When Batista first left WWE, he left the company on somewhat of a high note. The former WWE World Champion was playing a heel character who was receiving a lot of praise at the time, and it seemed as though there was demand from the fans for a Batista return. But unfortunately he returned at the wrong time.
Batista made his return to WWE in 2014, and he went on to win the Royal Rumble that year. The only problem was that the fans were fully behind Daniel Bryan at that time, and the night after the Royal Rumble, CM Punk walked out.
During 2014, the road to WrestleMania was filled with “CM Punk” chants after Punk walked out, and during a recent appearance on The Ross Report, Batista opened up about his thoughts on the chants.
“But that’s what it was like the whole run,” Batista said via WrestlingInc. “The fans, it just changed so much and I didn’t know where the fans were at. It was just a weird atmosphere and a lot of ‘CM Punk’ chants after he walked out, which I don’t understand and I love CM Punk, man. As a person, Phil Brooks, I love him. I love that guy. We’ve always gotten along. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but I didn’t necessarily like the way he left the company and I thought, ‘the fans are cheering him like they’re martyring him, and he really just walked out on them.’ I didn’t love that.”
In addition to the “CM Punk” chants, the fans would often hijack the show and chant for “Daniel Bryan” who many thought deserved to main event WrestleMania that year.
The chants worked, as Daniel Bryan went on to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Randy Orton and Batista in the main event of WrestleMania 30, but Batista also noted that he just couldn’t see eye-to-eye with fans who thought Bryan was being held down.
“So a lot of that and ‘Daniel Bryan’ chants and it’s like every segment. And I thought, ‘man, these people, if they get 16 segments of Daniel Bryan, that’s going to get old real fast. Man, really? Just wait for the guy.’ And there [were] people saying, ‘Daniel Bryan’s being held down.’ Man, this kid’s living his dream! He’s featured on every show, he’s making millions of dollars, how in the hell is he being held down? I just couldn’t see eye-to-eye with what these people were thinking, man. It just didn’t seem to make any sense to me at all.”
Original plans for WrestleMania 30 called for Batista to face Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a singles match, but WWE had to change course.
Batisa’s 2014 run with WWE was brief, as he only stuck around for a few more weeks after WrestleMania 30 before saying goodbye, and he hasn’t returned since.
The former World Champion has since criticized the way he was used during the run, noting that he pitched the idea of him being a heel right off the bat, and according to Batista, Vince McMahon eventually told him he was right after his face run went off the rails.
Whether or not Batista will ever wrestle in a WWE ring again remains to be seen, but of course you can never say never in the world of professional wrestling.
