Batista: WWE World Champion To Guardian Of The Galaxy

On May 9th 2002, Batista made his WWE main roster debut as the “muscle” for a newly heel D-Von Dudley. D-Von had been split from his tag team partner Bubba Ray Dudley, and had started doing a minister gimmick. In order to gain more heat, the decision was made to give D-Von a deacon, and “Deacon Batista” was born. Luckily for Batista, the gimmick didn’t last long. WWE quickly realized they had a star on their hands and broke him away from D-Von. Batista turned on him and moved to Monday Night Raw. The move marked a turning point in Batista‘s career. He was no longer a deacon, instead he was just pushed as being a big strong bad ass. He would align with Ric Flair upon his arrival to Raw, and that would prove to be just the tip of the iceberg. Before long, Batista would be rubbing shoulders with some of pro wrestling’s heaviest hitters, and his career would benefit greatly.