Does Batista have staying power?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

They've already been watering down Batista by having him face Vis and La Rez and he panders to the crowd WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Batista can cut a great 5 minute promo. If they play their cards right, he could become a great supporting player for the next 3-5 years.

[Jingus 0]

Alright, so what we have here is a tall, extremely muscular guy who's not the greatest wrestler in the world. Not the worst, either, but there's only a couple of opponents who know how to get a good match out of him. His interviews are short and effective, but there's some debate over whether he has any real mic skills. He's a badass heel, but the fans clearly hate another heel more than him and would love to see the badass beat the living shit out of the other heel and take his world title. And his clothesline is sold as a devestating finisher.

 

So what has old Nikita Koloff been up to lately?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I can't believe KIMBO SLICE has made an appearance in this thread.

[CanadianChick 0]

Batista can cut a great 5 minute promo. If they play their cards right, he could become a great supporting player for the next 3-5 years.

I'm sorry, but I honestly can't remember him cutting a 5 minute promo. Can you remind me? Whenever I think of Batista in a non-wrestling context, it's in backstage skits or uttering a couple of sentences in an angry tone during an Evolution promo.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Here's the thing about being cool.

 

No matter what you do, no matter what happens, no matter how hard you try, you will stop being cool. And in todays world, you stop being cool pretty quickly. Batista being cool now really doesn't mean anything, because it's such a fickle thing. Now, the WWE hasn't been cool in a long, long time, so there is obvious advantages in pushing Batista, _however_ does his character WORK as champ? Does he _have_ to be champ? Another thing to consider. IMO, they'd probably prolong his popularity by _not_ giving him the title.

[jester 0]

Now, the WWE hasn't been cool in a long, long time, so there is obvious advantages in pushing Batista, _however_ does his character WORK as champ? Does he _have_ to be champ? Another thing to consider. IMO, they'd probably prolong his popularity by _not_ giving him the title.

Actually, I have to agree with you here. It's better that Batista not feud for the belt for awhile. He should have time to simmer as a face without it.

 

Let Orton take the belt of HHH, because God knows he needs some colour. Then have HHH and Batista do their feud based on pure hatred of each other. Batista wins, breaks away from HHH.

 

Then, let Batista run through a few heels, and if he's still hot, then think about putting the belt on him.

 

Problem with this plan: it would require HHH to lose two major feuds in a row. Ain't gonna happen, his promise to get those two over if it kills him notwithstanding.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Here's the thing about being cool.

 

No matter what you do, no matter what happens, no matter how hard you try, you will stop being cool.  And in todays world, you stop being cool pretty quickly.  Batista being cool now really doesn't mean anything, because it's such a fickle thing.  Now, the WWE hasn't been cool in a long, long time, so there is obvious advantages in pushing Batista.

 

RRR, or CCC? You decide

[The Niggardly King 0]

Batista can cut a great 5 minute promo. If they play their cards right, he could become a great supporting player for the next 3-5 years.

I'm sorry, but I honestly can't remember him cutting a 5 minute promo. Can you remind me? Whenever I think of Batista in a non-wrestling context, it's in backstage skits or uttering a couple of sentences in an angry tone during an Evolution promo.

He's only had one real promo in the WWE and that was one to hype his match with Michaels before some PPV. He has cut great promos elsewhere, like in OVW for instance.

[Guest PlatinumBoy]

It's a classic example of WWE screwing up with their over-heels turning babyface. They take away the attitude that made crowds react to them in the first place. Randy Orton is the latest example. He was over because he was cocky and the Legend Killer shtick was entertaining. Now he's bland. They never got babyface Shawn Michaels right, to the point that he was booed as a face. Compare The Rock's heel runs to his babyface runs in entertainment value. Brock Lesnar went from being a monster to an oversized Bob Backlund. Kurt Angle became Captain America. Shelton Benjamin became the token smiling black guy that overcame the odds. Jericho shaves his facial hair and resorts to catchphrases for a crowd reaction. Eddie Guerrerro doesn't lie, cheat and steal quite as much anymore. And can any more be said about how lame John Cena is now as a face?

 

Keep Batista as he is - how people are reacting to him - and he'll be fine.

Though this isn't about Batista (well this part), that right there is one of the reasons Austin was so huge. He was over HUGE as a face and a great one too--the double turn, McMahon feud, etc. etc. Batista won't get that big. He won't be the next Stone Cold, but I could see him being the top guy on RAW. They've tried everyone else, no harm in letting Batista get a run.

[Guest Loss]

If Austin hadn't gone into overdrive protecting his character after he turned face, he would have ended up just like the rest. He knew WWE's track record with turning hot heels face and didn't want to end up watered down like Nash and Michaels had in previous years.

[Cherry Blossom Viscount 0]

When Batista is the focus of a segment or promo, historically, he has always been booked strongly. Does anyone remember when "Sheriff" Austin was running rampant on RAW many moons ago? Well, once he had come out whislt Evolution, sans HHH (I think) were in the ring cutting a promo, and of all the established Evolution members, Batista was the one who got in Austin's face and got alot of heat for doing so. Also, he walked out of the ring and chased Austin down to confront him, but as he was doing so the heatless duo of Jindrak and Cade attacked Flair and Orton, forcing his attentions elsewhere. They never went anywhere with that promo though, nevertheless, Dave came off as a natural on the mic.

[King Cucaracha 0]

Screw the in-ring stuff. Screw the 5 minute promos. Screw whever he 'panders to the crowd' or not. Can he convince the casual fan to start watching Raw again?

 

Because that's what they need.

 

That should be the only arguement. Is Batista that guy? He's the closest they've come in some time, that's all I'll say.