10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 21 Facts

2. Triple H Had To Fight To Keep WWE From Giving Away Match With Batista On TV

Wrestlemania 21
WWE.com

When Batista started heating up in late-2004, and his uneasy interactions with Triple H began to create crowds buzz, it was easy to envision a WrestleMania match between the World Heavyweight Champion and his wised-up enforcer. A slow burn leading to Batista turning on the corrupt titleholder looked to lead to a perfect WrestleMania main event.

Dave Meltzer would later reveal that WWE nearly blew a good thing (surprise, right?). Meltzer talked with Batista a few years after WrestleMania 21, and was surprised to hear Batista tell him that WWE wanted to run Triple H vs. Batista on television around the time of the turn, thus giving away a money-making match for free. They would presumably still have had the WrestleMania main event, but it wouldn't have been "fresh".

Triple H, having a little more common sense than perhaps some in the office, put his foot down and resisted the idea, keeping the showdown shrink-wrapped until 'Mania Sunday.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.