over his newly won World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H.
Batista and Orton first feuded during the fall of 2008. The duo would lead a team of five in the traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 Elimination Match with Orton pinning Batista to win the match. Batista would then defeat Orton at Armageddon in 2008. Orton would put The Animal out of action (in storyline) after hitting him with a punt kick during the December 15, 2008 episode of RAW.
Batista suffered a hamstring tear during that time and the angle was done to write him off TV. He would return on the RAW after WrestleMania 25 to save Triple H, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon from The Legacy. Batista defeated Orton at Extreme Rules 2009 to win his first WWE Championship. However, the reign would be short-lived as The Legacy would once again gang up on The Animal leading him to vacate the title.
The Animal returned on the September 14, 2009, episode of RAW and was confronted by Orton, who assumed that he was retiring before Batista took the cast off his hand and attacked The Viper. Later that night, Batista defeated Orton in a No Holds Barred Match to end their feud.
After Batista returned to the company following a four-year hiatus in 2014, he once again set his sights on Orton and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Batista won the 2014 Royal Rumble by last eliminating Roman Reigns setting up a date with The Viper in the main event of WrestleMania 30.
Had it not been for the monumental rise of Daniel Bryan during that period, one could argue that The Animal would've ended up defeating Orton to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30. But, that was not to be the case and we ended up getting a Triple Threat Match between Orton, Batista, and Bryan for the title with The Animal tapping out to the Yes Lock. Batista and Orton would then reunite with Triple H to reform Evolution as the trio feuded with The Shield over the next two months before he left the company.
#1 Triple H
There is no one, and we mean no one,.who has been such an integral part of Batista's wrestling career as Triple H. The Game was one of the biggest proponents of the Washington-native during his time in WWE. Not only did The Cerebral Assassin take Batista under his wing as part of Evolution, but he also helped make Batista a megastar in the business. It goes without saying that without his feud with The Game, Batista wouldn't have reached the heights that he did in his career.
During his time in Evolution, Batista was essentially a muscle for Triple H. He helped The Game retain the World Heavyweight Championship on numerous occasions. But, as soon as he won the 2005 Royal Rumble, Triple H and Ric Flair started manipulating the Animal to keep him away from the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista doing the thumbs up followed by a down to Triple H during their contract signing is considered to be one of the best segments in RAW history.
WrestleMania 21 marked the arrival of Batista as a main-event Superstar. Him defeating Triple H in the main-event was sort of a passing of a torch as Batista (alongside John Cena) would become the biggest star coming out of the show. The Game and The Animal would feud over the World Title following WrestleMania 21 with Batista coming out on top every single time.
In what can be described as truly poetic, Batista would challenge The Game at WrestleMania 35 in what would turn out to be The Animal's final match inside the squared circle. But, this time it was Batista who was the aggressor and tormentor with The Game playing the babyface. The duo ended up having a great match last year with The Game finally getting one over The Animal.
