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On the night that Roman Reigns announced that he's in remission, Ric Flair was to celebrate his 70th birthday, which was to close out RAW for the night. Flair's wrestling friends, Shawn Michaels, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, and Triple H, and the rest of the RAW locker room were there to celebrate it.
But as everyone waited in the ring for the Nature Boy to arrive, there was some commotion in the locker room. Batista returned to RAW and attacked Flair, calling out Triple H, and before The Game could come to the aid of his friend, Batista had disappeared.
This possibly sets up a feud between Batista and Triple H, the seeds of which were sown on the SD1000 show last year.
So, this could most likely be a match between Triple H and Batista for WrestleMania 35. But, I feel that Triple H facing Batista may not be as exciting a match as these other 5 matches. Here are 5 better opponents for Batista than Triple H:
#1. John Cena
John Cena hasn't been an active part of the WWE roster for some time as he's been involved in several movies. But Cena is still a big draw among the mainstream WWE fanbase, and at a stage like WrestleMania, Cena would be a great addition to what's turning out to be an already packed and exciting card.
Cena and Batista have history, having faced each other at WrestleMania XXVI, where Cena defeated Batista to win the WWE Championship. Both are part-timers, both have had good success in their film careers, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be involved in a long drawn feud.
#2. AJ Styles
AJ Styles and Batista have never been in a feud as Styles was not in WWE for a majority of Batista's full-time run in the promotion.
But there seems to be some animosity between the two, that goes way back to 2005. Batista, who was then with the WWE, criticized Styles, who was a major player on TNA, about his style of wrestling.
Batista said, "I've (also) seen clips of their car wreck matches, with AJ Styles doing his stunts. That's not wrestling, wrestling is storytelling."
Styles was not impressed with Batista's critique of his ring work and replied: "I think it's funny that a guy who takes a bump and tears his back is telling me that I don't know how to wrestle."
So, there's some real-life heat between the two, which could perfectly set up a storyline for a WrestleMania match considering how Styles does not seem to have a big match for WrestleMania.
#3. Braun Strowman
One man whose stock has fallen quite a bit over the last six months or so is Braun Strowman, who seems to no longer be in the running for the Universal title.
Strowman looked like he was going to be the man on RAW following Reigns' illness, but things haven't gone the way he would've hoped for.
Seth Rollins is to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 for the Universal title, while it seems like Strowman will most likely face one of McIntyre or Lashley in a singles match, which is not quite impressive, considering we've seen this match numerous times.
Strowman needs an impressive win at WrestleMania to challenge for the Universal title once again, and I don't think that will be possible if he faces McIntyre or Lashley. Strowman vs Batista has never happened before, and it could be a passing of the torch moment, where Batista puts over Strowman, to go on and challenge Lesnar or Rollins in the future.
#4. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre had a great 2018, impressing everyone with some huge wins, and many predicting that he will be a world champion by the end of 2019. But, 2019 hasn't been great for the Scottish Psychopath, who's still stuck in the same feuds with Strowman and Finn Balor.
There seems to be no direction to his story on RAW, and if he isn't used properly, he may fall way down the order, very quickly.
A marquee match against Batista at his first WrestleMania since his return to WWE last year, will raise his stock once again, and like Strowman, a win over Batista could do wonders for his career.
If and when Seth Rollins eventually becomes Universal champion, he needs to face off against a giant-killing heel, and McIntyre could be the one who could face Rollins in the future. Things need to change for McIntyre, and it has to happen now!
#5. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns' triumphant return to RAW, and his announcement that his cancer is in remission was a huge sigh of relief for the WWE Universe.
While it may seem to be too soon for us to think and talk of a return to the ring for The Big Dog, if it were to happen, there's no better and grander stage than WrestleMania!
Batista and Reigns haven't had a singles rivalry, and only feuded when The Shield and Evolution faced off back in 2014. This could be a huge match for both returning stars - one who wants to say a final goodbye to the world of pro wrestling, while the other who is to make his second debut in the ring after a serious illness.
This could be a great story, and with Batista turning heel, the cheers for Reigns' would be louder than ever at WrestleMania 35.
