Top 5 moments of Batista's WWE Career
WrestleMania 35 saw the end of the in-ring career of one of the most decorated superstars in WWE history and arguably the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time.
Batista called it a career after losing his No Holds Barred match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35. Triple H was the one instrumental behind the rise of the Animal in the WWE, and it's fitting that Batista got to have his final match against his long-time mentor.
Throughout his career, the Animal has left us with many memories and is one of the most prominent names for the kids who grew up watching the WWE. There will not be a single person who has been watching WWE since early 2000s who'd say Batista is not in their list of favorite superstars.
But history has not been kind enough to the Animal as his stay was often overshadowed by John Cena, who was the poster boy for the WWE and the two often crossed each other's paths with the latter almost always emerging victorious.
Like Cena, Batista too left the WWE to forge a movie career and he slowly climbed the Hollywood ranks to star in some of the top grossing movies of the last few years.
However, focussing on his in-ring exploits alone, Batista has indeed boasted of a decorated career and it is only fitting that we should take a look back into the top 5 moments of his WWE Career, that made him a WWE legend.
#5 The Bounty Hunter
Though Batista was already a part of Evolution since its formation, the Animal had to miss the majority of 2003 after he tore his triceps at a live event in a match against Brock Lesnar.
WWE couldn’t have re-introduced him better as he returned on the October 20th, 2003 episode of Raw. Triple H had announced a $100,000 bounty to anyone who could take then World Champion Goldberg out.
Batista collected the bounty after interfering in Goldberg’s title defense against Shawn Michaels shattering the former’s ankle with a steel chair.
That was the perfect sneak peek into the Animal that Batista would go on to become in the future and is one of the most significant moments in Batista’s career.
The WWE's initial plan was to cast Mark Jindrak instead of Batista as a member of the Evolution faction. But fate had other ideas, the two have had contrasting careers owing to this massive change.