10 Worst First Days For WWE Champions

1. Batista

Batista Injury
WWE

After such a long time removed from the very top of the card, it had been a long hard road back to the WWE Championship for Dave Batista when he finally defeated Randy Orton for it at Extreme Rules 2009, but 'The Animal's dream was yet again cut short by injury.

Big Dave had torn his bicep in the Steel Cage clash with Randy Orton one night prior, and thus barely appeared on screen with the belt before he was beaten down and hospitalised by 'The Viper's Legacy stablemates Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. Orton attempted to declare himself Champion, but an attack by a returning Triple H resulted in both being added to a fatal Four Way match with John Cena and The Big Show weeks later for the now vacant prize.

Stripped of the gold as he was being strapped to a gurney, Batista returned later that year full of significant sick-of-this-sh*t energy. Getting revenge on Randy Orton before moving to SmackDown, the former Champion violently turned on former friend Rey Mysterio after yet another attempt to recapture gold went awry.

WWE Quiz: Batista - How Well Do You Know 'The Animal'?

Batista Tuxedo
WWE.com

1. What Was His Ring Name In OVW?

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett