WWE Thowback: When Batista stunned everybody to win the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

On the January 20, 2014 episode of WWE RAW, The Animal Batista returned to the WWE ring to challenge then-champion Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight title. He called out Orton and vowed to win the 2014 Men’s Royal Rumble Match. He promised the WWE Universe that he will go to WrestleMania where he will become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Batista wins Royal Rumble 2014

Daniel Bryan was the face of WWE in 2014 and many believed that he would win the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, but that never happened. Daniel Bryan was not allowed to participate in the match and Batista ended up winning the match by eliminating Roman Reigns. He became the fifth wrestler to win multiple Rumble matches, and the first multi-time Royal Rumble winner to win from the same entry number - 28. The crowd was unhappy with Batista’s win as they wanted a different result. Despite that, the match got good ranking from critics.

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Batista headlined WrestleMania

Batista was scheduled to face Randy Orton in the main event of WrestleMania 30. However, Daniel Bryan was added to the match. Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H in the opening contest of the show and went on to face Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight title. Batista lost the Triple-Threat match after Bryan forced him to submit and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

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Batista’s recent WWE appearance

On February 25, 2019, episode of WWE RAW, Batista made his comeback and attacked Ric Flair backstage. The Nature Boy was about to make an appearance for his 70th birthday. Batista also taunted Triple H and went ahead to challenge The Game for a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 35. At WrestleMania, Batista lost to Triple H after interference from Ric Flair.

After his match with Triple H, Batista announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Later, WWE officially announced that Batista along with nWo will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 2, 2019, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida. On January 18, 2020, Batista celebrated his 51st birth anniversary with close friends and family.

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