Batista: WWE World Champion To Guardian Of The Galaxy

The Undertaker is one of the most iconic characters to ever step foot inside a wrestling ring, and in 2007 he and Batista hooked up for a classic at WrestleMania 23. ‘Taker had won the 2007 Royal Rumble match and had earned the right to face the World Champion. At the time, his legendary WretleMania streak was still intact, but Batista had been booked as a dominant Champion, so fans didn’t know who would come out on top. When it was all said and done, the Undertaker would be the new World Champion, but Batista had gone toe to toe with “Big Evil,” and looked every bit his equal. The two men would continue to feud after ‘Mania, and would be awarded the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s “Feud of the Year” for 2007.  The next year at WrestleMania XXIV, Batista would represent SmackDown in an interpromotional match against Umaga, and come out victorious. He then entered a feud with Shawn Michaels. HBK had just retired Batista‘s mentor, Ric Flair, and “The Animal, was looking to avenge the “Nature Boy.” He would lose to Michales at Backlash, but would defeat him in a stretcher match at One Night Stand 2008. He would be drafted to Monday Night Raw on June 23rd 2008, from there he would enter a program with John Cena which saw them win the World Tag Team Championships before facing off at SummerSlam 2008. Both men would suffer serious injuries during the match, but Batista tried to fight through them without having to miss any time. He won the World Championship from Chris Jericho at Cyber Sunday, but lost it back to Y2J only 8 days later on Raw. On December 15th 2008, he was punted in the head by Randy Orton as a way to write him off television. Batista was having surgery on the hamstring he injured at SummerSlam. He was expected to miss 6-8 months. When he did return, Batista set his sights on Orton and his Legacy stable (Ted DiBiase Jr. And Cody Rhodes). He tagged with Triple H and Shane McMahon at Backlash 2009 to take on Legacy, before defeating Randy Orton at Extreme Rules, to capture his first WWE Championship. Then, a good ‘ol bicep tear happened again, and Batista was forced to vacate the championship. Legacy was credited with his injury in the storyline so that Batista could pick right back up where he left off when he returned. He’d make his comeback on the September 14th 2009 edition of Monday night raw, defeating Randy Orton in a no holds barred match before once again moving to SmackDown. The move to SmackDown rekindled his alliance with Rey Mysterio, but it wouldn’t last. At Bragging Rights 2009, Batista faced CM Punk, the Undertaker, and Rey Mysterio in a Fatal 4 Way match for the World Championship. After coming up short, he turned on Mysterio, blaming him for costing him the title. The two would meet at Survivor Series where Batista won by referee stoppage, after hitting Mysterio with 3 Batista Bombs. This was the first time Batista was a true heel since his days in Evolution.