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PWINSIDER Q&A: BATISTA, HEEL CHAMPIONS IN WWE, WOMEN WRESTLING IN MSG AND MORE

Answered on 5/31

My question is, with all of the recent Batista bashing I wonder what is his motivation? He is in his late 30's and shows that he is limited in the ring, delivers uninspired promos, yet he chooses to deliver sometimes. How much of a window do you think this guy has? I mean he and Cena have just about the same career path since their tandem title wins at WM 23, and besides Batista 6 month injury absence I don't see any excuses for Batista's attitude and current style. How much of a window do you think this guy has as a top guy? And how long will the management wait for him to come around?

I would think that the main motivation for Batista is the money and the fame of being one of the top stars for WWE.  However, I really don't know why he is so unmotivated.  It's a shame, because when he puts an effort in, he is a very marketable star that is over huge with the crowd.  Maybe he is only motivated when Triple H or Undertaker push him to be.  As far as a window for his career, I could see him having 3-4 more years as a top star, but only if he remains injury free, which is a big if for Batista, who has had more than a few injury issues in the past few years. 

I grew up during the era of Hulk Hogan in WWF and Ric Flair in NWA/WCW. I enjoyed both guys immensely and respected both of their styles as champions. I loved that fact that Flair was so untouchable and thwarted many face challengers. My question is whether you think WWF/E has (in the past 25 years) known how to build a long term effective heel champion who doesn't simple squash all of challengers. I have some respect for Triple H, but I can't use him as an example because all of his jobs, you can reflect on the Steiners, Goldbergs, Jerichos and Ortons that he screwed over. Other than Yokozuna, I can not think of a good entertaining long term heel champion. Your thoughts?

WWE has just never seem to been about the "heel" champion.  First it was Bruno Sammartino, then it was Bob Backlund, then Hulk Hogan.  It wasn't until Yokozuna that there was a long-term heel champion, and once the 90's began, the titles started switching around a lot more frequently.  I suppose you could point out JBL's run as WWE Champion, but it could be argued that his title wasn't "really the top title" at that point.  WWE just hasn't been the kind of company to have a heel on top for a long run. 

I have been a wrestling fan for 25 years and I can honestly say that I have never seen as many catastrophic in ring injuries as in the last few years. Since Triple H had the freak quad tear in '01 we've seen Batista, Mark Henry, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, Kennedy, Triple H again miss months and months because of major injuries. I have two questions. 1. Do you think there is anything alarming about these injuries despite the WWE's "toned down" style? 2. What would have happened if Hulk Hogan or Macho Man would have suffered a freak quad tear or something during one of their long planned title reigns? With WWF having such long term planning how would they have reacted to a situation like a freak injury in a standard match that would derail their plans?

I don't think all of the injuries can be attributed to one aspect of the business.  Yes, the heavy schedule is certainly a prime suspect for some of the injuries.  In the case of Mysterio or Benoit, the high risk style they use can be blamed.  Advancing age is another reason, and of course, there is the simple "injury prone" tags that have followed Mark Henry and Batista throughout their careers.  As for your second question, if a Hogan or Savage suffered an injury, WWE would have to react to it.  While I suppose you could say WWE is lucky that it hasn't happened too often, there certainly have been times when injuries have resulted in "on the fly" changes to matches and sometimes total reworkings of plans. 

My question revolves around Eric Bischoff. I just finished reading his book 'Controversy Creates Cash' and I listened to a hotline in which Dave and Buck went through Vince's competition over the years and the impact they did or could've had. Although Ted Turner was mentioned Eric Bischoff was not. What are your thoughts on what type of competition Bischoff would have presented for Vince if he had been successful in purchasing WCW like he had planned?

First, I want to clarify the Elite Audio you are referring to.  In that hotline, Dave and I were discussing the competitors to Vince McMahon when he began his national expansion in the 1980's (Gagne, Crockett, Watts, Von Erich).  Obviously, Eric Bischoff was not part of the picture at that point.  Bischoff, as head of WCW, gave Vince his stiffest competition ever, and resulted in the only period in the last 20 years when WWE was NOT the top wrestling company in the U.S. What would have happened if Bischoff had been able to purchase WCW?  That's a question that has been asked and discussed numerous times since 2001.  No one can know for sure what would have happened, but I'd like to think that Bischoff had learned from his mistakes, and would have been able to give Vince a run for his money again. 

I remember reading once where women wrestlers were not allowed to wrestle in New York until sometime in the 70's. Is this true and, if so, why?

Indeed, it is true.  Chalk it up to another dumb State Athletic Commission rule that was antiquated and needed to be taken off the books in New York (like the one banning masked wrestlers).  When it was finally removed, The Fabulous Moolah defeated Vickie Williams in the first Women's match ever in Madison Square Garden on July 1, 1972.

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