Batista had been missing from WWE television for years. Believe it or not, quite a few people wanted him back! Before he left he was one of the companys top stars. Absence usually makes the heart grow fonder, but apparently not in Batistas case. While he did pop Raw's ratings his first night back, fans quickly rejected him and booed him mercilessly. Perhaps it was inevitable that there would be strong Batista backlash, due to fans craving Daniel Bryan as their top star (and due to Batistas laughable outfits) but WWE certainly didnt do themselves any favors. Batista returned to the company as a babyface, but his first action back on screen was giving HHH and Stephanie McMahon a big ol' hug. Yes, he warmly embraced the two top heels in the company. It shouldnt have mattered that they had prior history. He should have called them out for making life a living hell for the roster. It was a baffling and glaring mistake on WWEs part. After all, can you imagine The Rock doing something stupid like having dinner with those two!... oh...wait. Anyway, by the end of the summer, Batista was in the biggest movie on the planet, but his relationship with WWE had soured to the point that they didnt even bother mentioning it. While guys like The Rock and Chris Jericho are able to have successful returns, Batista fell flat on his face right out of the gate. Its amazing that anyone in management thought it would be a good idea for him to be so chummy with the most evil people on the roster, but then again, have we really come to expect anything better from Hunter and Steph when it comes to putting themselves in the spotlight for no good reason?
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
