10 WWE Matches That Were Meant To Be Epic (But Failed Miserably)
8. Batista vs. Randy Orton (Armageddon 2008)
Who knows what Randy Orton and Dave Batista might have been able to accomplish together? Theirs was a situation in which it should have been epic but wasnt based on circumstances that were honestly beyond their control. Unlike the creative strike out offered by Jericho vs. Wyatt, Orton and Batista had a natural story ready to be told if the Animal had ever been able. Originally set for WrestleMania 22, Batista vs. Orton was scrapped because Big Dave got injured. It was going to be the battle of the former Evolution stablemates vying for supremacy. Three years later, WWE tried again in the fall of 2008. Orton returned from shoulder surgery and made Bats his target. They escalated their saga through the Survivor Series and were going to be one of the featured matches for the December PPV, Armageddon. Their match did take place, but in the weeks leading up to it, Batista got hurt again. He struggled through it, but shortly after was headed back under the knife, missing his second Mania in four years. They never did have a match befitting of their status or their history together. Timing was their enemy, it seemed. If you evaluate their respective timelines, Orton was injured for a chunk of 2005, Batista of 2006, Orton of 2008, and Batista of 2009. When Batista came back in 2014, WWE was apparently going to try it one last time, but the crowd took to the Animals return like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, forcing an audible. It just was not in the cards.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
