10 Wrestlers That Became Stars In ONE SECOND

8. Batista (WWE Raw, November 8th 2004)

Donovan DanHausen
WWE

By 2004's Survivor Series, Randy Orton's babyface push was as good as dead thanks to a miserable three weeks on top as Champion and one too many failed efforts to get under Triple H's skin since their post-SummerSlam split.

An elimination main event win on the Thanksgiving show was something of a last gasp victory for the 'Legend Killer', in that it granted him and his team the opportunity to book Monday Night Raw for a month and make 'The Game's life at very least worse than it had been for the majority of the last two years. But Hunter's plan to save himself before all this revealed his most dangerous threat for the very first time.

Six days before the pay-per-view, Triple H's teammates Edge and Gene Snitsky both explained that they were only working closely with the Champion to get closer to the Championship. Enraged, Hunter asked his Evolution heavy Batista to straighten them and their motivations out. Storming off, he left behind the very thing that had caused all these headaches, and 'The Animal' had it to himself for the first time.

Fans were shown the very possibility for the first time, and a swerve turn a few weeks later amplified the excitement around his eventual ascension.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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