9 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown 1000 (Oct 16)

4. Big Dave Shines

The Evolution reunion could (and probably should) have gone a lot worse, but it finished up as the best version of itself, and not at all the self-gratifying piss-take we've come to expect from Triple H in such spots.

There was an element of that, with Flair, Batista, Orton, and 'The Game' all taking turns to pat each other on the back. Randy put himself over particularly strongly, but that's fine. He's a full-time roster member, and the quartet kept this portion of the segment relatively brief, quickly transitioning towards beefier content.

Big Dave took centre stage. Visibly delighted to be back on WWE television, he was over as hell in his hometown, cracked a few jokes at his own expense, poked fun at his buddies, then got serious. Though he put Hunter over for "changing This Business," he uncorked a barb, claiming that the only thing his former mentor hadn't done was beat him. Thus, the build to a potential Batista vs. Triple H bout begins.

Evolution hugged it out at the end, and there's a strong chance WWE won't actually bother with the match. Still, it's something Batista clearly wants to do, and their shared history makes Triple H the perfect opponent, particularly if they do it on a stage like WrestleMania.