WWE News Roundup: Batista Burns His Bridges, Jinder Mahal To Expose ‘Weak’ Randy Orton?
Former WWE superstar Batista is a man that many in the WWE universe would love to see back in the squared-circle. Six-time world champion Batista was a hugely entertaining heel on the WWE network. Batista bowed out of WWE in 2014 after winning the 2014 Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania 30. Batista headed to Hollywood to make a string of movies, and he is currently getting rave reviews for his role as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Batista has a net worth of over $13 million, a figure sure to rise when he appears as Drax in Avengers: Infinity War next year. With his considerable net worth, there is no financial imperative for Batista return to the ring, but any entertainer will tell you, they are driven by the buzz of performing in the live arena. Batista showed that he is no different when he told Chris Jericho in an interview that he misses wrestling.
“Yeah, I miss it a lot…. There’s nothing like it, you know that. There’s just an adrenaline rush that goes along with it. What I don’t miss is the [WWE] company, to be honest with you. I don’t miss WWE. I miss wrestling, I just don’t miss dealing with the company and its bull***t. Yeah it’s the bull***t man, it’s just too much bull***t.”
Batista went on to say that he would like to return to WWE for a match with Triple H. Batista sees that match as a retirement match, and says he has spoken to both Triple H and Vince McMahon about that possibility, but says the only response he gets is “yeah, we’ll think about it.”
It’s clear that Batista wants that final match, but he may have burnt his bridges by describing the WWE as “bull***t.” That would be a shame because Batista vs. Triple H would be a great match for WrestleMania 34.
Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship Push Exposes Randy Orton As A Weak Champion
One of the most puzzling developments in WWE wrestling since WrestleMania 33 is Jinder Mahal’s push to a WWE Championship title shot. Mahal has battled through the No. 1 contender competition and he defeated Sami Zayn of this week’s SmackDown Live. Now the WWE have announced that Mahal will take on Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at the WWE Backlash PPV on May 21.
Bleacher Report claims that Mahal’s emergence as a title contender is all the more surprising because he has “lost almost every match he had been involved in for months on end.” They go on to argue that the feud between Orton and Mahal has been poorly received by fans and that Mahal’s elevation to title challenger is simply because Orton is a “weak champion.”
The reason that Orton is painted as a weak champion is because he is a natural heel and is being forced to play the babyface role. As a result, Orton has lost his edge. We are unlikely to see Orton lose his title to Mahal at Backlash, the match may just be used as a mechanism to give Orton a push. Of course, the WWE must bear some responsibility for Orton’s failure to inspire during his current championship reign.
Recent editions of SmackDown have focused on Kevin Owens and AJ Styles, perhaps rightly so. Styles has been a revelation since he burst onto the scene at the 2016 Royal Rumble. It’s easy to argue that the WWE made a huge error when Styles lost his championship to John Cena at this year’s Royal Rumble. That decision cost Styles a high-profile bout at WrestleMania, where he had a meaningless match against Shane McMahon.
That said, there can be little doubt that Styles will grab a championship soon, though he may have to wait until the SummerSlam PPV. We may well see Jinder Mahal fade back into the background after losing to Randy Orton at Backlash, but you can be sure that AJ Styles will be pulling out all the stops to reclaim his championship belt.
[Featured Image by WWE]
