Batista: I Walk Alone

Batista is not one of my favourite wrestlers. Even if I narrow it down to the past ten or five years, he's still not going to feature here. Even if I narrow it down to Top Five Wrestlers called David  he probably still wouldn't make it.

 Batista has that Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg feel in that as a short term thing he's fine. Guys like that can have two or three years of no-selling offence and just barging their way through the entire roster, but after that really what's left. This is where I come to with Big Dave. He debuted in 1997, after training and development in OVW as 'Leviathan' he with the WWE in 2002 as Deacon Batista which wasn't exactly the greatest ever gimmick. From there he was brought into Evolution which was a new version of The Four Horseman (featuring original Horseman Ric Flair, Triple H and Randy Orton). On paper this team was amazing. On one side there was the wealth of experience from Ric Flair and Triple H and on the other the untapped talent of Randy Orton and Batista. Of course the main problem with this was that this all occurred during a time when it was believed that Triple H (thanks to his marriage to WWE boss Vince McMahon's daughter Stephanie) had too much power in the back. If he wasn't holding the belt, he was fighting for it and so Batista and Orton became almost afterthoughts for The Triple H Show.

Batista did come into his own as a powerhouse and soon broke away from Evolution and established himself as a solid Main Eventer. The problem with this is that unlike Randy Orton who could (if not in the Main Event) go down to a mid level feud, Batista could never do this. If you look at the two disks filled with matches, of the eighteen on offer once he wins his first World Championship only three matches do not involve the title. Whereas wrestlers like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and even Triple H can work a mid level feud that doesn't need a belt to make it mean something; this was something Batista could never do.

The documentary is, if I'm honest, a little self indulgent and though I agree that Batista is one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE, it just seems that when you look back on his time it hasn't been that eventful. His feuds (apart from the one with Triple H, which was built perfectly) were all a little blah and never about anything really other than a quest for a title. He was never a great wrestler and so watching him discuss his training was a bit redundant. However, it cannot be denied, whether he can put on a Five Star Match or not, he is very good at getting a reaction from a crowd before, during and after his matches.

The matches on offer are a little hit and miss. I do hate when they don't include the debut match of a wrestler on this type of sets, just so we can see how far he has come as a wrestler. His matches against Triple H and The Undertaker are amazingly good, but surrounding them are matches that are simply just filler with very few that you will watch more than once. His Royal Rumble victory was a nice addition, but really they should have just included this as a short highlights featurette. Other extras include Batista talking about his rough neighbourhood, Eddie Guerrero, his time as Leviathan in OVW and a bizarre featurette about his lunchbox collection. No that isn't a joke!

Batista I Walk Alone is a great set for his fans and there do seem to be a lot out there. If you are looking for a Bret Hart calibre match I recommend you go pick up the Bret Hart DVD as it is doubtful that you will enjoy watching this. That being said, with the right people (Triple H, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero) even I have to admit to enjoying the match and I don't walk alone on that.