When it was announced that "The Animal" Batista was returning to WWE following a lengthy absence, WWE was convinced that he would be welcomed back to the promotion with open arms and instantly become a main event babyface. They were wrong. Fresh off of his star-making role in Guardians of the Galaxy, Batista announced his entry into the Royal Rumble with an intention to challenge for the world title at WrestleMania. Backstage, Vince McMahon was convinced that Batista vs. Randy Orton would be the biggest WrestleMania main event of all-time (yes, he may be senile). The fans, however, wanted someone else and it was going to get ugly. At the Royal Rumble in Pittsburgh, the fans openly rebelled against the entire event, booing the John Cena vs. Randy Orton match out of the building (even chanting "We want divas!" at one point). The crowd was saving their big performance for the main event however. With the crowd chanting for Daniel Bryan, Batista was greeted with a chorus of boos when his turn to enter the Rumble came. When the live audience realized that Daniel Bryan would not be participating in the Rumble, things got ugly. Rey Mysterio came out as the 30th and final entrant in the match and the crowd spewed venom. They booed Mysterio and everyone else in the ring, openly showing their displeasure at WWE's refusal to give them what they wanted. When it came down to Batista vs. Roman Reigns, the crowd chanted for Reigns, basically begging anyone but Batista to win the match. When Big Dave finally won, his frustrations boiled over and he flipped off the Pittsburgh crowd before departing.
