3 times Batista turned on his best friends

#2 Reverend D-Von

Batista spent some time in OVW alongside the likes of Brock Lesnar and John Cena. He debuted in the WWE as the sidekick to a newly transformed D-Von Dudley, who was now known as Reverend D-Von. The duo wreaked havoc on both brands for a while, but it all came to an end on an episode of SmackDown.

D-Von faced the new addition to SmackDown, John Cena, and defeated him in quick succession. As the Reverend was busy celebrating his victory, he didn't notice that Batista had entered the ring. Before D-Von could make a move, Batista attacked him and finished him off with a thunderous Batista Bomb.

This was the beginning of The Animal character, who went on to become a Raw-exclusive superstar. A few months down the line, Batista became one of the 4 members of the dominant faction, Evolution, along with Triple H, Randy Orton and Ric Flair.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram