It had been reported that the WWE wanted Batista to challenge and lose to Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Payback on June 1 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago but "The Animal" turned it down because he didn't want to lose to a smaller opponent, however reports have come out that it's not true.
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Batista lost to Bryan during their triple threat match that also involved Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXX last month, and the WWE was hoping to have him face and lose to Bryan in a single match at Payback before he went on a hiatus from the company to promote his Guardians of the Galaxy movie with a planned return around SummerSlam in August.
Reports came out that Batista didn't want to lose twice to Bryan because he felt it made him look weak to lose to a smaller star and he didn't want his lasting memory before his hiatus to be a loss to Bryan. He also reportedly didn't want to go on to promote his blockbuster movie having lost to Bryan either.
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According to Wrestlingheadlines.com, a source close to the situation said that the reports about Batista weren't true and that the WWE is painting him in a negative light and haven't kept up their promises.
"WWE wants that story out, but it's all twisted," the source said. "[Batista] would do five jobs for Bryan. They've f---ed him in money, booking, broken promises [relating to his] schedule, and promoting his [outside projects]. Had that not happened, he would be around until late June, but because Vince [McMahon] f---ed him, he's not, so they dragged Daniel Bryan into this to vilify Batista. Daniel is beloved and a martyr so he benefits, but it has nothing to do with jobbing. They've twisted. It's classic Vince. Look at Ultimate Warrior and SummerSlam, Bret Hart in Montreal. [Vince] puts out his narrative. There are always two sides."
Batista's status for Payback was up in the air, but it seems like he will stay through at least that pay-per-view, though McMahon is reportedly working with him to try and sort everything out while there is no word on how long "The Animal" will stick around before SummerSlam.
According to the report, the reason Bryan vs. Batista won't be happening is because with Batista departing to promote the movie, the WWE didn't want to put what should be a multi-pay-per-view feud into just one month's worth of storylines.
Batista is either slated to team up with Triple H and Randy Orton to take on The Shield in a six-man rematch from Extreme Rules at Payback or members of Evolution will battle members of The Shield in three separate one-on-one matches. Bryan is slated to face Kane in a Buried Alive match for the title.
WWE Payback takes place live, Sunday June 1 from the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
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