During the close of tonight’s RAW from Atlanta, Batista (Dave Bautista) made his return to WWE television for the first time since last year’s Smackdown 1000 episode.
In a segment that was set to celebrate Ric Flair’s 70th birthday featuring appearances by Shawn Michaels, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting, Batista was shown dragging a camera to Flair’s dressing room backstage.
Excerpt courtesy of Mike Tedesco’s live RAW recap:
Stephanie McMahon says Ric Flair will always be a champion in their eyes. That’s why they have created a custom made WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. She unveils it. Triple H then introduces “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Ric Flair’s music plays, but he’s nowhere to be seen. We go backstage to see Batista dragging a cameraman around. Batista enters Ric Flair’s dressing room and slams the door shut. Batista then opens the door and drags an unconscious Flair out! Batista says, “Hey Hunter. Do I have you attention now? Huh?” Triple H gets out of the ring and runs to the back.
Triple H runs down the hallway to the injured Ric Flair. Agents and referees are around Flair. Triple H screams for a doctor. Flair is holding his midsection and in pain.
Based on his comments during Smackdown 1000 and his appearance tonight, it would appear WWE is setting up Batista vs. Triple H for WrestleMania 35 this year.