10 Mistakes WWE Are Still Paying For

Another man with an axe to grind with the WWE hierarchy is Batista, who departed the company under similarly frustrating circumstances following a disappointing return four years ago.

In subsequent interviews, The Animal has made no bones about who he blames. The way in which he was booked, he says - knowing that the crowd wanted Daniel Bryan to win the Rumble instead - was desperately ill-thought-out, and bound to result in heavy boos.

The consequence of all of this is that Batista is no longer in any mood to negotiate. If and when he walks through the WWE door again, he wants to do things on his own terms, and if they don't accede to them he will likely just pull the plug altogether.

This could be great news for the fans - the Guardians of the Galaxy star, after all, appears to have a solid nose for the business - but it's not so good if you're Triple H or Vince McMahon, who generally prefer to maintain complete control over their on-screen product.