10 Potential Opponents for a Returning Batista in WWE
Following a four-year absence, Batista returned to WWE in January 2014 in time for the road to WrestleMania. It was believed he'd be a big part of WWE's plans for the better part of the year as one of the promotion's top babyfaces and eventually its world heavyweight champion.
Unfortunately, his comeback to the company wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Fans were initially excited to see Batista back, but mere weeks into his return they rejected him, feeling that Daniel Bryan was more deserving of the world championship opportunity.
Despite winning the 2014 Royal Rumble match and punching his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 31, his push was largely derailed due to the fans' resentment. For the remainder of his run, he lost three consecutive pay-per-view matches at WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Payback, respectively.
One night removed from Payback, Batista "quit" WWE live on Raw, a move made to write him out of storylines so he could go promote his upcoming release, Guardians of the Galaxy. Although Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported (h/t Cageside Seats) that he had signed on for a two-year deal, he has yet to return to the squared circle since his acting career took off.
That said, the Washington, D.C. native's passion for pro wrestling is well-documented, which means he'll likely be back before long. Once he eventually does grace the WWE Universe with his presence again, here are 10 fresh feuds he could potentially have.
Seth Rollins
1 of 10
The last time fans saw Batista in a WWE ring, he was urging Triple H to grant him his rightful one-on-one match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. With The Game unable to meet the demands of his longtime friend, Batista called it quits—both figuratively and literally—and left for Hollywood.
According to Wrestle Zone's Mike Killam, Batista has expressed interest in having one more match with Triple H in the past, which would make sense given the tension teased between the two during Batista's latest run with the company. However, since it's a bout we've seen countless times before, it'd be wiser for him to instead go up against a younger competitor from The Authority: Seth Rollins.
They locked horns at various points last year, most notably during the Evolution vs. Shield war in the spring. The two singles bouts they contested against each other were enjoyable, but it was clear they were capable of having better matches together.
In fact, the same night Batista left the company, Rollins shocked the world when he turned on his Shield cohorts and joined The Authority. A feud with his former group would be a logical way of bringing Batista back into the fold.
As noted, The Animal has yet to receive his singles match for the prestigious prize, and if Rollins is still champion by the time he returns, it would only add fuel to the fire.
Bray Wyatt
2 of 10
There hasn't been anyone more intimidating on the WWE roster since Bray Wyatt's July 2013 debut. Although he has yet to hold gold, his dominance inside the ring speaks for itself; you can count on one hand how many times he's been pinned in singles competition in the last two years.
That said, he hasn't been involved in much of note since the start of the year. For the entire road to WrestleMania, he challenged The Undertaker to a match on the grand stage, and when they finally went one-on-one, he fell short of victory.
Coming out of 'Mania, Wyatt shifted his focus to another individual who was later revealed to be Ryback. He came out on top in their outing at Payback, but as of now, it's unclear what the future holds for the creepy competitor.
At the time Batista returned to WWE in 2014, Wyatt was busy with John Cena. The two never had a chance to square off, but it would be exciting to see them finally cross paths upon The Animal's eventual comeback.
The New Face of Fear has proven since his arrival that he is capable of contesting an instant classic with the right opponent. Whether Batista would make for a decent dance partner for him remains to be seen, but it'd be an interesting clash of styles, to say the least.
Roman Reigns
3 of 10
Remember when Roman Reigns was booed out of the building back in January when he won the 2015 Royal Rumble match? Well, the same exact thing happened to Batista just last year; the two situations were eerily similar.
Interestingly enough, Reigns, to whom the Pittsburgh crowd took a major liking that night, was the last man standing in the 2014 Rumble before Batista tossed him out. The ex-Shield member went on a major tear throughout that matchup, eliminating a whopping 12 people and breaking the longstanding 2001 record of Kane in the process.
It was another few months before they clashed again during The Shield's ruthless rivalry with Evolution throughout the spring. Although they went one-on-one on a few occasions, Reigns never scored a singles win over The Animal.
Thus, he has yet to avenge his shortcomings against Batista and might look to do so when Batista ultimately returns. Reigns is still attempting to prove himself to the masses as a credible competitor, and a win over the former WWE champion would undoubtedly accomplish that.
It's obvious these two have unfinished business with each other, so it wouldn't be out of the question for them to cross paths again down the road. There's also the chance Reigns will be world heavyweight champion by the time Batista's back, which is the piece of gold the latter desires most of all.
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Ryback
4 of 10
Batista left WWE right around the time Ryback, who was formerly known as Skip Sheffield in NXT, arrived on the scene in early 2010. As a result, they never encountered each other, nor did they during Batista's latest run with the company in 2014.
In Batista's absence, Ryback emerged as a force to be reckoned with on the WWE roster, his rise to superstardom in 2012 well-documented. Like Bray Wyatt, he has yet to capture championship gold but has come close on countless occasions in title matches against CM Punk and John Cena.
Since late last year, Ryback suffered a career resurgence by reverting back to his "Feed Me More" ways. As one of the most over acts in the company at the moment, his popularity has shown no signs of dying down anytime soon.
"Big man vs. big man" matches in wrestling are rarely ever entertaining, but there's something about a potential Batista vs. Ryback matchup that just might make it work. Both are competent enough in the ring, so they could deliver a passable yet physical contest.
Ryback needs that one feud to re-establish himself as a threat to the main event, and who better for him to prove his mettle against than Batista?
Daniel Bryan
5 of 10
When Batista initially returned to WWE last year, he made his intentions for coming back quite clear: He wanted to headline WrestleMania 30 and become WWE world heavyweight champion. Additionally, he wanted to rid the company of all its underdogs.
As you might expect, leading that list of smaller Superstars was none other than Daniel Bryan. Batista was frustrated the fans were siding with Bryan over him. He questioned where all the "attitude" went and specifically called out Bryan for not being a worthy contender to the WWE title.
When Bryan earned his way into Batista's title match at WrestleMania 30, the two butted heads on various times. Along with Randy Orton, they contested an excellent Triple Threat match on the grand stage that saw Bryan force The Animal to tap out to the "Yes!" Lock to capture the prestigious prize.
From there, Batista shifted his focus to The Shield with the rest of Evolution, leaving his feud with Bryan without a conclusion. It was reported by F4WOnline.com (h/t Wrestle Zone) that Batista vs. Bryan was the original main event for the Payback pay-per-view before plans were changed.
Currently out with an undisclosed injury, Bryan's future as a WWE Superstar remains unknown. However, if he does make his way back to the squared circle, rekindling his rivalry with Batista at some point would be, in fact, best for business.
Sheamus
6 of 10
Very few people can say they made a major impact in WWE as quickly as Sheamus did, going from an unknown on the ECW brand to champion in a matter of months. From capturing three world titles to becoming the 2010 King of the Ring to winning the 2012 Royal Rumble match, his impressive credentials speak for themselves, but so do his exceptional skills inside the squared circle.
Sheamus is one of the more underrated workers in WWE today. Although he's much more comfortable as a heel than he is as a babyface, it doesn't matter what side of the fence he's on: The guy is a great wrestler.
His hard-hitting, highly physical style makes for some brutal bouts, especially when his opponents happen to be King Barrett or Cesaro. His clash with Batista on the April 18, 2014 edition of SmackDown was a prime example of how barbaric he can be, though that was a contest where he found himself outmatched by the ruthlessness of the 2014 Rumble winner.
One year later, Sheamus is a completely different competitor, undergoing an attitude adjustment shortly following WrestleMania 31 and turning his back on the WWE Universe. Similar to Batista, his mission is to make all WWE's underdogs extinct, and he has already put Daniel Bryan on the shelf indefinitely.
But what would happen if The Animal and The Celtic Warrior were to set their sights on each other? A brutish brawl and total chaos would ensue—that much is for certain.
Dean Ambrose
7 of 10
It's amazing to think just how much the landscape of WWE has changed in one year's time. In May 2014, The Shield were still a cohesive unit, and now two of the group's members find themselves headlining a pay-per-view for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship a year later.
One-half of the main event at Elimination Chamber this Sunday is Dean Ambrose, who has emerged as a star on the scene since breaking out on his own. Although he's destined to be a top heel at some point, his immense popularity as a fan favorite at the moment simply can't be ignored.
Not only is he deserving of the prominent push, but he'd be a fresh face in the title picture. From John Cena to Randy Orton to Roman Reigns, the amount of new feuds we could see with Ambrose going forward are endless.
Batista has established issues with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns but not so much with Ambrose, outside of The Shield's iconic rivalry with Evolution last year. Still, it wouldn't be out of the question for him to target The Lunatic Fringe upon his eventual return.
The Animal could come back as a face or a heel, but with the roster sorely lacking credible villains right now, the latter seems more likely. Thus, a feud with Ambrose down the road could make for some intriguing encounters.
The Miz
8 of 10
In comparison to the illustrious likes of the aforementioned Superstars, The Miz may feel out of place on this list, but a feud with Batista makes more sense than you might think.
On the June 30, 2014 edition of Raw, The Miz made his grand return to Raw with a new gimmick: a pompous, self-proclaimed Hollywood A-lister. Of course, most of the films The Miz has starred in have been WWE Studios productions, which is what makes his persona all the more marvelous.
Furthermore, he plays the character to perfection, so well that he was a fantastic foil to his former stunt double Damien Mizdow, who organically got over on his own. He hasn't been seen since being laid out by Randy Orton on the April 20 Raw but will return this Sunday on the Elimination Chamber Kickoff show to host "Miz TV" with Daniel Bryan.
When Batista left for Hollywood to portray Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, many predicted that the film would flop financially and that the former WWE champion would come crawling back to the company. On the contrary, it was a huge box-office success, and Batista's performance received rave reviews from critics.
Batista's buzz coming out of GOTG could make him a de facto babyface when he comes back, and taking on Miz upon his return would be a fun feud for him given The Awesome One's obsession with being a movie star (in his own mind).
King Barrett
9 of 10
Talent-wise, King Barrett is on the same level the other notable names on this list, but you would never know that based on his booking in recent years. He's won a few championships here and there, but most of those reigns saw him lose more often than not.
Along with Ryback and Daniel Bryan, Barrett was among the first class of "rookies" to graduate from NXT to the main roster. He became Raw's No. 1 heel following Batista's departure and flourished as the leader of the band of young upstarts called The Nexus.
Once the group met its demise, so did his push. Although he's received a handful of opportunities to shine over the years, injuries and other circumstances have prevented him from fulfilling his full potential in WWE.
Even after becoming the 2015 King of the Ring just recently, Barrett still struggles to maintain momentum in WWE. He can't go a week or two without losing a match, but a rivalry with Batista would without question help his career get back on track.
What beef Batista would have with Barrett is beyond me, but it would no doubt make for a fresh feud in the upper-midcard before The Animal's return to the WWE title picture.
Brock Lesnar
10 of 10
NXT and even Florida Championship Wrestling have created quite a few top-tier WWE stars in recent years, but no developmental territory produced more future world champions than Ohio Valley Wrestling's Class of 2002.
John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and Batista each arrived on the main roster in 2002 and found success almost immediately. All four have feuded at one point or another, with the obvious exception being Batista vs. Lesnar.
While Lesnar went on to quickly lay claim to the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2002, Batista took his time getting to the top of WWE by joining Evolution first. By the time he finally reached the mountaintop at WrestleMania 21, Lesnar was already long gone from the company.
Other than a one-off OVW outing in 2001, Batista and Lesnar have never done battle in singles competition. It was teased during an in-ring encounter on the January 27, 2014 edition of Raw, but nothing ever came of it.
It's one dream match involving The Animal that has yet to come to fruition, and with Lesnar re-signing with the company for the next few years, it's now likelier than ever. They are two of the biggest mainstream media stars in WWE today, so the company's failure to make the two behemoths clash would leave money on the table.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website at Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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