The Shimmy 8.04.08: Clash of the Titans

Posted by Andy Clark on 08.04.2008

Thanks to new Raw GM Mike Adamle two of the biggest wrestling superstars of this generation, John Cena and Batista, will finally do battle in a one-on-one contest at the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer, SummerSlam. This match has been building for over six years and The Shimmy takes you through all the twists and turns of the Cena-Batista story.

Good day, Shimmaniacs, and welcome to the column. As most of you saw last Monday on Raw, new Raw General Manager Mike Adamle announced the first (and as of this writing only) Raw match for the "Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer," SummerSlam. The match he signed, while not a championship match, was indeed the biggest blockbuster of the summer: John Cena vs. Batista. Over the last several years these two men have been in the upper tier of WWE superstars and they have largely stayed away from each other on two separate brands. Still, there have been incidents between these two men in the past, and this week's column looks to chronicle the paths both men took to make it to this year's SummerSlam event.

Prototypical Levianthanism

Before the mainstream wrestling world was familiar with the likes of John Cena and Batista, local viewers of Ohio Valley Wrestling witnessed the likes of The Prototype and Leviathan. John Cena was a bleach blonde, triangle haired body builder with a penchant for "rewinding back" his promos to repeat the pertinent points and a member of Bolin Services, lead by manager Kenny Bolin. Leviathan was a large, fanged, tongue studded, chain wearing, monster that wrestled as one of the Disciples of Synn, a violent faction lead by the gothic diva Synn. While records of all the old OVW shows are not readily available, it is apparent that their two paths did cross. In fact you can even find a tag team match on Youtube pitting the Disciples of Synn against The Prototype and his partner Rico Constantino (yes, THAT Rico).

Of course the biggest thing the two of these men did against one another actually knocks out that whole "first time ever" deal for SummerSlam. On the February 20, 2002 edition of the OVW television show Dave "Leviathan" Batista walked in as OVW Champion. When the night was over John "The Prototype" Cena walked out as OVW Champion. The two men that would go on to be the faces of WWE's two major brands actually battled over the heavyweight championship in WWE's then-developmental territory. The following week they would have a rematch, a match that the Prototype would win yet again, but do to a disqualification. It wouldn't be too long until both men were on to bigger and better things.

The Class of 2002

John Cena and Batista were both called up to the main roster over the summer of 2002, joining the likes of Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton in a very impressive class of new recruits.

On the May 9, 2002 edition of SmackDown, Deacon Bautista made his national television debut, serving as the hired muscle (and tithe collector) for Mr. McMahon's spiritual advisor Reverend D-Von. On June 27 he wrestled his first match, teaming with D-Von to defeat the team of Ron Simmons & Randy Orton. Over the next few weeks Deacon Bautista would fight either in tag matches alongside D-Von or he would face D-Von's larger adversaries like Mark Henry and Rikishi.

That June 27 SmackDown was also the day that a young, awkwardly attired John Cena made his WWE debut, answering an open challenge laid out by Kurt Angle. After Mr. McMahon's decree that his superstars possess "ruthless aggression" Cena felt like he met those qualifications and took it to the Olympic Gold Medalist. While Cena ultimately came up short in his debut, he took Angle to the limit and opened many eyes. He would enter into a summer feud with Chris Jericho, scoring two upset wins over the former Undisputed Champion and he would serve as a tag team partner for the likes of Edge and Rey Mysterio from time to time.

Things would change for both men in the fall of 2002 however. On the August 29 edition of SmackDown Deacon Bautista broke free from D-Von, and a week later he dropped the Deacon, he dropped the "u," and he dropped D-Von with a powerbomb, quitting SmackDown in the process. On Raw, Ric Flair has promised General Manager Eric Bischoff that he would be bringing a huge talent to the show, and on November 4 he did just that as Batista made his Raw debut. After destroying midcarders for a time with Ric Flair as his mentor, by the end of the year Batista officially joined up with Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton to form what would be the Four Horsemen of the next generation: Evolution.

Meanwhile, Cena would continue to try his hand at being a tag team wrestler, but after losing in the tournament to crown inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions Cena turned on his partner Billy Kidman and a new persona arrived. No longer the bland, smiling babyface, John Cena transformed into the Doctor of Thuganomics, a chain wearing, throwback rocking, win-at-all costs rapper who could tear you apart with a biting freestyle. Cena would cut mad raps on the SmackDown roster, briefly teaming with Red Dawg (the future Rodney Mack) and B2 before turning on both of them. He trashed the likes of rappers Fabulous and Jay-Z at WrestleMania XIX, engaged in a mini-feud with Brock Lesnar over the WWE Title, called out the Undertaker and took him to the limit in a series of matches, and competed in a brutal Latino Street Fight against Eddie Guerrero as he gunned for the United States Title. John Cena and Batista were both becoming an integral part of the midcards of Raw and SmackDown, but soon their roles would grow even bigger.

The Royal Rumble and Beyond

Once again there would be changing times in both men's careers as the fans would slowly start to come around to their side. After feuding with Kurt Angle, Cena apparently earned the Olympians respect because he was picked to join Angle's Survivor Series team alongside fellow fan favorites Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, and the future JBL. Cena entered the United States Title picture, engaging in a long feud with Big Show, a feud that was capped off when he won the title at WrestleMania XX. He would spend the next year fighting over that title against the likes of Rene Dupree, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Carlito.

Meanwhile, Batista spent most of his time as the big lug in Evolution. Sure he had some tag runs with Ric Flair and even a shot at the Intercontinental Title, but it was clear that the Evolution spotlight shone on Triple H and Randy Orton. When Randy Orton was kicked out of Evolution for daring to win the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam 2004, Batista went along with everything as the good soldier. By the time Survivor Series came around in the fall, however, Batista was starting to show signs of independence. Tension would mount between Batista and Triple H and it would reach a fever pitch when Batista entered the 2005 Royal Rumble against Triple H's wishes. Despite being double crossed by his partner Ric Flair, Batista made it into the final two participants. His opponent? John Cena.

The two men, now solid fan favorites, battled it out and, in one of the most chaotic finishes in Royal Rumble history, both men tumbled over the top rope. Referees argued over who the winner really was as Mr. McMahon angrily powerwalked to the ring, tearing both his quads in the process. Sitting in the middle of the ring McMahon ordered the match restarted and the two slugged it out some more, but following a devastating Batista Bomb, "The Animal" eliminated Cena and was declared the winner.

Over the next few weeks Triple H did his best to ensure that Batista would cash in his title shot on SmackDown against JBL instead of himself, even setting up attacks on Batista by "JBL." At No Way Out, John Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a guaranteed title shot against the WWE Champion (would be a Triple Threat Match if Batista made the jump) and Batista was also in attendance. Following his title retention against Big Show in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match, JBL fell victim to attacks by both Cena and Batista and the two men shared knowing glances. The next night on Raw Batista made his intentions clear in one of the best moments in Raw history: Thumbs up to SmackDown…wait, Dave, what are you doing? THUMBS DOWN?!? Ahhhhhhhh! Batista was staying on Raw to challenge his former boss Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title.

At WrestleMania it was JBL vs. Cena and Triple H vs. Batista. Cena made quick work of JBL and won his first WWE Title and Batista dominated Triple H to win his first World Heavyweight Title. Just three years ago they had been feuding over the OVW Title, now both men were World Champions. Over the next few months they would mainly deal with the former champions, but June 6, 2005 things changed once again. This was the first night of the extended WWE Draft and the first draft pick coming to Raw was none other than SmackDown's WWE Champion John Cena. Cena and Batista were both on Raw and both had championships. For now at least. On June 30 SmackDown received the final draft pick of the year: Raw's World Heavyweight Champion Batista. They missed it by that much.

Cena & Batista: BFF

Following their brand flip flop Cena and Batista pretty much steered clear of each other for quite some time. That changed in the fall and winter of 2006 though when they found themselves forming something of a "dream team" from time to time. After SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long helped Cena get a title match against then WWE Champion Edge by stipulating that Cena would come to SmackDown for three years if he lost in their TLC Match, Cena offered to wrestle on SmackDown as a thank you. On the September 29, 2006 edition of SmackDown John Cena teamed with Batista & Bobby Lashley to take on the team of Booker T, Finlay, & William Regal. Team Muscles came out victorious but this wouldn't be the last time Cena and Batista would be on the same side. Cena, now WWE Champion, would enter a feud with World Heavyweight Champion Booker T and ECW Champion Big Show to see who the "Champion of Champions" truly was. On the October 20 SmackDown Batista was jumped by Booker, Big Show and Finlay and Cena arrived to make the save. A week later Cena and Batista teamed up to defeat Booker and Big Show. Come December Batista would remember how well they worked together because when Teddy Long allowed Batista to choose a tag team partner for his match against Booker T & Finlay at Armageddon, Batista chose Cena once again. And once again Cena & Batista were victorious.

Main Events Collide

The good feelings would not last long unfortunately. Both men were champions again, but both men were also dealing with upcoming challengers at WrestleMania. With Undertaker after Batista and Shawn Michaels gunning for Cena things were quite tense. They got worse when Mr. McMahon announced that the main event at No Way Out would be Batista & Undertaker vs. John Cena & Shawn Michaels in a battle of WrestleMania main events. There would be attempts at one upsmanship in the weeks to follow, notably in the last week before No Way Out. On Raw all four men teamed up to defeat Mr. Kennedy, MVP, & Rated RKO in an Eight Man Tag Team Match, and then on SmackDown things were broken down into Interpromotional battles. Batista & Undertaker defeated Rated RKO and Cena & HBK defeated Kennedy & MVP. Batista & Taker would storm the ring following the Raw teams victory and leave both men laying out, with Batista delivering a Batista Bomb to Cena despite their friendly feelings a few months prior.

At No Way Out the two teams collided with Cena & Michaels getting the victory after Batista turned on the Undertaker. A few weeks later on the last Raw before WrestleMania 23 a rematch was ordered, this time with Michaels turning on Cena allowing Batista to pick up the pin on "The Champ." Both Cena and Batista would have other things to occupy themselves with over the next few months and it would be another ten months before the two squared off again.

Royal Rumble Redux

In fact it shouldn't have even happened. After tearing his pectoral muscle in October 2007, Cena was supposed to be out of action for up to a year. Four months later he shocked the world by entering the Royal Rumble at No. 30, cleaning house on a shocked mass of wrestlers. Bodies flew out of the ring fast and furious and finally we were down to three: Cena, Batista, and Triple H. A "You Can't See Me," a thumbs down, and a crotch chop for each opponent and all three fan favorites tore into each other. Cena and Triple H were the focal point of the fracas but there were certainly shades of Royal Rumbles past as Cena and Batista duked it out. Sure enough Batista would be the first of the three eliminated and Cena would go on to eliminate Triple H and continue the storybook comeback. Still, Cena and Batista were once again part of a great Royal Rumble finish.

Drafting the Titans

Once again Batista and Cena were kept apart as they stayed on their separate brands, chasing their respective World Titles. They would soon be reacquainted thanks again to the WWE Draft. John Cena defeated Edge in a rematch of the previous year's Draft Pick Match and who should be the superstar that Raw would pick up but "The Anima" himself. Batista was back on Raw after a three year absence and this time Cena wasn't going anywhere. Their first act as fellow Raw members was to work together as part of the Raw team in the night closing 15-Man Battle Royal for the final two draft picks, teaming alongside Triple H, CM Punk, and Kane. Raw would come up short, sending Triple H and Mr. Kennedy both packing to SmackDown, leaving Raw wide open for the two dominant superstars.

Their next confrontation would come in the form of a No. 1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way Match, also dealing with JBL and Kane, where the winner would meet CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Title at the Great American Bash. The two would have some brief interactions but nothing too much. Batista would walk away the winner and Cena would go on to finish his feud with JBL. After being attacked by Kane at the Bash and then again on Raw the next night, Batista got a rematch with CM Punk for the title, but it would be an interfering JBL that would prevent him from scoring the victory and winning the title. Cena would come down to the ring to help take out his foe JBL, but an errant shot would hit Batista instead. After having two pretty bad nights Batista went nuts and tried to attack Cena for daring to punch him.

The next week on Raw the two apologized but both also made sure to take shots at the other as they attempted to jockey for title contention. They agreed to a match that night in Batista's hometown on Washington, DC, a match that they both agreed should headline WrestleMania. There plans would be ruined by Shane McMahon and the as-of-yet unknown Raw General Manager as the main event for Raw would instead be Cena & Batista teaming to take on JBL & Kane. Cena & Batista would come out of that match as the winners but it was certainly not for a lack of trying. Following the match the two warriors stared each other down and were then informed by now-revealed General Manager Mike Adamle that at long last they would face each other one-on-one, at the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer, SummerSlam.

Things were compounded this past Saturday on Saturday Night's Main Event as Cena and Batista teamed with Cryme Tyme in a losing effort against JBL, Kane, Ted DiBiase, & Cody Rhodes. Tonight on Raw Cena & Batista find themselves as partners yet again, but this time they are challenging DiBiase & Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championships. Will their egos and pride allow them to wrest the gold from the waists of Simply Priceless? What will the future hold for them when they finally face off at SummerSlam? What happens after SummerSlam? Will there even be anything left? In two weeks we will find out what happens once the titans finally clash.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What's on tap for tonight's show?

As I mentioned above it is Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. John Cena & Batista for the World Tag Team Titles. This should be a good one.

Shawn Michaels will address his fans following the awful beatdown at the hands of Chris Jericho at The Great American Bash. Is HBK's career really over?

What will new GM Mike Adamle do in his first full week on the job? Will he punish Michael Cole some more? Will he get all hopped up on Mamajuana? Will he call the Raw wrestlers by their correct names? We'll have to wait and see.

Will we finally find out who CM Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against at SummerSlam? Safe money is on JBL but you never know when The Adamle is in charge.

Well that does it for me this week. Enjoy Raw tonight and I hope to see you back here again next week. Until then, don't die. Clark…out.