Batista really got the “Create-a-Wrestler” storyline treatment where it seems like the entire WWE universe revolves around him. Loved this feud and it’s what sold you on The Animal.
Incredible run as a wrestler. One of the reasons he became one of my all time favorites. The look alone and ability to make a crowd hang on his every move
One of the biggest things missing in wrestling today is long-term booking and storytelling. This is a damn near perfect example of long-term storytelling. If this was done today, the whole thing would probably play out over a couple of weeks.
@@s4xtt I agree his build was probably top 5 builds for a upcoming star in pro wrestling history All the current WWE and AEW has to is study and pay attention to these builds Batista's build of 2003-05, Bret Hart's build of 1990-1993 , and Undertaker's build of 1990-1992 There's more great builds these are just ones I that I felt Vince McMahon was "reading the room" to what the fans wanted without forcing it and slowly letting it simmer for a great pay off Notice all of them had a 2 or 3 year program, that's usually how you build a new star
I thought the story with the whole buildup and the slow teasing of Evolution breaking up which led to Batista turning on Triple H and becoming a face was done very well. It was classic old school storytelling at its finest and Triple H did a fantastic job in helping to create Batista as the next big star for the company.
And Vince tearing his quad at the royal rumble that year lol .I'm sorry I just wanted to say that everytime I think about that rumble I think about Vince tearing his quad on the show
I give HHH credit for what he did for Batista. By the way their rivalry in 2005 is very underrated including their Hell in a Cell Match. I thought Batista was having fun that 2005 run. Love his "I Walk Alone" theme but I can see other people liking his previous theme better. His face turn on the Feb 21st edition of Raw was one of the best moments in history.
that 2005 run was near perfect storytelling, a student surpassing his master, Batista got it all, the look, the intensity and the power.I don't think it was underrated but until 2007 WWE was still making good stuffs so it kinda lost in the shuffle
I agree with the praise you've given to the storyline but I don't know if it's 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳rated🤔. People still talk about it to this day just like the Batista/Undertaker rivalry, unlike say the Orton/Taker rivalry. That being said, it's not like the rivalry has been put in any games as a Showcase. So maybe it is underrated.🤷🏾♂️
You missed the one key point. On the raw before Survivor series, HHH is complaining how each of their opponents will take over raw and challenge for his belt and was super worried and pissed. When he left, Batista was sitting on the couch and took a glance at the belt and got a small pop. That was the initial moment that I knew he was gonna turn at some point.
Batista's thumbs down in the buildup to WrestleMania 21 has to be etched into the mind of every, back then young, wrestling-fan. What an awesome moment!
One of the best slow-burn storyline in the business. We all know it's coming but we didn't know when and how. Props to HHH too for making this happen. If it was against anyone else going against Batista, it wouldn't be this satisfyingly good. Everyone played their part so well in this.
Batista was Awesome for WWE during the Ruthless Aggression Era and one can only imagine how much better he would have been had he entered the Business at a younger age ...
@@lexkanyima2195 idk, I think they would've seen him as another big guy and not use him for serious storylines (like another Perry Saturn). I think the Ruthless Agression era was the perfect time for him to flourish.
@@wwef6lr to me Batista was the face of the ruthless aggression era because his reign not only got the biggest pops but the ratings were higher especially his face run He could of fit in the attitude era, and the new generation era as a heel
I think WWE made a mistake is moving Batista to Smackdown and Cena to Raw. I feel like Cena needed a year of credibility on Smackdown to get over more with the fans before making the switch. I know Eddie’s death was unforeseen and unavoidable, but imagine if him and Cena feuded over the title around Summerslam and No Mercy before he died. Two guys who’s gimmicks were they would cheat and one up each other. Then Cena could have faced Mark Henry and The Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 22 as an established and well respected face. It would have been better than having him have a no heat feud with Bischoff that castrated his connection with the fans
@@johnepants I think it was only good for Batista because it allowed him to come into his own without HHH's or Flair's help. But yeah I agree, Cena's draft to Raw wasn't that great for him in the long run.
@@johnepants I didn't like Batista moving to Smackdown but it did make more sense. They had already teased a JBL fued and he already beat everyone on RAW so there was nothing else for him to do aside from a rivalry with Orton or Michaels, but they already fed Orton to him and beat him clean the night after WM21 so that was spoiled. Maybe they could have brought JBL to RAW in the draft along with a few other Smackdown opponents but I don't think that dynamic would have been as entertaining plus, it was only a matter of time before Triple H came back and I don't think anyone wanted that rivalry to continue. Cena coming to RAW was interesting but giving him Jericho and Christian as first opponents killed his momentum, aside from their early promo there was little chemistry there.
This was a really, really well done story with both having done a great job especially after Orton got screwed. This was Batista's best feud, not best matches, with his second best feud having been against Taker which I feel Taker and Batista had better matches
At 12:31, It still amazes me how Vince McMahon was able to keep a straight face after tearing both of his quad muscles. I heard that can be an extremely painful injury.
I tore just my left quad about 10 years ago when squatting too much. The pain was immense. I can not even begin to imagine tearing both AT THE SAME TIME. Luckily for Vince, his adrenaline was probably at full blast so that helped him keep going.
This, imo, was one of, if not the best written and acted story lines in WWE history and if I'm correct it was Triple H himself who wrote the entire thing.
Yes , i think Stephanie mentioned she felt Batista should powerbomb Triple H on a table after the thumbs down, Triple H wanted Batista to just walk out afterwards.. but kudos to Triple H for understanding overall he had to put Batista over at WrestleMania
Those power bombs look deadly... I missed the Batista and Evolution era so thank you for these videos. You are the reason I started watching wrestling again after nearly 20 years of not doing so.
can we just one more time appreciate Ric Flair working with and still putting over younger talent at his old age. You can see his love for wrestling on his face the whole time
Quite possibly my favorite build up to a face turn. Batista organically connected with the crowd and the WWE actually capitalized on that. Also, another small story after the turn was done, was Triple H's inability to execute the pedigree on Batista. Another awesome video, Mr. Wrestling Bios! 👍
I don't know why people give HHH a hard time, he was great during this time, I legit hated him watching the program, which once I turned it off made me like him, because you know, that's his job and he was good at it.
See this was back when they didn't have so many hollywood writers and actually wrestling people booking more of it then today. They understood the slow build that wrestling needs and gave it to the people.
Never understood the hate Triple H gets for this era of Raw, look at that roster who else could possibly be a respected champion. He made the world title mean something
@@jeffwilson7086 almost none of undertakers world title reigns meant anything. The Undertaker gimmick is so insanely popular he never needed the belt plus everybody knows Undertaker is a smackdown guy lol
@@jeffwilson7086 they did put the belt on him after survivor series and people cared for about 2 weeks lol it was a nice feel good story for Shawn but feel good stories tend to last a very short amount of time, like Rey Mysterios time with the belt.
This video was nostalgic for me. I was at Raw to see Batista win the second tag match with him and HHH vs Jericho and Chris Benoit. It was a cool way to spend my 14th birthday!
Batista definitely had better grooming.. He got to wrestle with a still viable Flair and even win the tag titles with him... Orton and Batista have a bit of Ric in them
His rise to the top was so organic, the fans, the wrestlers, *_everything_* fell into place for Batista. Akin to Daniel Bryan’s meteoric rise to Wrestlemania 30, Batista had the same kind of organic rise was beautiful.
Looking back at Smackdown 2003, and Raw 2005-07.. Many of the major moments and matches are simply forgotten or not mentioned. And it sucks when you know why.
This was very important period in wrestling for me, as I saw my favorite wrestler rise to the top. Batista deserves more credit than he´s given, also big shoutout to Wrestling Bios for such amazing video and story telling.
This was such a great storyline that was in the making for months. Both Batista and Triple H played their respective parts really well. I wish I could go back in time.
Batista will be one of my favourites forever, I grew up with the Ruthless Aggression era as my parents didn't let me watch wrestling before; Batista was one of the icons and the wrestler I liked the most. Great times and a great introduction for me to this amazing art form. Thanks for your work once again!
I have loved this man since 2007/2008. I remember making fun of my friend at the time, calling him an idiot for liking wrestling...and then I saw it. The Great Khali had Rey Mysterio in a wisegrip...blood dripping out of his nose and all of a sudden this man came out running, to protect his friend. I was in love...i was obsessed...I could not take my eyes off the screen. And now, more than 15 years later, I am still following this man, like a proud, now almost 30 year old mama, cheering his brilliant career on. I have adored him since I was 12 and could be happier how his life turned out.
grew up in the attitude era, but man the Ruthless Aggression era is hands down the best WWE era to be a fan. Amazing quality on both shows. I didn't know how to feel about the merge with WCW/ECW at first, but after seeing how it was all developing, i learned we were in for a treat. i'll always remember seeing Batista debut on smackdown alongside D-von. Since i was into the dudley boyz, i payed extra attention to the reverend gimmick and was eager to find out what would happen. never would've thought Batista would go such a long way.
Its amazing that Batista’s rise was almost by accident slowly Batista was getting over while the Randy Orton babyface turn fell on its ass leading to the rise of Batista
This was WWE long term story telling at it's best. Back when they still cared about putting out quality television despite being the only main game in town at that point.
Best build up to a match that didn't need for them to have matches every week and making us tired of it. Batista was my childhood. Like stone cold in the attitude era to me. When he came out it was always electrifying always made me pumped. He was so good at making you feel every segment he was in which is why he is a great actor
WM21 Just After That Years Rumble Was When I Started Watching Raw And Smackdown 1st Episode Of Raw I Remember Seeing It Was Batista And Some Other Wrestler Having Trouble In A Battle Royal 1st Episode Of Smackdown,The Main Event Was Eddie Guerrero V Kurt Angle In A Lumberjack Match,Big Show Interfered,Chokeslamed Literally Everyone And Walked Off
When Batista wore those sun glasses and that suit it was a great contrast to his "Animal" persona. I wish we would have had him in a program with Lesnar.
Really well put together and a great point made about the slow build up to the story. It makes for a great watch with all the twists and turns along the way 👍
Amazing how WWE actually had consistent and subtle storytelling, right? Imagine Batista's story done today, it would be so goofy and on the nose. Wwe sucks so much now. Not the wrestlers, they are amazing, but the product.
The problem with the warrior run is after he beat hulk hogan it was really no one else that was an extreme top guy to feud with. He done already ran thru everyone..
I never watched the RA Era (or anything since) because I stopped watching in 2004. Batista is so far off my radar, he isn't even a blip. That said, I will still happily watch your wrestling content, Mr. Bios... whether I'm a fan of a particular wrestler or not!