10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Batista

1. He Got Into A Backstage Fight With Booker T That He Lost

Any time two performers in WWE legitimately get into a fight it's big news. They're supposed to work together to entertain fans in the ring. They don't have to be friends with each other, but they shouldn't come to blows either. In the case of Batista, his mouth got him into trouble and as a result he got his ass kicked by Booker T.

The story goes that Booker and Batista were in California on May 8, 2006 at a photo shoot for August's SummerSlam event. By that point in his career, Batista had been a main eventer for over a year and had earned a reputation as a cocky guy who rubbed people the wrong. Booker T, as a veteran wrestler, decided to put him in his place.

Apparently the two men went into a private room to settle their issues. Booker knocked him down and dominated the altercation although there weren't a lot of witnesses to it either. Batista did appear to have a black eye when he appeared on television following the incident.

In a 2013 interview with WrestlingInc, Booker spoke about the fight: "I mean, I'm a pretty good fighter. I don't like bragging or anything like that but I've always been a really good fighter. I've always fought my whole life even though I was a drum major in school and I was a breakdancer. But, I always liked fighting, it's always been a passion of mine.You can look at a person and tell if they know what they're doing with their hands and with their feet. Most people in the street can sense something like that.

He took a good beating, but he's a man. I watched his last fight and he took a good beating and he actually came back and won. So, I give him a lot of credit for even stepping in that cage. Most men aren't willing to go that far. But, it was about respect. Even to this day, I respect him and I'm sure he respects me."

They even mentioned the fight on WWE.com, which was pretty rare and made people think it was a work. Here are some of Batista's comments: "We had to get past this. It had been brewing for a long time. It€™s over. We will agree to disagree. We won€™t be friends, but we will work together. I can promise you we won€™t cause problems. Some guys say I€™ve been running around claiming to be the top-money draw in the company, that I€™m carrying the WWE on my back. I never said anything like this, the rumors break my heart. I would never disrespect guys like Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H with comments like these. I am not a prick!"

Just because they put it on their website doesn't mean that they wanted people to know that they got in a fight or that Booker won. Neither man was punished for the fight because it was seen as something that needed to take place and the two men haven't had any issues since then.

It's also interesting to note that in July of 2006, Booker won his first World Title in WWE from Rey Mysterio (his other reigns were in WCW). There were reports that Vince McMahon had a lot of respect for King Booker after what he did in the fight and felt like he would be a more believable champion than Batista. Four months later, Batista beat Booker for the World Title.

If you have any other wrestlers that you want to be featured in our weekly "things WWE wants you to forget" series, please share them in the comments below.