What Happened to Batista in WWE?
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Some fans were wondering what happened to Batista in WWE, so we did some digging to find out. Here’s what we discovered…
Batista’s First Departure
Batista first left WWE in 2010, after he failed to capture the WWE Championship from John Cena at Extreme Rules. This was a huge shock to the WWE Universe, as Batista had just won the Royal Rumble and was supposed to be the babyface that would dethrone the heel Cena. Instead, Batista turned heel himself and joined The Nexus.
Batista quits WWE
On May 11, 2010, Batista quit WWE due to creative differences regarding his character. Apparently, Batista was frustrated with the way his character had been used since he returned from injury in 2009. The final straw came when he was placed in a storyline with world champion Sheamus that would have seen him lose a “retirement match” at Over the Limit.
Batista’s return
After WrestleMania 35, Batista seemed to hint at his retirement from WWE by saying that he “put a period at the end of that sentence” in reference to his match against Triple H. However, he has since made several non-WWE appearances, including an interview on the Cerebral Assassin Talk Show where he said that he’s not done with wrestling and is open to offers from other companies.
Batista’s Second Departure
After returning to WWE at Fastlane 2020 and losing to Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred match, Batista has not been seen on WWE television. While it was originally reported that Batista had quit WWE again, that does not appear to be the case. So, what happened to Batista in WWE?
Batista leaves WWE
In October 2014, Batista made his second return to WWE, this time as a part of the newly created stable The Authority. He quickly began a feud with The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). After losing a handicap match against The Shield at Hell in a Cell, Batista quit WWE.
However, in January 2015, it was revealed that Batista had not actually quit and that he had just been on hiatus. He returned on the January 20 episode of Raw and saved Triple H and Stephanie McMahon from an attack by The Authority’s enemies Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback. Batista then entered a feud with Brock Lesnar, which culminated in a match at WrestleMania 31, which Lesnar won.
Batista’s return
In January 2014, it was rumored that Batista was to return to WWE on the Raw 25th Anniversary Special. However, it was later revealed that The Rock was chosen as the guest star for the show instead. In February, Batista confirmed via Twitter that he had pitched a return storyline to WWE which would see him turned heel, however, WWE rejected his proposal.
In October 2014, Batista made a special appearance on an episode of Talking Smack where he had a verbal altercation with then WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. This led to a brawl between the two which had to be broken up by security.
In January 2015, while promoting his film Spectre, Batista stated in an interview with MovieWeb that he would “love” to make a return to professional wrestling in the future.
Batista’s Third Departure
It’s been almost five years since we’ve seen Batista on WWE television. The last time was in January 2014, just before the Royal Rumble. He was part of a storyline with The Authority, which he eventually lost. After that, he left WWE and hasn’t been back since. So, what happened to Batista in WWE?
Batista retires from WWE
In 2014, Batista had one final run in WWE. He returned as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, and went on to main event WrestleMania XXX, defeating Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He then had a short feud with Orton, resulting in a loss at Extreme Rules. After that, he took some time off due to injury.
Upon his return, Batista turned heel and re-aligned himself with Triple H and Ric Flair, effectively becoming a member of Evolution 2.0. He then engaged in a feud with The Shield, which saw him lose at Payback. After that, he took another hiatus due to injury.
In October 2014, it was reported that Batista had quit WWE due to creative differences. This was later confirmed by Batista himself, who stated that he was “unhappy with the creative direction” of the company. He made his final WWE appearance on the November 3 episode of Raw, losing to Big Show in a match where if he had won, he would have earned a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series.
Batista’s return
In January 2014, it was reported that Batista was in talks with WWE about a possible return. Later that month, during the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Batista made a surprise return as the number 28 entrant in the Royal Rumble match, which he went on to win by last eliminating Roman Reigns. This marked his first WWE appearance since May 2010. WWE confirmed his return on their website afterwards. After winning the Royal Rumble match, Batista teased a potential face turn by pointing at and then hugging WWE Chairman Vince McMahon before leaving the ring and pumping his fists to the fans while walking up the entrance ramp whilst still smiling; McMahon later said that he saw this as Batista’s way of “thumbing his nose” at him.
