10 Most Heartbreaking WWE Moments Ever
6. Batista Gives Up The Belt
On SmackDown 1000, Batista admitted to getting sick with nerves every time he had to cut a promo, which only further bolsters the narrative that his emotion was a real as it got when he had to tearfully surrender the World Heavyweight Title to Teddy Long on a January 2006 edition of SmackDown.
'The Animal' looked like a gradually-depleting Egyptian mummy as 2005 drew to a close. Conscious of the gap on the blue brand left by Eddie Guerrero in the wake of his passing, Batista played through the pain until he could simply play no more.
Having held the title since WrestleMania the prior year, Big Dave had sailed through stormy seas during his time on the company's known B-Show, having labelled it as much when he was still a regular on Raw. A trade with John Cena in the 2005 Draft had seen him morph into an on-screen leader, with no performer underneath him better suited to hold the gold.
Ironically enough, John Cena abdicated his throne around the same time, though his loss was only to predicate winning the belt back. There was no happy ending in Batista's short-term future. His mounting injuries left him shelved and legitimately disheveled.
And his wasn't even the worst of it's kind...