WWE News: Batista Comments on his Favorite Smackdown Memories, Praise for Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker (VIDEO)
This coming Tuesday, October 16 is Smackdown 1000 and with it means a lot of reflection on the past 19 years of WWE’s second longest running episodic primetime television show, Smackdown.
In the following video, former six-time WWE Champion and future Hall of Famer Batista shared some memories from his run on the Smackdown brand. Batista actually debuted on Smackdown in 2002, but his run as the “Deacon” to D-Von Dudley wasn’t that memorable. Batista became a main event player on Smackdown from the time he was drafted there in 2005 until his departure as a regular wrestler in 2010 although he was on Raw more at that point. Batista came back for a brief run in 2014 as well.
At Smackdown 1000 in his hometown of Washington, DC, Batista will be reunited with the Evolution stable that includes Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton. They were one of the most successful groups in WWE history, so it will be a big moment to see them together again. It will also be Batista’s first time on WWE TV in four years too.
To get fans ready for Batista’s return, WWE posted an exclusive interview with Batista talking about some Smackdown memories. The video is only 2:50 in length and it features some interesting comments about two of the guys he respected the most.
Batista on being drafted to Smackdown in 2005: “It was the first time I was ever going to kinda go out on my own and really fend for myself. For a while it was rough, where I really had to prove myself. I feel like it’s something I’ve done throughout my life, it’s like I’m always having to go somewhere and prove my worth. But I think after a while, Eddie Guerrero really helped me prove my worth in a big way.”
In the fall of 2005, Batista and Eddie were involved in a storyline where they became allies, but we didn’t know if Eddie was being honest or if he was going to turn on Batista. It culminated in a match in the main event of No Mercy 2005, which I reviewed here. Sadly, there was no end to the story to the story due to Eddie’s untimely death, but Batista still has fond memories of Eddie.
Batista on Eddie Guerrero: “It’s hard to put into words how much Eddie meant to me. He actually took the time to get to know me…I think a lot of times Eddie’s skill was overlooked. He wasn’t a large man in stature, but Eddie could work anybody and he could make you believe he was hurting anybody because he was so tenacious, vicious and aggressive. He was so talented and his timing was so good and he could read the crowd better than most people I ever worked with in my life.”
Batista on The Undertaker: “That dude can go. He’s very intimidating. You know he’s in charge, but it’s also very comforting because this dude has seen and done it all. It’s almost like one of those things where you get in there with him you just know you’re going to have a good match. There’s something magical about him where he doesn’t have to do more than step in the ring and people are just losing their minds. Not a lot of people have that.”
You can watch the video below.