There's no doubt about it, Batista was genuinely upset over the negative reaction his run in 2014 received. Initially, WWE wanted to paint him as a huge returning babyface, but the fans were having none of it. In early-2014, it was all about Daniel Bryan, and people were determined that he was going to headline WrestleMania. Therefore, when Batista won the Royal Rumble, there was a lot of booing. That didn't sit well with Batista. Lastly eliminating the more popular Roman Reigns, he was booed out of the building. The Pay-Per-View ended on a sour note. Instead of depicting a scene in which a veteran returns to dominate, fans revolted on the scenario and heckled the man. It was obvious, simply by looking at his face, that Batista was legitimately irked by this. WWE were left with no real option, and they had to slowly turn Batista heel on the fans. Bryan was the person everyone wanted to see succeed, not someone who had already been to the top of the mountain numerous times. A proposed Randy Orton vs. Batista main event was changed to include Daniel Bryan, and the rest is history. However, Batista didn't really enjoy his second WWE run, there's no reason to believe things would be any different a third time around.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
