Batista getting better?

Firstly no I have not lost the old marbles!

I actually think I have been enjoying Batista more and more ever since WrestleMania and even previous to Mania I thought his programme with MVP which lasted about 3 weeks was great, his programme with Shawn Michaels brought more out of him and adding Jericho to the equation gave him less of a need to talk to much which suited him.

I thought he lost his way again shortly after that though and got involved with Edge for yet another Edge v Batista main event at a PPV for something like the 723,000th time which hindered him, then he kinda lost his way a bit but got involved with John Cena and I started to enjoy that angle and the branching out of the angle which lead them to winning and losing the tag titles although I thought they didn't turn on each other enough in the build up.

Now he is back with Jericho again and his character fits perfectly to Jerichos, it allows Jericho to keep the crowd focused with his Promos and his ability and Batista offers something completely different, there is no need to be the out and out wrestler like a Ricky Steamboat or a Curt Hennig but you just have to be good at what you do and Batista for me is getting better. I think he will win the title and will be the next World Champion on RAW but I am hoping its not for another couple of PPVs yet.

I would prefer to see Batista beaten by Jericho at least once then screwed out of rematches a couple of times due to interference in matches on RAW before he eventually wins the strap. I think doing this will build up more support for Batista if he is seen to finally overcome all the odds, weather this happens or not I don't know however I simply think the difference in Big Dave from this time last year is 10 fold!


Agree?

Disagree?

I thought he was getting better untill the last few weeks when anything he has said or done has made me feel ill.

that rule of micheals can make anyone look good failed on raw, he over sold things making batista look stupid and batistas entire offence was lyring on the mat pretending he was technical.

just before he left smackdown he was allowing a little personality to come into his work which i think helped but nah recently i disagree, but i did think he was imrpoving to be bearable for a while so see where your coming from.

I would have agreed with you if you had said this a month or two ago.

Since just before his move to Raw, he seemed to improve a lot, his matches were getting better, he was involved in the Jericho/HBK feud, and he didn't embarras himself by trying to do lots of mic work and even started acting heelish. He wasn't booked badly either.

His matches with CM Punk were better than I expected and but I thought he should have let CM Punk go cleanly over him, which may have made Punk's title run better.

His feud with Cena had a lot of possibilities, the one I was most eager to see was a heel turn from either. It didn't happen, but I still don't think this is the end of that feud and that'll have a big match at WM 25.

However after this feud I felt it went downhill, he started being booked badly again, acted too faceish again and just was back to boring Batista. Hopefully working with Jericho will allow him to get back to what made me change my mind about him for a short time, but tnh if he beats Jericho in the next three PPVs I'll be dissapointed.

I thought before he moved to RAW he was horrible!

He was doing nothing between his programme with Michaels and Jericho to getting a main event spot at his last PPV as a SD guy for the title which was pointless

I thought he looked good before the draft when he was appearing with RAW guys but on SD he was the same old same old and it wasnt until his RAW move that he looked the part

I did mean the Raw program basically, just before the draft where he was in that program and I think he was sure to move.

I agree with you to an extent. I agree he has improved a lot, not just since this year's Wrestlemania but last year's Mania as well. I really believe his rivalry with Taker pushed him to his limits and made him improve. You can also say his long feud with Edge also helped him improve as well being in the ring with a great wrestler and one of the best promo guys in the business today.

I believe his mic skills have improved a lot. He will never be a Jericho or Michaels on the mic but he is now certainly better than some people near the main event .
*cough Jeff Hardy cough*

I didn't really see much of his rivalry with MVP although I heard it was quite good and it kept Batista out of the WHC scene for a short while. I thought his rivalry with HBK was very entertaining and his reasons for not liking Michaels made sense eg Michaels retiring Batista' best friend Ric Flair. He didn't have to do much on the mic as Michaels wa able to carry Batista through but what Batista did say was good.

I also enjoyed his feud with Cena, their characters both suit each other and surprisingly Batista was allowed to use the mic a lot and I was quite impressed.

Overall, I think Batista has improved a lot since Wrestlemania 23 especially his promos. However, I still think he needs to add a few more moves to his set and try not to act like a jerk all the time.

whenever he did that fake karate chop thats when he was best. might have been on highlight reel? so just before draft and early raw.

i think being booked strong goes to his head so he becomes arrogant, which istn good for a face

I wouldn't so much say he's getting better, as much as he is being put up against other wrestlers who can bring out the best in him like HBK and Jericho. But this is nothing new, as seen by the good matches he had with HHH at the start of his singles run. Once on Smackdown he struggled to find his feet, until another talented wrestler once again brought out the best in him, The Undertaker. I wouldn't say batista is terrible, but he really needs the right opponent in order to perform to an acceptable level.

Can't say I've seen much improvement really.

His in ring skills seem pretty basic but not too bad. He's an average bulky superstar really, nothing special like Kane was. I have to admit his matches are a lot more watchable these days and while I don't look forward to them, I certainly don't skip them.

What annoys me are his promos. His mic-skills are average at best which is why nearly every single promo of his ends up with him hitting, bombing, spine-bustering someone and walking off. It's ridiculous and it's only trying to cover up the fact he really isn't all that when it comes to talking.

The biggest change I've seen in Batista is that he's got his in-ring confidence back, and isn't getting booed.

On Smackdown, in the run-up to Mania 23 and stretching back to when he gave up the world title, I think he got 'scared' (for want of a better word) of getting hurt again, the switch to Smackdown didn't help him either, being taken away Raw and his buddies who'd helped him, covered his weaknesses. Suddenly, he's on his own with a dressing room he pissed off when he announced in an interview that SD wrestlers were more interested in partying than wrestling (which coming from him is just a little hypocritical, but still). Chuck in his affair with Melina, and that pissed off a few people, he's one of the older stars in WWE having come into the business late...

And Booker beating the crap out of him - still love Booker for that.

The build up to Mania 23 was strange, when the match between him and Taker was announced, it was hugely anticipated, 2 of WWE's biggest faces going against each other for the first time. Then the promo's and build up to it was so bad, partly due to Batista not wanting to give up his title, I actually stopped caring about it, even though I'm still a complete Taker mark. Then they had the match of the night, he's fully fit, he's got his confidence back.

Has he improved? I don't think he has, but in wrestling, confidence is a huge thing to lose. Now he seems to have regained it, I'm intrigued to see a feud with Jericho. I fully expect Batista to face Cena at Mania, but not with the title on the line.