An Animal Unleashed, A Rated-R Champion
Triple H passed the reigns to Dave “The Animal” Batista at WrestleMania in the main event of the then-highest grossing PPV event in pro wrestling history. After besting his former mentor both on the grandest stage of them all, and in the rematch at Backlash the following month, a brutal Hell in a Cell contest was booked to settle the score. At Vengeance, in June of 2005, Batista hoisted up The Game for a giant spinebuster, rattling his body off the steel ring steps inside the “devil’s playground”, before ending their rivalry with a massive Batista Bomb, becoming the first Superstar to defeat Triple H inside the Cell.
After three brutal, bloody, and deeply personal matches, Batista was announced as the last draft pick in the 2005 Draft Lottery; Big Dave switched places with then-WWE Champion John Cena, who brought his title to Monday Night Raw for the first time since the brands became exclusive. For the remainder of the summer, he feuded with former champion John Bradshaw Layfield on Smackdown, retaining the title at the Great American Bash via disqualification, followed by a No Holds Barred battle at SummerSlam, and culminating in a Texas Bull Rope match on Smackdown, with Batista emerging victorious. Through the end of the year, the World Heavyweight Champion joined forces with the high flying Rey Mysterio, feuding with MNM, Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry and even winning the WWE Tag Team Championships making him a multi-champion.
Unfortunately, Batista was set back with a legitimate triceps injury at the hands of Mark Henry and was forced to vacate the title just a few days after breaking Triple H’s record at 282 days. Kurt Angle, formerly a Raw-exclusive star, shocked the world by participating as the last man in a 20-man battle royale, winning the match and becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion. It’s impossible to tell how long Batista would have held the title should he have stayed healthy, but many believe WWE was setting up an angle that would see him drop the belt to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 22 – a feud that would eventually play itself out three years later. The reason behind this speculation is that Mysterio did capture his first world championship at WrestleMania that year, defeating Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a 3-way match. Had Batista held on to the world title, Mysterio likely would still have won the Royal Rumble, choosing to face his friend and tag team partner, which could have resulted in a heel turn for The Animal.
During Batista’s absence, WWE tried to fill the large gap left on Smackdown by experimenting with new champions. After Kurt Angle dropped the title to Rey Mysterio, the 5-time WCW Champion Booker T underwent a gimmick change, winning the Smackdown King of the Ring tournament, and developing the royalty-obsessed “King Booker” character. Booker would defeat Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship during the summer of 2006, setting up a lengthy feud between him and the returning Batista, who had a legitimate claim to the title, as he was never beaten for it. Booker’s “court” – which included Queen Sharmell, Sir Finlay and Sir William Regal – helped the champ keep a leg up on his challenger for several months, but Batista would eventually take back his title at Survivor Series in a “last chance” match. Somewhat poetically, Batista won back the World Heavyweight Championship in the same arena that he was forced to vacate the belt earlier in the year.
