Fantasy Booking 1 Last Run in WWE for Batista as Full-Time Superstar

The booking mistakes that plagued Batista's last run as an in-ring WWE competitor should make the prospect of The Animal's return all the more intriguing.

The 1,000th episode of SmackDown Live on Tuesday saw the headlines dominated by the segment that saw Evolution reunite before Batista appeared to tease an in-ring return by suggesting Triple H is unable to beat him.

That dream match is inevitably included in dreaming up one last WWE run for Batista, but who else would he likely cross paths with? Here's an attempt at booking the dream scenario for The Animal if he were to return.

Timeframes for Batista's return

For this fantasy booking, Batista will be returning at SummerSlam 2019 and working with the company full time through to the following year's WrestleMania. That gives us around an eight-month window to book him efficiently and properly.

SummerSlam and Batista's Return

The Triple H feud is still four or five months away from even beginning in this fantasy booking, so when he returns, Batista needs some other talent to work with to bring out the best of him.

His most recent run in WWE showed that positioning him as a babyface at a time when guys like Daniel Bryan were supremely over didn't work. The company then switched his character at short notice and booked him as a heel, but the damage had already been done.

So for the purposes of this fantasy booking, Batista will be returning in the character that suits him best: an all-conquering, dominant heel who does what he wants when he wants.

At SummerSlam, fans are given a main event between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe in a No Disqualification Match for the WWE Championship. The Phenomenal One is in his latest reign as champion and looks set to retain against Joe before the lights drop and Batista's music hits.

With fans unclear which Superstar is the focus of Batista's attention, it creates a real frenzy before he attacks Styles, allowing Joe to win the title and setting up Batista vs. Styles.

Naturally, the feud takes place on the brand both guys have become synonymous with: SmackDown.

Batista vs. AJ Styles

This is a feud that lasts all the way through to Survivor Series, giving both guys plenty of time to build up momentum.

The backstory is simple enough. Batista attacked Styles because he was sick of watching AJ declare each and every week that he built the blue brand when guys like Batista were the original driving force behind SmackDown's success.

It's a smart feud because Styles is hugely over, meaning it would instantly capture the fans' attention. It also means two veterans working against one another, allowing guys such as Bryan to be in the WWE Championship picture.

Styles wins the first war inside Hell in a Cell at that self-titled pay-per-view before Batista avenges that at the second Super Show-Down in Australia. It sets up a grudge match at Survivor Series, which The Animal wins.

Hunting the WWE Championship

With victory against Styles in the rubber match assured, Batista has momentum and, hopefully, the respect the fans as he declares his next intention: one more run with the WWE Championship.

By November 2019, the landscape of the title scene is different. The champion is Seth Rollins, who was drafted from Raw earlier in the summer in the biggest shock of the draft. He wastes no time ascending to the top of the tree on the blue brand, beating Joe at Survivor Series.

With Batista having already feuded with a veteran, it makes sense to see how he can hang at this stage with not only one of the best wrestlers in WWE but also one of the best of his generation.

Batista vs. Rollins is a match few fans could have imagined, but the champion insists he's not prepared to put his belt on the line against The Animal on the strength of a few months' work when he's been busting himself day in, day out for years.

With that in mind, Shane McMahon sets up a unique Gauntlet Match for December's Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, featuring five guys. The winner gets a title shot against The Architect at the Royal Rumble the following month.

Included are Drew McIntyre, Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Shinsuke Nakamura and Batista. In an attempt to get him as over as possible and earn as much respect from fans as possible, The Animal starts the bout.

He pins McIntyre, watches on as Bryan and Hardy eliminate one another and then finally takes out Nakamura to be the last man standing, causing Rollins to admit that, after emerging through such a field, Batista has his respect and has his title chance.

Title Shot vs. Rollins

In the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, Batista's alliance with Triple H has seemingly never been stronger. The Game has been in his corner for most of his big matches, constantly telling the world that nobody can beat Batista without help.

And it's at Royal Rumble where, with Batista just about to lay waste to Rollins and win the title for the first time since returning, The Game turns on The Animal to cost him the belt.

It allows Rollins to escape with the title and immediately sets up the blockbuster bout between Triple H and Batista at WrestleMania.

WrestleMania vs. Triple H

Betrayed by his friend, Batista makes no secret of the fact that the one thing he wanted to do before retiring was to win the WWE Championship one last time.

With that now impossible, he declares his only goal is to maintain his impressive record against The Game, who he is adamant cannot beat him.

Both parties trade blows in the run-up to 'Mania, with Triple H striking the most decisive, attacking Batista with a sledgehammer on the final SmackDown before the big show as The Animal competes in singles action.

But at WrestleMania, Batista gets his fairytale ending, and he retires on the highest of highs, beating Triple H before the two men embrace to potentially end both their in-ring careers.