5 most vicious attacks by WWE's Animal, Batista

The Animal is back in the WWE, and has got a bad attitude.

Last week, Batista returned to the company in dramatic fashion, assaulting the 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair, who had been celebrating his 70th Birthday.

The attack, which left the two-time WWE Hall of Famer a broken heap, was done it seems, to get the attention of WWE COO Triple H, a student of Flair, and the mentor of the Animal.

Whilst attacking a senior citizen was truly despicable act by the Marvel Movie star, it's not the first vicious assault by the former World Champion, and if history proves right, won't be the last.

Over his years as a WWE Superstar, Batista has laid waste to countless stars, both inside and outside of the ring.

Here are the five most vicious attacks by Batista, and the Superstars who were left reeling as a result.

#5 The Hart-Breaker

Batista demolished the Hall of Famer when Bret 'Hitman' Hart returned to the WWE in early 2010.

Bret Hart's return to WWE in 2010 should have been a joyous occasion.

Leaving in 1997 following the Montreal Screwjob, the Hitman returned years later, aiming to make amends.

And whilst the former WWF Champion patched things up with Shawn Michaels, things went badly with Vince McMahon, who still resented Bret after many years.

With Batista at his beck and call, the Chairman sicked the Animal on the Hitman, who was defenseless against the remorseless Batista.

Leveling the Excellence of Execution with a flurry of body blows, Bret was quickly brought down, and was left for prime pickings for Mr. McMahon.

The Animal would be handsomely rewarded for this assault, but we will get to that later in this feature...

#2 Who's next?

Batista dismantled Goldberg with the help of Evolution and a steel chair.

Goldberg's initial run in the WWE was short-lived, but he certainly accomplished a lot along the way.

Destroying everyone in his path upon debuting after WrestleMania 19, Goldberg was the one to finally dethrone Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven 2003.

Immediately after, the Game aimed to get his title back, putting a $100,000 bounty on the new champion, a challenge that was answered by Batista.

Attacking the former WCW star after a hard-fought match, Batista laid waste to Goldberg with a series of blows and slams.

The worst of it all came when Goldberg was laid on the mat, and Batista wrapped a steel chair around the champ's ankle.

Slamming down on the prone Goldberg, Batista put all his weight on the injured ankle and made himself a cool 100k in the process.

#3 It's all about the Game...

The Animal met his mentor in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 21.

Batista may have helped Triple H in 2003, but by early 2005, things were much different.

After winning the Royal Rumble match, Batista had two choices: either jump to SmackDown and face WWE Champion JBL, or stay on RAW, which would put him against the Game.

As Evolution brothers, the Cerebral Assassin clearly wanted Batista to jump to SmackDown, though many wondered whether the Game was afraid that he couldn't beat the Animal he had reared.

After Batista discovered it was his mentor that had tried to run him down (with JBL's limo), the Animal's mind was made up.

Attacking his mentor, Batista signed to stay on RAW, and vowed to take the World Heavyweight Championship.

Within weeks, Batista would dethrone the Game, and would usher in a new era in WWE.

#2 You were supposed to be my friend!

The Animal held nothing back when he took on his former friend.

Rey Mysterio and Batista were always close friends.

First teaming together in 2005, the pair bonded like brothers, even holding the WWE Tag Team Championships together.

But when the pair shared the ring at Bragging Rights 2009, things were different. This time they were opponents, and along with CM Punk, wanted to dethrone the World Heavyweight Champion, The Undertaker.

Ultimately, neither Batista, nor Rey, nor Punk did that, but it was the Animal's actions post-match that made headlines.

Resentful of Mysterio, who he saw as standing in the way of regaining the World Championship, Batista said he was tired of being stabbed in the back, before demolishing his so-called friend.

A heartless act by the Animal, Mysterio, and Batista would feud for months before Batista turned his sights on the Deadman.

#1 Cena falls after surviving the Chamber

Cena survived the Elimination Chamber but lost his title in seconds to the well-rested Animal.

At Elimination Chamber 2010, John Cena proved why he is considered one of the all-time greats.

Entering the titular satanic structure, Cena outlasted Triple H, Ted DiBiase, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston and then WWE Champion Sheamus to capture the gold, in a brutal 30-minute match.

As you can imagine, Big Match John was barely able to stand, let alone fight after the bout, but did just that per the edict of Vince McMahon.

McMahon, who was angry at Cena's support for the returning Bret Hart, forced the new champion to defend his title against the well-rested Batista.

Their match, if it can be called that, lasted less than a minute, as Batista destroyed the defenseless Cena in one of the Animal's most heinous attacks, capturing the WWE Champion.