Speculating on a Potential Batista Face Turn After WWE WrestleMania 30

Batista has quickly become one of the most hated Superstars in WWE.  From the moment that he returned to the company back in January, The Animal has struggled to get over.  Call it bad timing, call it poor booking, the fact is that Batista turned heel because WWE likely just did not have any other choice.

But the more time goes on, the more opportunities there are for WWE to turn it around for Batista.  In fact after WrestleMania 30, everything could change for The Animal as he could very well turn babyface once again.

As recently as just a few weeks ago, it seemed highly unlikely that WWE could even hope to salvage Batista's run and find a way to transform him back into a protagonist.  After all, it was on the February 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown that Batista addressed the hate that he had been receiving since his return.  

Batista finally had the chance to cut loose, to air his grievances for the world to hear.  He didn't have to hold back or try and maintain the very weak crowd reaction he had been dealing with since he came back. This was a statement by WWE that they had recognized any chance to present The Animal as anything other than a heel had come and gone.

However the tide seems to be changing.  Much of this is thanks in large part to Batista's spot in the upcoming WWE World Championship match at WrestleMania 30.

The fact is that he and Orton have a huge history dating back to their days in Evolution.  And considering that Triple H has been directly involved in the angle from day one, it would have been very easy to just turn Batista heel and leave him that way.  There was no reason to feature Batista as a neutral Superstar, much less a babyface.

But Batista has maintained from day one that he only returned for the WWE world title.  He has had no allegiances to his former mentor Triple H and there is obviously no love lost between him and Orton. Instead of aligning himself with The Authority or with any other heels in the company, Batista has remained his own man.

And that is perhaps beginning to make a difference for his character.

The moment that could be considered the first sign of a very subtle change was the night that Batista verbally insulted Stephanie McMahon in the middle of the ring.  His words and the slap that followed garnered more reaction for him than perhaps at any other time since he came back to WWE.

And on the following week's Monday Night Raw, Batista confronted Triple H and Stephanie in the ring. This time, he reminded The Game that of all his past opponents, he had never beaten The Animal.  And instead of verbally assaulting crowd favorite Daniel Bryan; Batista seemed much more concerned with Triple H himself.

All of that combined with the fact that he has not consistently worked like a heel in the ring and suddenly it seems entirely possible that WWE may not have given up on Batista as a top protagonist. 

The truth is that Batista is a very likable character at his core.  He had a way of connecting with the WWE faithful in the past, and if he can manage to do it again then fans could find themselves cheering for the man they hated just weeks earlier.

While it may seem like a chore to turn Batista yet again, the truth is that all he needs is to show a little respect. And he could learn that respect from working with Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 30.

Up to this point, Batista has had nothing but insults and criticisms to throw at Daniel.  And tough they have not had a real physical rivalry; the fact is that if Bryan defeats Hunter at WrestleMania then the WWE world title match will become a triple threat.  And that means that Daniel will be added to the main event between Batista and Orton.

From a storyline perspective, it's very easy for Batista's character to stand back and hate on someone he has never worked.  All Batista sees is a small man, a wannabe that is pretending to be a WWE Superstar.  He's a minor league player swinging for the fences in the big leagues.  And he's missing.

But assuming Daniel makes it to the WrestleMania main event match and wins it, everything could change.  And that change could happen on the following Monday Night Raw.

All Batista would need to do is come out and cut a promo; one promo to say that he was wrong about Daniel Bryan.  He could even interrupt Daniel's title win celebration to publicly congratulate him and show the respect that many fans already feel he deserves.  It may not be instant acceptance for fans but it would go a long way to perhaps changing their minds about him.

From that point on, Batista could potentially set his sights on Triple H.  There seems to still be bad blood between them and that would need to be resolved at some point.  Going after Triple H could possibly put Batista back on the right path and their match could take place at Extreme Rules in May.

The fact is that Batista will likely be involved with WWE at least through the fall.  The reason for that is due to his new movie, Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy, out on August 1 of this year.  WWE will likely promote the film, as one of their own will be featured in the main cast.  

Batista does not necessarily have to be a babyface when the move is released in order to gain positive press but if he was, it could be even more beneficial for him and WWE.

Batista may have returned to a weak reception that forced WWE to turn him heel but since then, there have been a few moments of hope to get him back on track as a face.  Those moments came at the expense of both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and may be the key to turning Batista back as a top protagonist.

All he needs is more of the same and more time, to make it happen.  The only question is will it happen?