WrestleMania XXV was one of the company's weaker offerings from the past decade, it has to be said. Though the Shawn Michaels versus Undertaker match was one of the best bouts in WWE history, the rest of a show was a big disappointment. From the boring Triple H/Randy Orton main event to the waste of John Cena and Edge in a three-way bout with The Big Show, the event was the very definition of a one-match show. Batista might not have been able to save the show, but his presence certainly wouldn't have hurt it. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option - during "The Animal's" SummerSlam match with John Cena seven months earlier, both men were hurt. The freakish Cena was able to return from neck surgery by November, but Batista carried the slack in the interim, working on an injured hamstring longer than advisable. By December, the former World Heavyweight Champion needed surgery of his own, and he was forced to take several months off. Though he was ring ready by WrestleMania XXV, there was no time to build up a program for "The Animal". Batista made his return to action the night after the show of shows, immediately jumping back into the main event scene.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
