Batista: WWE World Champion To Guardian Of The Galaxy

At WrestleMania 21, Batista would defeat Triple H to become the World Champion in what famed wrestling critic, Dave Meltzer, called “the peak of one of WWE‘s best storylines in years.” He would continue feuding with Triple H, but would eventually wrap up the rivalry by becoming the first man to ever pin the “King of Kings” inside Hell in a Cell. He was drafted to SmackDown in 2005, where his career took the next step. He would become a mega star on Thursday nights, feuding with JBL and Eddie Guerrero within his first few months. He would actually develop a close friendship with Guerrero, and Eddie was said to be taking Batista under his wing. Tragically for Batista and the wrestling world though, Eddie Guerrero would pass away on November 13th 2005. Batista was one of the wrestlers who was noticeably devastated by Eddie’s death. He was openly sobbing during an interview segment where he was remembering his fallen friend. Batista payed homage to Guerrero on that week’s episode of SmackDown, when he opened the show by coming out in a lowrider to Eddie’s theme music. It was a touching tribute to one of the best of all time. After teaming up with Rey Myterio and briefly winning the WWE Tag Team Championships (making him a double champion), Batista would once again suffer a torn bicep on January 6th 2006, at a house show event. He would require surgery and be out for months, resulting in him vacating the World Championship he had held for record 282 days.