Will Batista Replace Seth Rollins As Triple H’s Opponent At ‘WrestleMania 33’?
Last Monday, we learned that Seth Rollins was injured during his segment with the debuting Samoa Joe. As of right now, we don’t know the exact details of the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion’s injury, as WWE has kept it quiet. They are, however, planning to give an update on Rollins’ condition on tonight’s Raw.
In November of 2015, Rollins blew out his knee during a live event match with Kane, which forced him to miss WrestleMania 32. Now, it looks like the knee injury that he suffered last Monday night was just as bad as the one he suffered in the fall of 2015, and he could end up missing WWE’s biggest show of the year for the second year in a row.
Rollins was scheduled to go one on one with Triple H at this year’s WrestleMania 33, but as previously mentioned, most believe that he won’t be able to wrestle on the show due to injury. The question remains: Who will replace Rollins on April 2?
Over the weekend, Cageside Seats suggested that Batista should take Rollins’ place in Orlando this spring, which got a lot of people thinking that The Animal, who hasn’t been seen in a WWE ring since 2014, will return for a match with his mentor at WWE’s biggest show of the year. Now, Cageside Seats has reported that Batista will not return to the ring at this year’s show.
Batista has said in multiple interviews that he wants his retirement match to be against Triple H, so a match between the two will surely happen at some point. However, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen this year.
At this point in his life and career, Batista, who is 48-years-old, has shifted his focus over to being a full-time actor, which is why fans haven’t seen him in the ring for nearly three years. During his time away, WWE has made him a couple of offers, all of which he ended up turning down.
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Batista explained why he isn’t all that interested in returning to WWE television, saying that if he did return to the ring, he’d only want to work on the company’s non-televised house shows. He also didn’t have very many positive things to say about his brief stint with the company back in early and mid-2014.
It’s been reported that WWE still hasn’t decided on who will be Rollins’ replacement on the show. Fans have thrown around names like Finn Balor, who is scheduled to return from injury at some point before WrestleMania 33, and Samoa Joe, who made his long-awaited main roster debut last Monday night.
Shane McMahon has also been mentioned as a potential opponent for Triple H, but as of right now, WWE is planning a match between Shane and AJ Styles at WrestleMania. Unless something changes, we won’t see The Game take on his brother-in-law on April 2.
One guy who really wants to see Triple H vs. Shane is WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, and he explained why on a recent edition of his podcast.
“I see Shane vs. Triple H at WrestleMania, that’s what I see, that would really draw money considering the unknown animosity, which nobody seems to understand or know, but clearly there is some.”
Some have suggested that Triple H just shouldn’t wrestle on the show, mostly because there’s really not another logical opponent for him. Of course, WWE’s biggest show of the year is only two months away, so they have plenty of time to set something up for him. Maybe they’ll set it up on tonight’s show.
[Featured Image by WWE]
