Watch: Batista returns to WWE Raw, confronts Orton and Del Rio

MANILA, Philippines – It had been four years since Dave Batista’s shadow had darkened a World Wrestling Entertainment ring, and judging by the crowd’s reaction at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, distance had made the heart grow fond.

The former six-time world champion Batista, 44, got his WWE return to a running start by interrupting unified WWE World Heavyweight champion Randy Orton’s opening segment promo and putting him on notice that he was there to take his belts. 

The segment lacked explosiveness as it relied exclusively on Batista’s mic skills, which had always been his weakness. But it solidified that Batista was there to be a full-time main event attraction.

The segment was reminiscent of Batista’s return from injury at Wrestlemania XXII in 2006, when Orton’s promo was interrupted by Batista, who promised to take his World Heavyweight title by the following Wrestlemania. Batista had beaten Orton at Extreme Rules 2009 to win the WWE title.

Batista wasn’t done there. Later in the show, Batista made his way to the ring after Alberto Del Rio made Batista’s former tag team partner Rey Mysterio Jr. tap out to his arm bar finisher. It was inevitable that Del Rio and Batista would cross paths, after Del Rio called him out two weeks ago on Raw, with both men exchanging insults via Twitter.

And you know what happened next. Batista hit his signature set-up move the Spinebuster, followed by a powerbomb that fell short of being his traditional Batista Bomb as he didn’t sit-out while delivering it (which may be a preventative measure to keep the oft-injured Batista healthy).

The WWE landscape has changed little since the last time Batista was in the company. John Cena and Randy Orton are still the top performers in the company, though overlooked and underutilized smaller guys CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have stepped up to become unlikely fan favorites.

Batista will see his first action when he takes part in the 30-man Royal Rumble next Sunday (Monday in the Philippines), an event he won in 2005. With Wrestlemania just three months away, expect Batista to play a major role in the business’ biggest event of the year. – Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.