You'll get no argument from me that Batista's return is a good thing for the company and provides a shot in the arm to the roster. However, Batista is not the guy who should win the Royal Rumble; in fact anybody but Batista should win the Rumble.
Batista has not been an active wrestler for almost four years having left in 2010 after losing to John Cena in an I quit match. Having been gone for so long, a win for Batista would make the majority of the roster look awful. If Batista was to return and dominate the roster right away it would kill the credibility of everyone else.
Also, if Batista squashes everyone in the Rumble, it leaves him a select group to work with in the future and we've seen him feud with Cena and Randy Orton before. It would also tie up his return and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the same storyline, thus taking the championship away from someone else who could use the boost from the belt's prestige.
That's not to say Batista isn't deserving of a title shot/run or that fans wouldn't be interested.
Batista's return to the top should have some solid build to it and take time. If you put the championship on him right away, he has nowhere to go from there but down. Batista is no doubt a major name in the business and the interest in his return is unique, but him chasing the belt for a few months would make for an even more interesting story.
Batista's resume is already filled with impressive accomplishments; however a story about him having to shake off the ring rust and work towards getting back to where he was before he left would be great. If he struggled for the first few months before coming on strong around SummerSlam, his return could be good for some younger guys as they could get some big wins over him while keeping the story interesting.
With so many major stars involved this time of year, Batista's title chase doesn't have to be the focus right now to make an impact on the product. He can slowly get back into the swing of things and once WrestleMania season is over, then begin his rise and subsequent dominance of the roster. A match between Batista and Brock Lesnar would create a huge amount of publicity for WrestleMania 30 and wouldn't have to involve the championship.
The WWE didn't bring Batista back just to spike ratings for a couple months; he's back for a long run and the company has plenty of time to get him back on top. But the start of that ascension cannot happen at the Royal Rumble.
Source: Yahoo
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