Batista

"(8/10) Batista was among the most dynamic men around during his time! Every time Batista showed up, you always knew you were going to get an at-least good promo & that somebody was gonna get the man meat beaten out of them. He was never a technical master, but I feel like he could have gone that route, had he wanted; he was clearly ring-intelligent enough. His power moves were among the prettiest, crispest things I've ever seen!"

[10.0] "Batista! I found out about pro wrestling around 2004. But it wasn't until 2005 when I became a huge fan. The match was Batista and Eddie Guerrero vs MNM for the Tag Title. They lost. But those two immediately became my favorites. After Eddie's passing, Batista kept me watching until his injury. When he came back, it was the biggest adrenaline shot of all time. Every time Batista shows up, you just know the main part of the show is going down. From 2005-2007, Batista was the constant. Every time there was something good happening, Batista was involved. He proved himself over and over again, even when backstage veterans were trying to run him out. He was part of Evolution. One of the greatest stable of all time. Evolution created two stars in Batista and Randy. He went on to have the rivalry of the year with Triple H. Epic storytelling of Student vs Teacher. Ending with a brutal Hell in a Cell match. A match that people had no hope for but they turned it around and proved everyone wrong. His chemistry with JBL weren't that strong but he still went and had 2 out of 3 entertaining match with him. Including one that involved a powerbomb on the steel steps. He had a great storytelling match with Eddie. When he was forced to proved himself again over backstage veterans trying to run him out aka Booker T, Tatanka, etc. He proved himself again. Proving he was the bigger draw on Smackdown Feuding with the likes of King Booker, Finlay and Lashley and was the most popular each time. Then he further established himself when he had the rivalry of the year against The Undertaker. None of their matches were bad or even mediocre. It was to the point that many fans considered their rivalry super underrated. He even worked his butt off against The Great Khali that year. He's always had good matches with Edge too. Eventually a year later, he would feud with John Cena in a face vs face match at Summerslam, proving in this rivalry that he deserves to be up there with Cena. He eventually started fading out when he realize the company was moving in the direction he was not a fan of. He was severely punished, fined $100k for doing what he thought was right. He ended up paying his own fines and everyone involved in the match. Even put Cena over heavily in 2010 on his way out. Completely losing in all but 1 of their match in the feud and embarrassed on the way out. Batista turned out to be right, as the company becomes complete PG for years until The Shield members starting turning things around and giving the product some edge again. Even with all this Batista was still loyal and loves the WWE. He even came back and put over The Shield and Daniel Bryan. Even at the company's mistakes causing him to get wrongly hated. But he ended his career the way he want. The right way. On his back. Giving back to the man who saved his career and maybe even life, Triple H. The look, the presentation, his entrance, the intensity and charisma, the guy oozes superstar. From the moment I walk alone plays and he jogs out, to his machine gun pyro, best pyro of all time by the way, to him hitting the corners and greeting the crowd with intensity and electricity. The guy got such a good look that it makes people jealous. One of the reason why he could always easily play the villain. JR and Brian Gewartz has said that the main reason he has gotten heat backstage was his introverted personality. Something frowned upon back then. His wrestling abilities has is underrated, and a lot of the hate he gets is unwarranted. Many legends has came out to defend him, Edge and Shawn Michaels being 2 of them. One of the big guys who actually take his bumps. Though he has his botches, he was always very good at selling. Something he doesn't get credit for at all. His move-set was one of the fun ones. His power moves are impactful yet, smooth and he has one of the best Spinebuster in the game. His Batista Bomb, aka the Sit-out/Sit-Down Powerbomb, looks unique too. Different from all the generic ones you see by cruiserweights and in the indies. Making the move his own. Something many wrestlers fails to do when they use a move somebody else uses. His thumbs down is still one of the coolest taunt/pose ever. Batista's matches was never the high spots-fest that more fans are into these days. His matches were solid, mano v mano type of matches where it always have a big fight feel to it. One of the most impressive thing is he would even go 30+ minutes, even though not only is he a big guy, He was in his mid 30's when he started training, along with having severe asthma, something which he said he had to keep a inhaler under the ring for, which he said he has used. To this day, he is still very underrated. Many don't give him his props still but it doesn't matter. When he has guys like Triple H, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Shawn Michaels, Christian, Pat Patterson, Afa, Dusty Rhodes, JR, Bruce Prichard and Fit Finlay, all who would and has vouched for him. At the end of the day, he was still one of the top guys, one of the face of the Ruthless Aggression era, one of the face of Smackdown, who has always proved himself time and time again that he deserves that spot and deserves to be there."

[9.0] "Batista was one of the best big men WWE ever had. He could do pretty much anything and had great charisma. Along with John Cena, he was my favorite wrestler growing up. The music I bump till this day, the entrance and the Batista Bomb always looked deadly."

[8.0] "Batista was a star. He kept getting better and building a persona that became larger than life and parlayed that into a successful film career. He wasn't the greatest technical wrestler but he was more than capable and the only unfortunate thing about him is that when he left in 2010 and 2014, he was putting in his best work all around."

[8.0] "Batista might not have been the best in ring since he was a powerhouse wresler but when we look back we could see how good he actually was. He has a character that was special to himself his attitude intro his music and ofc his finisher these made him so iconic and ofc entertaining in general which is the point of sports entertainment afterall. Batista came to WWE the right time. Lesner had left so Vince was looking for his next powerhouse and tbh th3y did a great job with his booking ( expect his early gimmicks) first joining Evolution and then turning babyface leaving the team and wining Royal Rumble. It felt natural and made sense instead of forced so it was clear why he didn't get as much as heat as John Cena got back then."

[8.0] "Batista wasn't the best wrestler on the roster but he was one of the most over wrestlers in the history of WWE. He had an intense charisma, had great mic skills and was alsosolid enough in the ring. He is one of the most closely associated names with the retired World Heavyweight Championship along with Edge. He had a very good first stint in the company with his feud against the Undertaker and Edge being among some of the best feuds in the late 2000s. Unfortunately his return was unwelcomed. It was selfish of WWE and it was in bad taste. Its okay for a Hall of Famer superstar to come back but unfortunately, Daniel Bryan was the hottest star in pro wrestling and a feud between Batista and Orton wasn't that appealing. That being said, he did have a good run, bringing back Evolution along with Orton and HHH while putting over the incredibly talented members of the Shield. Started off bad but I thought it ended really well. His third return was even worse than his second stint, at least the Shield and Daniel Bryan got elevated in 2014, his match in 2019 did nothing other than to give HHh a small and absolutely pointless victory over him. Still a very good pro wrestler and an entertaining actor."

[9.0] "I appreciate him way more since he left. Admittedly on initial look I wasnt a fan of his work and thought he got by just on physique. He almost ruined the Yes Movement too. But looking back, he had some classics with Cena, Orton, HHH, Undertaker, Edge and others. He's an important part of the Ruthless Aggression Era. I don't hate WWE for pushing the body builder types when they did, tho I'm glad they don't anymore. Also, he's doing well as an actor"

[7.0] "Batista was never my favorite, but he was very popular for his time and did put on some considerably good matches with the likes of John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, and many others. His in-ring wasn't bad, it's just not my taste in wrestling, however I don't hate it, I think he's still great and one of WWE's top guys for the ruthless aggression era. Overall Batista wasn't my guy, but still a guy would enjoy to watch from time to time."

[10.0] "I'll take Batista any single day of the week instead of all the current clowns and high-flying spot monkeys that get praised all the time in this website. He was a reckless machine. Such a legendary career with so many memorable moments."

[7.0] "Always looked liked a gazillion bucks, not the best worker but good enough to deliver a decent WWE main event style match with the physical limitations that he had."

[10.0] "One of the best wrestler of his generation Batista was not good at first but get over when he started fueding with Triple H.His rivalries against Rey, Edge, Taker, Cena, Randy are all memorable and legendary.He is very good at acting too"

[8.0] "He was great at the simple things he could get great reactions from crowds had a amazing look and got the job done . He had matches that wouldn't blow you away most of the time. But would tell a story his fueds with cena , triple h and randy orton are great only knock on him is his in ring ability was hit and miss depending on who he was in the ring with . In my opinion his best match was against the undertaker at wm 23 check it out if you haven't seen batista its him at his best."

[10.0] "Such low ratings for Batista are offensive. A true animal, one of the best powerhouse wrestlers and one of the icons of Ruthless Agression Era. He should be in the WWE HOF in the near future"

[7.0] "One of the best "WWE made" wrestlers of all time, charismatic, extremely powerful and great at playing both a face and a heel. Not the greatest you'll ever see in the ring but for the mid-00s WWE main event scene he was way more than passable. Very good in stipulation matches too, specifically cage matches, he thrived in that enviroment."

[5.0] "Batista isn't much of a hit for me. While his performance was solid most of the time, it wasn't anything special. He had good matches here and there, but nothing outstanding because of him. Definitely the weakest link in Evolution."

[8.0] "I was on the fence for a long time because I didn't see enough bell to bell material. I wrote him off as generic power/steroid guy and I never liked the tattoos but knew there was something under there if I just had the time to really watch. Well here I am, finally watching his rise with Evolution in 2004 and he is winning me over. He knows how to do the whole "give and take, ebb and flow" thing rather well and that gives him huge points with me. Showed a bit of versatility and gelled well with technical wrestlers like Shelton Benjamin. Outstanding personality outside of the ring... I'm not a movie person but I hear he's a decent actor as well. For his look, size and stuff... one of the better to do it and I may end up changing this score but 8.25 seems accurate for now."

[8.0] "I've always liked Batista a lot, and I'm pretty surprised at the rating. People say he was limited, but I think he was pretty good at everything he did, and he pretty rarely had actively bad matches or moments. Always over, a nice range for character work, really charismatic performer in just about every aspect, and he had nice chemistry with a decent amount of the roster. Just a lot of solid, easy to enjoy and uncomplicated matches, a lot of which he elevated thru said charisma. I find him a much more consistent performer then a lot of his contemporary main eventers."

[9.0] "This rating is not his right. It is true that he was not a great wrestler, but he left good memories. In general, I think he is one of the symbols of this sport. But I wish he worked in wrestling for a longer time. I hope he returns to the company for at least one more match."

[9.0] "What is this rating? Damn, i can't believe Batista is underrated like that. He started so late but learned so quick. Not the best in the world in-ring but very solid with a few bangers. Best face turn in history. Two of the best feuds in WWE history with Taker and Triple H. He was a legitimate draw. Not very good on the mic as a face, very good as a heel. His prime was only for 5 years but accomplished a lot. Probably will never get the respect he deserves. Good to see him succeed in Hollywood."

[8.0] "I always thought Batista had something special. He was great with the fans, he had a charismatic look, he was a real superstar in Ruthless Aggression Era. He started fading in 2009 and in 2010 he got out of WWE. His comeback in 2014 was unfortunate because of the fans backlash, but he was already a great star. Now that he is a relevant actor, I see his in-ring period as something great. One of my favorite big men ever, he started as raw material but he got much better over time."

[7.0] "Neither good nor bad in the ring, Batista is a perfectly acceptable wrestler who is gifted with the right build, visual and charisma. He's not one of the Goats, but he was a good addition to the ruthless aggression era."

"Now that Big Dave is a cool movie star I think a lot of fans look back at his wrestling career with rose tinted glasses. He was at his hottest after breaking away from HHH but after he was moved to Smackdown I dont think you can mount the case that he was ever as popular as Cena, HBK, Taker, Mysterio, Guerrero types, perhaps a level below despite him always being pushed as Smackdowns top guy. He was never a great promo, his matches were always slow plodding affair's, and he spent most of his time on the injury shelf which became a running joke for smart fans at the time. His character became incredibly stale up until his heel turn in 09. Even then his character was not good as he was painted as a crybaby instead of a monster heel. His matches with Cena led to some of the most preposterous, ridiculous, acme cartoon like finishes in wrestling history which perhaps served as a canary in the cole mine for what WWEs PG era was about to become."

[5.0] "The animal Batista had a very successful career in the WWE. While his list of accolades is long , the Animal did have some weaknesses that glared to fans at times. His promo skills were decent at times however for the most part he was not known as the best stick man. Inside the ring is where you would see the true value of batista. He could have some great matches with all types of opponents from Undertaker to Rey Mysterio to Eddie Guerrero to Triple H. The issue with Batista inside the ring was if he was demanded to take the leading role with an opponent who didn't have the skill needed then he couldn't make the match special. Batista overall was a solid star and deserves to be in the hall of fame however to say he is a top tier talent of all time isn't something I could say in confidence."

[6.0] "I've never liked Batista but I can't deny his build up was perfect. Awful in his prime, he was able to costantly improve in few years but, at the same time, I can't deny he is an average wrestler, not more. He used to be incredibly over but in ring was mediocre and the few memorable stuff he did was the rivalry against HHH, his heel turn against Rey and (partially) Undertaker feud."

[8.0] "He was alright. Legitimate draw, powerhouse, not good or bad ring abilities; fairly average, was okay on the mic, had some memorable feuds, always did his job. A solid 8."

[7.0] "Was a huge star in his time, especially when they strapped the rocket to him in the run up to Wrestlemania 21 and put the belt on him that night. I preferred him as the top guy at that time when compared to John Cena. He was a likable, incredibly intense powerhouse of a performer very much in the realm of that of the Ultimate Warrior. He wasn't the best in-ring worker but his presence and physical charisma more than made up for what he lacked between the ropes."

[5.0] "When I was a kid, I thought Batista is the coolest man on the planet. Boy, how naive we are. Upon growing up, I realized that Batista is all pure muscle but no substance. I don't recall any Batista match that is great. Most of his matches are relying on his power and most of it are mediocre. He has the size and power but that's all he is. In a world of Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow and Keith Lee, which are athletically impressive big men, Batista turns out to be unimpressive in comparison to them. I only loved his Evolution days whereas Batista is no-talk all-action imposing specimen in the WWE. Some few good points are his feuds with Triple H and Undertaker, and a valuable asset to the company because of his looks and popularity. Also at certain times, he looks like a World Champion material. He dresses as a champion, looks as a champion and acts as a champion. Sadly, if he cannot be athletically impressive, at least he could be more variant on his arsenal of moves. Maybe is the stereotype WWE practiced upon big men like Batista. Regardless, he is one of the last big megastars in WWE along with John Cena."

[9.0] "Batista is a legend and whoever says otherwise is mistaken, his rivalries with triple h, john cena, eddie guerrero, rey misteryo etc... i belong in one of the best road to wrestlemania with triple h, one of the best powerhouse of all wwe history i owner of the best powebomb in the business."

[8.0] "Had the look and size and was a pretty brutal heel in evolution. I remember when he returned to break Goldberg's ankle and collect the bounty he had that intimidating presence that Brock Lesnar had. Wasn't that great on the Mic, but not bad."

[9.0] "I think bad creative across WWE in his peak period puts Batista on a lower level than his contemporaries, but I think history will look back fondly on him. As his final run and acting career have proven (just in case his run as a top three guy earlier in his career didn't), Batista has a magnetic charisma and top tier acting skills for a wrestler; yes, the whole turn was well-booked anyway, but Batista held up his end of the bargain on the Triple H turn with his charisma, and the crowd treated him like a top guy ever since."

[8.0] "Batista came into the business at just the right time. He isn't the type of wrestler you could just rely on having a good match, regardless of who his opponent was. He absolutely needed somebody better in order to have a good match, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. He has the perfect look, his mic skills weren't great until the very end of his run but he definitely improved a lot. Wasn't somebody who would do an incredible amount of moves, he did his thing and did it very well in my opinion. Had great storylines, great matches, you can't really fault anything he did in WWE (well, aside from that short return in 2014 but we'll skip that.)"

[9.0] "Batista's rating being so low is criminal! Maybe one of the pillars of the Ruthless Aggression era, his involvement with Evolution was a great startup for him. Then him slowly going solo starting in 2005, winning the Royal Rumble, turning on Evolution & facing Triple H at WrestleMania, beating him is one of the best stories WWE has ever produced, particularly more from a entertainment aspect as opposed to technical wrestling. Are we not going to mention one of, if not the best championship of all time, the World Heavyweight title which might just have the greatest design of all time, just fits so perfectly with Batista. Though his return in 2014 was rough & more of a person who was in the wrong place in the wrong time, his involvement with the Evolution VS Shield & the main event of WrestleMania 30 was unforgettable. An incredible worker even if he wasn't really technical in the ring, so overall it would be kinda blasphemous to give this man anything below an 8."

[9.0] "He is in the Mount Rushmore of Ruthless Aggression Era and it's saying something. He has the look of a main eventer, charisma, credibility and of course, one of the best World Heavyweight Champions ever. He hasn't had that many classics on his resume, but when he worked with Michaels, Cena, Triple H or Undertaker, you were in for a treat"

[9.0] "The number 2 guy of the Ruthless Aggression era. I thought Batista was awesome. He had arguably the greatest look in the history of professional wrestling and had an immense presence. People discount his ability though, too often is he just thought of as a big musclehead. He was incredibly underrated. He had a ton of charisma. He had some of the best facial expressions and body language in the history of the business, both in and out of the ring. It helped him tell a story without even saying anything. He was an underrated worker, a strong powerhouse wrestler who had very impactful, devastating looking moves, who could sell well for a big guy, who could play well to the crowd and who had great timing. He was a solid babyface promo as long as the promo was short and to the point. He later developed into a very strong long promo guy in his late 2009-mid 2010 run as a heel. Big Dave is great and I think it's a shame he doesn't get his due for how good a performer he was. Considering how charismatic he is and how great he is at telling stories with his facial expressions and body language, it's no surprise that he's succeeding in Hollywood."

[7.0] "By far one of the greatest powerhouses of all times and especially in the 2000s, He can play both heel and face great, Batista also is a great actor too, Behind the scenes Big Dave also has luck with the ladies too, According to Teddy Long Batista is The Player of all Players, Big Dave did cheat on His sick wife and bullied female talent though so He loses a point for that, He also has an 8.2 inch Dick according to Ooahh_In_Peace on Reddit, So yeah now You all know. 7/10"

[10.0] "Boy did this guy look like he can fucking knock your head off of your body. Treadmous Physique didn't have the best in-ring skills, but honestly, he doesn't need to be a technician and always would be a powerhouse wrestler. His mic skills were fine, promos were good enough. The sheer size of this man is also impressive. My favorite Evaluation member."

[10.0] "I must confess that my rating may be bolstered by Batista becoming one of my favorite character actors at the moment but I'd probably still love his matches even if he wasn't."

[7.0] "One of the best "Roidy Magoos" of the last 23 years. There have been big muscle guys like him but they couldn't move or work worth a crap like Batista."

[10.0] "One of the best powerhouses in WWE history. You just looked at the man and believed he could beat anyone. I think he's just rated this low because of the Daniel Bryan thing during his last run, he was so disrespected."

[8.0] "Batista was a true star. He started out very green but improved greatly as time went on. He showed charisma and in ring ability when wrestling some of the greatest WWE had. The less said about his return the better."

[9.0] "Batista doesn't get anywhere near the credit that he deserves. He was green and awkward when he got his big break feuding with Triple H (which is one of the greatest feuds in WWE history), but got by on a well written story and sheer presence and charisma. He grew in to his role as a main eventer during his time on SD, showing a surprising depth of character as the silent, self assured badass in a great feud with Eddie Guerrero that was cut tragically short. Following his feud with The Undertaker he began to really show his evolution in the ring and a growing ability to tell stories in his matches - something which I don't feel he ever really got credit for. Unfortunately for Batista, I think a lot of fans never bothered to look beyond his appearance or initial reputation to give credit where it was due and acknowledge how much he had improved. Additionally, I think a lot of newer fans take one look at the guy and make a lot of unfair assumptions about his ability without being familiar with his work prior to his run leading in to WrestleMania 30 (and sometimes not even that). Batista was deservedly one of the biggest and most important stars in the company for several years. I think if people went back and revisited his work they would realise that he is much better than a large majority of his bodybuilder peers who he gets lumped in with. There is more to wrestling than fast paced epics and spectacular moves. Batista was perfect at his role and knew exactly what he needed to be to get the response from the crowd that he was looking for."

[7.0] "Batista was never the best in-ring worker, but could be carried to a good match similar to Luger and Warrior, except that he was more charismatic than Luger and better on the mic than both. He was really bad his first 2-3 years, but then became carryable to a good match by the time of his main event push."

[9.0] "How the hell do you not give him anything below a 9 its fucking Batista I really dont understand thinking this guy sucks unless your some kind of Daniel Bryan mark."

[9.0] "Very soft spoken for the most part. However, Dave was always short tempered and impatient when it came to getting what he wanted as well, so you'd get to see that angry side of him flare up in promos every once in a while. Always looked like a million dollars physique wise. Dressed real elegantly every time you saw him on t.v.. Looked like he was SOMEBODY (imagine that... now he's in hollywood). In the ring, he was always very intense, showed great strength, and when he fired up on someone.. thumbs down... it was over. Speaking of over, Dave was just that during his time. Very few in his era got a reaction like he did or had a meteoric rise like he had,"

[10.0] "Not only he is the Ruthless Aggression Era legend, but he's also one of my all time favourites. Dave could perfectly fit both babyface (especially during a feud with HHH) and heel roles - speaking of a heel role, I also think that his last full-time run in 2010 is criminally underrated. The drip, the promos, the intensity - everything was right here. Overall, I can't give this man a different rating than 10."

[8.0] "A good wrestler who was super over in his prime. One of the best of Vince McMahon's idea of a "perfect wrestler""

[9.0] "Batista was one of the best big men WWE ever had. He could do pretty much anything and had great charisma. Nobody can deny how over he was at his peak in 2005-2007. WWE was so focused on finding the next Brock Lesnar in 2004 so they signed guys like Luther Reigns and Gemini for example. Batista is the best possible example of the Vince McMahon wrestler."

[9.0] "One of the greatest of his generation and an absolute legend. Batista is the man. What a look. Great on the mic too"

[8.0] "I know people give him a hard time because he wasn't exactly the best wrestler in the world, but he knew what he was good at and used that to have some incredible matches that captivated the audience. His intensity, his presence, his charisma were incredible. He wasn't the best on the mic at first, but he became more of a natural as the years went on."

[6.0] "never really had an all time anything, but got the job done when it needed to be. the best of vince mcmahon's big meat investments"