One of my favourite moments from the main event of WrestleMania XXX was seeing Randy Orton and Batista working on the same page. I realize it’s not a big deal to most people who were simply waiting for the inevitable Daniel Bryan win, but when they stopped, gave each other the nod and proceeded to take out Daniel Bryan with that vicious powerbomb into the RKO through the announce table, I was happy. Happier than I expected to be. That’s when I realized that I wanted to see these two team up. Not out of some longing for a reunion, but because WWE needs them to team up.
While the tag team scene is still in better shape than it was a couple years ago, it is clearly starting to waiver from where it was in 2013. The Shield and The Wyatt Family have moved away from the tag title hunt, and apparently Cody Rhodes and Goldust were so good as a team that WWE doesn’t feel the need to push them anymore, aside from a few house show appearances. The Real Americans have parted ways and The Outlaws are done. All that’s left are the Usos and the under card teams like Los Matadores and 3MB. It makes sense to add some fresh blood to the tag team equation, and that’s where Orton and Batista come
As I said, I loved the two working together in the triple threat match at WrestleMania, so to see them take apart the tag team champions the following night on Raw was a thing of beauty. Should the Tag Team Champions be buried? No they shouldn’t, but for a young team like The Usos to be dominated by a team comprised of two multi-time world champions who were both just in the main event at WrestleMania, it’s not a stretch. However, it does seem like the Usos are simply a stepping stone, or minor road block on the way to Extreme Rules where Batista and Orton, reunited with their old Evolution leader Triple H, will face The Shield
The Hounds of Justice were the muscle of The Authority, taking out anyone who was standing in their way, a role that it would seem, is being filled by Orton and Batista now that The Shield have gone rogue. This is a good spot for Orton and Batista. During WrestleMania weekend I, along with fellow LWOS wrestling writer Adam Contant, were left wondering what the future would hold for the two former world champions. Would Orton begin to show a more vicious side in his quest to regain his championship? And what about Batista? What direction was there for him if he didn’t win? I’m a little surprised that neither of us thought of the two teaming up.
It makes the most sense to keep them together. They have a great chemistry and come off looking dominant. Combine that with their official reunion with Triple H, reforming Evolution, and they can continue being a part of the main event scene, but still have the freedom to dabble in mid card affairs if they choose to go after the Tag Team Titles.
Evolution may not have seemed as dominant as people would like to remember, but at one point the faction (including Ric Flair) held the World heavyweight, Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships all at once. Evolution may have been called a Four Horsemen knock-off, and their impact may be dwarfed by stables like Degeneration X and the nWo, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t make an impact.
In the ten years since Evolution dissolved, Randy Orton and Batista have accumulated a total of 18 WWE and World Heavyweight Championships between the two of them. They aren’t the young rookies they were in 2003. They are both seasoned veterans now. Batista seems to be finding his groove again, and is showing his dominance more than ever, having a very good match with Sheamus on Smackdown recently. No technical masterpiece, but the two knew what to do and had a very hard-hitting match where neither man looked weak. That was one of my main concerns with Batista coming back, would he be able to shake the rust off and keep up with the younger generation of wrestlers, but it looks like he’ll be just fine. The fans have even gotten off of his back somewhat now that they got what they wanted with Bryan as champion. Batista’s still generating heat with fans, but it is heel heat as opposed to having heat for simply not being the guy they want.
Orton has been one of my on again, off again favourites for a long time. While not always the most charismatic, I love watching him in the ring, he has a great style that seems methodical, but not slow. He’s been around long enough that he can have a good match with just about anyone. Some complained about his wrestling Cena for the 5,743th time in late 2013, but they still put on a great match.
Reuniting a decade later, what direction can Evolution go? Whatever direction they want. The only things Batista and Orton lacked during Evolution’s first incarnation, was knowledge and experience. They have gained the know-how through experience and just might prove to be more dominant now than ever. If you aren’t moving forward you’re standing still, and the only way to keep from growing stagnant, is to evolve.
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