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THE SPIKE PILEDRIVER #1: Animal Rights: Defending Batista |
» Reported by Phil Chroniger of WrestleView.com
» On Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 6:20 PM EST
The Spike Pile Driver#1
By:Phil Chroniger of WrestleView.com
March 6, 2008
Animal Rights: Defending Batista
As certain as death and taxes, there will be groups of wrestling fans who will never like Batista.
Much of the criticism is the same that is leveled at most muscle-bound wrestlers. He's a typical McMahon plus-sized, heavyweight, they say. He's stiff-moving, uses the same 4-5 moves, is oft-injured, and is far from a paragon of workrate.
However, whenever he is healthy, Batista is usually involved in solid matches. Hell, he has had some great matches. His progression over the years has been a lot of fun to watch, as he has consistently improved from his first main-event push in early 2005 until now.
He had a series of very good matches with Triple H in 2005 and a top-notch feud with The Undertaker last year (including a show-stealing World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 23). Granted, Triple H and The Undertaker are good at drawing the best out of who their opponents are, but most people would agree that his matches Trips and Taker were not carry jobs, and that Batista more than held his own.
He actually carried Mr. Kennedy to a good match at Royal Rumble '07, and managed to have a Punjabi Prison Match with The Great Khali that was much better than it had any right to be. However, we’re all wrestling fans we know what matches he has had, who he's faced, and so forth.
Now, I'll admit, I do write this with a certain amount of bias towards the man. We’re both natives of Washington, D.C. I can relate to some of things he saw in his youth growing up (though not to the extent of what he experienced), and I have actually met him once (in 2003, when he was rehabbing his tricep injury, though I doubt he remembers).
That being said, the fact that he would take almost an hour of his time after working out to talk to a regular wrestling fan like me is an example of how he is also a positive representation of professional wrestling to the public. He does interviews on D.C. radio stations on a regular basis, and usually comes across as the opposite of the stereotypical meathead bodybuilder.
He got into a verbal spat a while back with A.J. Styles about TNA being a bit of a car wreck in terms of wrestling. While many people sided with A.J. (usually smarks and members of the internet wrestling community), Batista made the assertion that good wrestling is more than just how many moves you can fit into a match, and also involves psychology and in-match storytelling.
Truer words were never spoken.
I haven't quite figured out the source of the Batista hate. He was the one who effectively broke Triple H’s monopoly on the World Heavyweight Title that most wrestling fans had been complaining about for almost 2 years up until that point. He has made it a point to put forth his best effort, and has steadily improved over the past few years. In fact, his improvement parallels another main event talent that used to receive a lot of the same heat from smarks and internet fans John Cena.
The difference between Cena and Batista is that, while Cena was once more hated by the smarks, many have come around and warmed up to Cena. Batista, on the other hand, just hasn't been given the same amount of appreciation for his work ethic, constant improvement, and overall dedication to pro wrestling.
Granted, the man has had his share of bad matches. However, what wrestler hasnt? However, if anyone watched his recent match with MVP on SmackDown, you saw exactly the kind of selling, psychology, and overall performance that Batista regularly brings (or at least attempts to bring), and many big men regularly fail to do.
So, why do people not like The Animal?
It could be his affiliation with the man who most smarks and internet fans love to hate, Triple H. While the wrestling world has a love/hate dynamic with Triple H that's is enough to fill another column, I think that a lot of that sentiment has rubbed off on Batista. I find it unfair to both men, but I can see where that affiliation may be part of the problem.
Another thing could be the anti-McMahon crowd. They hate guys who are physical specimen who come to the WWE because the majority of them have lacked in-ring skill. The list is long, and dates back pretty far. Ted Arcidi, Ahmed Johnson, The Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg, Lex Luger these are all names that, either for good reason or not, are hated by those who are critical of the muscular men of wrestling.
These anti-McMahon fans are the same ones who prefer flippy matches with lots of athleticism but little in the way of in-ring storytelling, charisma, and sensible match pacing. They'll tell you that Shelton Benjamin should be the WWE Champion right now. While there is no doubting Shelton's in-ring skills (Lord knows I’ve enjoyed many of his matches he, unfortunately, has the charisma of a doorknob.
For whatever reason these fans don't like Batista, I'm having a hard time understanding why they hold such disdain for the man and his work. Much like the answer to how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop (which I’ve counted as 297, by the way), the world may never know.
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