Well, now that Batista made his return, we figure he'll pretty much defeat Mark Henry at Great American Bash. But after that, I'd like to know what the rest of you think WWE should do with Batista at this point?
There's a very good chance WWE will thrust Batista right back into the title hunt seeing that's what the character has promised since he's been injured. So to fufill that, while the jury is still out on it, its increasingly looking to be Batista vs Booker T at Summerslam for the WHC. If that is indeed to be the case, is that even the best thing to do?
If Booker T does defeat Rey at GAB, I think it might be a better idea to give Booker a nice long title reign as opposed to droppin it on a fly. First of all, Booker is Smackdown's only real main-event heel (I don't think Khali is quite ready yet) so it may be a mistake to make him look too much of a chump so soon (he's lost to Lashley like crazy already). Why not have Booker have a two-PPV program w/ Rey Mysterio, then have a couple feuds with a returning Benoit (which would bring him back to the main-event fold), and if rumors are true that Kurt Angle will come back to Smackdown after his hiatus, feud with Angle, which could only build Booker's heat? By the time Batista gets to him, it would only add to the reaction when/if he defeats Booker for the title.
I think it'd be a great idea for the brand as a whole. While Booker is facing all those other guys, Batista could really strengthen the upper mid-card feuds with the likes of Ken Kennedy, The Great Khali, Finlay and Regal. That way we'd get interesting feuds with guys that WWE won't be pushing to the title hunt anytime soon. Hell, somehow we could even have an Undertaker vs Batista match that could make sense due to a Number One Contender's shot stipulation.
Personally, I'd much rather see a slow burn to the title, than a hot shot to it.
I agree with the need to use Batista in strengthening the midcard and, with Survivor Series around the corner, having him build up a classic SS team allowing some lower card guys to headline would also be a good idea.
However, I can't picture the creative department keeping him away from the title scene, especially since he made it clear that he would be coming back to regain 'his' title.
I imagine therefore that King Booker will take the title at the Bash allowing Rey his time off and they'll build Booker and Batista into a huge feud, using Survivor Series as a stepping stone to the Rumble and, of course, WM23.
Originally posted by lost_my_testesThere's a very good chance WWE will thrust Batista right back into the title hunt seeing that's what the character has promised since he's been injured. So to fufill that, while the jury is still out on it, its increasingly looking to be Batista vs Booker T at Summerslam for the WHC. If that is indeed to be the case, is that even the best thing to do?
Given that Batista has constantly been saying that the champion isn't the real champion until he beats Batista, I think they have to do the title match as soon as possible. If you hold off on that match, Batista has to keep running down whoever's champion, which would devalue the belt a little.
I don't know that he needs to win the title at Summerslam, but whoever is champion by then needs to answer his challenge.
Originally posted by ThingfishI agree with the need to use Batista in strengthening the midcard and, with Survivor Series around the corner, having him build up a classic SS team allowing some lower card guys to headline would also be a good idea.
That'd be good; if he got screwed by Booker and the Court at Summerslam, he could slowly spend the next two months assembling the perfect team to get revenge. I'm tired of the last-minute, thrown-together Survivor Series teams--if they took the time to establish Batista's reasons for choosing each partner, it would mean something to the fans and create more buzz around the eventual match.
I think that both his propensity for getting injured and his age work against penciling him in for long-term plans (i.e. a slow burn until Wrestlemania as Freeway suggested). If he were younger, and I had more confidence in him not to get injured again, then I'd say yes - do the slow burn until the end of the year and/or Wrestlemania. However, with Rey being booked as badly as any champion could be booked and Smackdown really suffering in terms of star power, its best to pull the trigger on a Booker/Batista title feud ASAP and have him win it at Summerslam.
One side note from this feud is that I hope they eventually ditch the 'King' stuff and get back to being good ol' Booker T. It was funny the first few weeks, but the character really limits Booker's natural charisma.
Scene: Mark DeRosa's brain. The year is 2005. Part of Mark DeRosa's brain: Come on, another position change? One day it's second base, the next day right field, now it's third? Why, I oughta go into Buck's office and throw his talking fish on the floor! Other part of Mark DeRosa's brain: Hold on, other part of the brain. We're making $500,000 this year. Last year we made $725,000. All for playing a damn kids' game. This is, as they say in Brainland, a no-"us"-er. We're not going to complain. Part of Mark DeRosa's brain: You're right, dude. Let's go back to looking at this crazy porn Teixeira gave us!