10 Best Ever WrestleMania Rematches At Backlash
3. Batista Vs Triple H (2005)
One of WWE’s more successful efforts in making a main-event
superstar, Batista’s breakout from Evolution in 2005 was a tremendous bit of storytelling,
both inside and outside the ring.
The Animal won the Royal Rumble that year and famously rejected World Heavyweight Champion Triple H’s pleas for him to challenge for the WWE Championship, then held by John “Bradshaw” Layfield. That thumbs-down led to Batista defeating Triple H for the world title at WrestleMania 21, the second year in a row that Hunter lost his world title to a Rumble winner at Mania (more on that later).
The following month, Triple H challenged Batista to try to regain his World Heavyweight Championship using every underhanded trick he could think of, but to no avail. Batista retained the title, which he held for nine months until he had to relinquish it due to injury.
These two matches helped solidify Batista’s status as a main-event player for the remainder of the decade.