Batista trivia: Before doing his "thumbs up, thumbs down", Batista often shakes the ring ropes violently, which he has acknowledged he took from the Ultimate Warrior
Batista, Top Wrestler |
WWE 2006
On January 9, 2006, WWE.com announced that Batista tore his right triceps following a match with Mark Henry at a live event on January 8, 2006 in Verona, New York. The following day, WWE.com announced that, due to his injury, Batista was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship at the SmackDown! tapings in Philadelphia on January 10, 2006, two days after surpassing Triple H's previous mark of 280 days for longest reigning champion. Later that night, Kurt Angle won a battle royal to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. (These events were aired on the January 13, 2006 edition of SmackDown!.) Dave went on to have successful surgery on his arm on January 12, 2006.
On February 19, 2006, Batista made an appearance at No Way Out 2006 and told the crowd that once his arm had healed he would return to regain his World Heavyweight Championship. At WrestleMania 22, Batista once again made a brief appearance. This time he interrupted a Randy Orton interview, putting SmackDown! on notice; the World Heavyweight Championship would return to him by WrestleMania 23. Batista made his official return during the July 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown! in Philadelphia immediately calling out and entering into a feud with the man who put him out with the arm injury, Mark Henry.
At Saturday Night's Main Event, Batista won his first televised match since his return, a six man tag match with Rey Mysterio and Lashley taking on King Booker, Finlay and Mark Henry. In a bizarre twist of fate, during the match Mark Henry was legitimately injured, and was ruled out of the scheduled match between the two at The Great American Bash (thus further delaying a potential feud between the two, which was already delayed by Batista's injury).
Batista would put out an open challenge to replace the injured Henry which was answered by Mr. Kennedy. Batista lost this match via DQ for failing to stop choking Mr. Kennedy into the turnbuckle with his boot, but continued to attack Kennedy which resulted in Mr. Kennedy suffering a laceration on his forehead so severe that it exposed his cranium and required 20 stitches to close. Batista went on to lose another match with Kennedy via count out in a rematch on SmackDown! before finally defeating Kennedy by pinfall on the August 4, 2006 edition of SmackDown!.
During this time Batista tried to regain a world title, facing both Big Show for his ECW World Championship during an ECW show, and King Booker for his World Heavyweight Championship during SummerSlam and SmackDown!. Batista won these matches but not the title as the contests ended via disqualification. Batista continued on as a top contender to the World Title, competing against King Booker on several occasions while feuding with Finlay, before finally defeating King Booker to regain the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series 2006 at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, the same arena where he surrendered the title in January.
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