At WrestleMania 30 on Sunday, April 6, six-time World Champion Batista returns to The Grandest Stage of Them All to challenge The Face of WWE, Randy Orton, for the most prestigious title in all of sports-entertainment, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The championship battle will etch not only a new chapter in The Show of Shows’ already illustrious history, but also the latest development in the years-long competition between The Animal and The Viper, former Evolution cohorts.
Both Superstars have grown by leaps and bounds since their nascent days as mere pupils of The Game and “The Nature Boy.” Despite his hiatus from the ring, Batista — newly empowered by his Jiu-Jitsu studies — has proven in his comeback to be every bit as destructive as he was years ago. Former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio found that out the hard way at Elimination Chamber, when Batista downed him with an explosive Batista Bomb. And even though Orton’s merit to be called The Face of WWE has been called into question, there is no denying The Viper has found ways to hold onto the WWE World Heavyweight Title in even the direst of straits.
With the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles last December, this year marks the first time in more than a decade that there has been a single World Champion at WrestleMania, adding an even greater air of grandiosity to the proceedings. Will The Viper slither out of New Orleans and continue his historic title reign? Or, will Batista complete his stated goal and stand alone as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion?