WWE celebrated 20 years of Randy Orton on last week’s episode of Raw, but as we recently covered in this list, Orton is far from the only WWE star celebrating his 20th anniversary this year.
Orton isn’t the only Evolution member to celebrate his 20th anniversary this year, as WWE is celebrating ‘Batista Week’ all week to commemorate 20 years since The Animal’s WWE debut.
What better away to celebrate Batista’s anniversary, than by covering 10 matches from his WWE career that you HAVE to watch.
10. Batista vs. The Undertaker – Cyber Sunday 2007
I’ll be honest, The Undertaker is probably going to pop up on this list a few times. By the time 2007 rolled around Batista had some serious doubters. He had not had a good 2006 and his position as the top guy on SmackDown was being doubted by fans. The Undertaker changed that. In 2007, they had five matches. One of the most solid was this match from Cyber Sunday.
Big Dave was the World Heavyweight Champion going in and Steve Austin was the referee. Their matches had involved a number of stipulations from Steel Cage to Last Man Standing and soon a Hell in a Cell match. This was simply a wrestling match and it was top notch. After a strong back-and-forth battle, Undertaker fell to the Batista Bomb, marking one of the biggest wins of Batista’s career.
9. Batista vs. Shawn Michaels – One Night Stand 2008
Batista’s rivalry with Shawn Michaels in 2008 was highly personal. It started when Batista took exception to Michaels ending Ric Flair’s career at WrestleMania. From there, Michaels feigned a knee injury to pick up a win over The Animal at Backlash, leading to this vicious Stretcher Match at One Night Stand.
This was where Batista unleashed his fury on poor Michaels. Michaels put up a good fight but this was Batista’s match. Even some slight interference from Chris Jericho couldn’t stop Batista from decimating Michaels and winning this match, putting their rivalry to rest.
8. Batista vs. The Undertaker – Survivor Series 2007
Hey it’s The Undertaker again! The Deadman was not satisfied by losing to Batista at Cyber Sunday, and at Survivor Series they did battle inside Hell in a Cell. While this was not the most spectacular Hell in a Cell match of either man’s career it was effectively the end of their 2007 rivalry. It was still pretty great too.
Two massive men battling inside a cage and bringing the fight to the other was great fun. They did show a great deal of intensity and this could have been one of the great Hell in a Cell matches ever but the finish took things down a notch. Rather than the focus being on the two men in the match, Edge attacked Undertaker, setting up their rivalry for WrestleMania.
7. Batista vs. John Cena – SummerSlam 2008
John Cena and Batista’s career had been eerily parallel prior to their match in 2008. They debuted in 2002, won their first world titles at WrestleMania 21, swapped brands in 2005, both won Royal Rumbles, their careers were very similar. They had also never wrestled in WWE, making their match at SummerSlam 2008 a big deal.
These two are not known as the two smoothest cats in the ring but they had good chemistry together. Both men were injured in this match as Batista hurt his knee and Cena hurt his neck but they managed to pull off one of the best matches on the show. In a rare occurrence, Cena was pinned clean as a sheet as Batista fought his way closer to regaining the World Heavyweight Championship.
6. Batista vs. The Undertaker – Backlash 2007
Would you look at that, it’s The Undertaker. When The Undertaker captured the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 23, the stakes had to be raised. At Backlash, Undertaker and Batista’s rematch was a Last Man Standing match. These matches tend to be intense and this was no exception.
The action ramped up throughout this match with neither man backing down. Finally, Batista speared Undertaker off the stage and into a lighting area where part of the set fell on them. Neither man was able to make it to their feet resulting in this being a draw. The finish allowed their feud to continue but the action was great, showing that their match at WrestleMania was not a fluke.
5. Batista vs. John Cena – Extreme Rules 2010
Batista’s run as a heel in 2009-2010 was some of the most entertaining work of his entire career. He was able to cut fantastic promos and most of his matches were pretty damn good too. He had lost the WWE Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania XXVI, and their rematch the next month was a Last Man Standing match.
This match had a few memorable moments, including a young fan telling Batista he hates him only for Big Dave to bark back “I hate you too”. For most of the runtime this was intense and violent. However, the finish was quite silly. Cena got a roll of duct tape and taped Batista’s legs around the ring post. He was unable to free himself, allowing Cena to retain the title as the referee counted ten.
4. Batista vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 23
Blah blah blah oh look blah blah blah Undertaker. The match that started their rivalry in 2007 was also their best one. Stuck right in the middle of the card, Undertaker and Batista’s match at WrestleMania 23 was fast and furious. Right out of the gate, Batista nailed Undertaker with a Spear, setting the tone for the match.
They only had about 15 minutes so there was no downtime. This was a sprint and it was magical. People did not think this match was going to be any good, but when it was over there were many who thought this match stole the show. Undertaker was able to extend his streak to 15-0 and capture the World Heavyweight Championship and you should all watch it if you haven’t already.
3. Evolution vs. The Shield – Extreme Rules 2014
Batista’s return in 2014 was looking like a disaster early. Thankfully, he was able to have a great run of matches from WrestleMania through Payback. Following the Shield’s babyface turn, Evolution reunited to put them in their place. That didn’t quite work out for them but it resulted in some great matches.
This was as fast-paced a match as you will see from the likes of Randy Orton, Triple H, and Batista and much of that has to be attributed to the energy of the Shield. However, everyone in Evolution stepped up in this match especially.
2. Batista vs. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan – WrestleMania XXX
It is crazy to think that the plan was for Batista to face Randy Orton in a singles match at WrestleMania XXX, but let’s just be thankful that did not come to pass. Instead, we got the much better Triple Threat match with Daniel Bryan involved.
The former Evolution partners did not work together for all of this match but they occasionally would team up to eliminate Bryan for short times. The people finally got to see Daniel Bryan stand tall with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and all three men in this match made this an incredible WrestleMania main event.
1. Batista vs. Triple H – Vengeance 2005
Here it is. Batista’s best match of his career took place early on as he faced Triple H inside Hell in a Cell. Batista had beaten Triple H twice already and this was The Game’s last shot at the title he coveted so much. At Vengeance, they had one of the best Hell in a Cell matches ever.
The violence in this match was at a very high level for WWE standards at the time. This was maybe the only time WWE saw a barbed-wire chair used in a match but it happened. Both men were bloody by the end and this really solidified Batista as a main event star. I mean, who else can say they beat Triple H on three straight pay per views? For that alone, you need to watch this match.
What is your favourite Batista match? Let us know on Twitter!
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