The Sandman has questioned Batista‘s reputation as an in-ring performer, arguing that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion may have been better suited to hardcore wrestling.
Speaking on episode 135 of The Sandman Podcast, the ECW original discussed WWE’s 2006 relaunch of the promotion while reviewing a June 2006 ECW Arena house show recently released through WWE’s Vault channel on YouTube. The conversation turned to WWE’s decision to feature established stars, including Batista, Big Show, and Bobby Lashley, prominently on the revived ECW brand.
“Batista probably would have been way better in a hardcore situation than a regular match,” The Sandman said.
Host Brian W. Tosh pushed back on the assessment, arguing that Batista was capable of producing strong matches during his career. The Sandman acknowledged Batista’s presence and ability to connect with audiences, but maintained his opinion of his wrestling.
“Everybody knows he was a mid-level worker,” The Sandman said. “But he had it. He used it.”
Tosh pointed to Batista’s subsequent success in Hollywood, while another panelist suggested his appearance and physical presence could have made him an ideal fit for ECW. The Sandman stressed that his criticism was primarily about the type of wrestling that would have suited Batista rather than dismissing him completely.
“I thought he would have had good hardcore matches,” he said.
The Sandman Questions WWE’s ECW Relaunch
The Batista discussion formed part of a wider conversation about WWE’s handling of ECW following its return as a full-time brand in 2006.
The panel argued that WWE increasingly built the brand around established WWE performers instead of using ECW originals to help develop younger talent. The Sandman questioned whether Vince McMahon would ever have allowed the revived promotion to become more popular than WWE’s established brands, arguing that the project was effectively doomed from the beginning.
Batista made appearances connected to ECW during that period, including matches against Big Show. He would ultimately become one of WWE’s biggest stars, winning six world championships and two Royal Rumble matches before establishing a successful acting career.
Despite his criticism of Batista’s traditional in-ring work, The Sandman believes his size and presence could have translated particularly well to ECW’s more physical style. The episode also saw The Sandman revisit several other aspects of WWE’s ECW revival. He discussed CM Punk‘s early appearance against Stevie Richards, Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle competing in the main event, and Paul Heyman‘s post-show address to the ECW Arena crowd.
The Sandman also praised Big Show and discussed Rob Van Dam’s 2006 run as WWE and ECW Champion, arguing that Van Dam’s career could have reached even greater heights had his arrest that year not disrupted his momentum.
