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Decked out in expensive shades, apocalyptic tattoos and dressing in slick suits, Batista has the presence of the World Heavyweight Champion, however get him angry and you will bare witness to “the Animal” being unleashed. Projecting incredible intensity and confidence, Batista is a thinking man’s World Heavyweight Champion. A fearless man of a few words, Batista makes those words count and backs them up in the ring with his raw power, twisting spines with the Batista Bomb.

Batista’s career took off when he joined Evolution. This move would be a defining moment in Batista’s career as this is where he met soon-to-be running mates Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton. The four superstars would team up to form one of the most dominating groups in wrestling history. Ric Flair played the role of legend, Triple H the leader, and Batista and Orton as the future stars.

Evolution was all about fine suits, gorgeous women, fast cars, and taking care of business in the ring. Batista quickly learned from Flair and Triple H, winning the tag titles with Flair in 2003. Despite championship gold, Evolution began to crumble when Triple H’s jealously over Randy Orton winning the World Heavyweight Championship led to Orton being dumped from Evolution. Triple H wanted to make a statement that he was the leader of Evolution and no one was going to take his spot. For Batista, this was a wake-up call. No matter how great he became, he realized, he would always have a glass ceiling over his head while in Evolution because of Triple H’s obsession with the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista stayed loyal, but he remained cautious.

In late 2004, rumors of unrest in Evolution surfaced, and toward the end of the year, tensions between Batista and Triple H became noticeable to the viewing public. The situation was pushed to the brink when The Game used psychological warfare to attempt to persuade Royal Rumble Match winner Batista to defect to SmackDown! and challenge for the WWE Championship — rather than remain on RAW and challenge him for the World Heavyweight Championship.

In resounding fashion, during a contract-signing session, Batista declared that he was staying put by sending Triple H through a table with a Batista Bomb. He then signed the RAW contract, pitting him against Triple H at WrestleMania 21. There, he would reach the pinnacle of sports-entertainment — thanks, in a large part, to his ability to power out of Triple H’s Pedigree finisher attempt.

After WrestleMania, Batista continued his momentum, defeating his rival Triple H in a rematch at Backlash and in a memorable and bloody Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance 2005. In just his first few months, Batista had done the impossible by defeating the former World Champion and “Cerebral Assassin” Triple H in three consecutive matches – something no other Superstar has ever done.

In the summer of 2005, things heated up for Batista when he was selected as the last pick of the 2005 Draft Lottery bringing SmackDown! its champion after WWE Champion John Cena was drafted from SmackDown! to RAW. Unfortunately for JBL, this came on the heels of what was supposed to be the affluent tycoon’s defining moment as the face of SmackDown!

However, with World Champion Batista on board, the championship controversy instantly ended, leaving JBL without the top prize. Over the course of the summer, JBL would go on to target Batista and the World Heavyweight Championship only for Batista to defeat JBL in a violent No Holds Barred encounter at SummerSlam before his hometown crowd in Washington, D.C.