Title:

"Hunter... I've known what I was gonna do for a long time..."

Worker(s):

Batista,?Triple H,?Eric Bischoff,?Teddy Long

Date:

21.02.2005

Promotion:

World Wrestling Entertainment

Event:

WWE RAW #613?(Card with guide)

Promo

[Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long - general managers of RAW and SmackDown respectfully - come to the ring in preparation for the contract signing, during which Batista is supposed to choose the championship he will fight for at WrestleMania 21. Bischoff picks the microphone.]

Eric Bischoff:?"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight, we make history. Because tonight, Dave Batista is going to sign one of these two contracts. A RAW contract, which will mean Batista will face Triple H at WrestleMania 21 for the heavyweight title! Or... a SmackDown contract...[Long lifts his brand's contract up in the air, which is met with boos from the crowd]...which means Batista will face JBL?[the reigning champion]?and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE title at WrestleMania. With that said, allow me to introduce the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble... BATISTA!?[Batista comes out on the ramp, accompanied by his allies from Evolution - Triple H and Ric Flair. After all three men get to the squared circle, Bischoff approaches 'The Animal' with a RAW contract in his hand.]?Batista, before you... you make any decisions, there's a couple things that I wanna say. By signing this contract, two things are going to happen. First and foremost, you remain with RAW. The flagship program! The number one brand in all of sports entertainments! And a brand that made you a superstar. RAW is a brand that will give your- your career stability, because unlike other general managers...[Bischoff takes a look at Long for a few seconds.]...my job is not in jeopardy. But more importantly, by signing this contract it means that you will face Triple H! One on one! For the heavyweight title at WrestleMania! It's the dream of every superstar in our business to face Triple H - the man who is arguably one of the biggest names in the history of our industry. A man, that even 'The Nature Boy'... He says it best, Ric Flair says it best: to be the man, you gotta BEAT that man - Triple H! And this is your opportunity! So Batista, this- this isn't really a question. It's a simple thing - sign the contract, reach your dreams.[Eric gives Batista a RAW contract, but before Dave could do anything with it...]

Teddy Long:?Woah, woah, woah, woah. Just a minute, just a minute. Now, Batista... Actually, there is a choice. Now you can sign this contract and come to SmackDown. Now we all-- You can't tell me that you didn't feel the electricity when you walked out on No Way Out last night. Now we all saw, what you could do to the WWE champion, JBL. We also saw the magic when you stared John Cena in the eye. Now think about this, Batista. John Cena, Batista - the two hottest commodities in the WWE on the same show. In fact, you two could start your own rivalry! It could be the biggest rivalry since 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock! Now, not only is it JBL and John Cena waiting for you at SmackDown, it's Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle... And think about this: one day it could be Batista, one on one, with The Undertaker! But you know somethin', playa? In order for this to happen, you have to sign THIS contract. Now, you beat JBL, you beat John Cena in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 21 and I assure you, that your career will blow up on SmackDown. Now, it's time for you to make that decision, playa."?[Batista takes a look at both contracts. After a while, it looks like 'The Animal' is about to take the pen from the SmackDown contract, but then Triple H decides to speak.]

Triple H:?"Dave, this shouldn't be a very difficult decision for you. Cause there's really only one person that you need to listen to. See, because it's not what's best for RAW and it's not about what's best for SmackDown. It's about one thing, big man. It's about what's best... for you. It's about what's best for Batista, man. And I don't want you to worry about Ric and myself, cause hey - what's best for Batista will be best for Evolution. I want you to picture something, Dave. Imagine this: it's WrestleMania 21. It's all said and done and I'm standing in the middle of this ring still the world heavyweight champion. And standing right next to me is the new WWE champion, Batista. Think about it, Dave. We would rule the world, we would answer to no one, man. Everything we ever dreamed of. You know how big that is? Think about it like this - it's 1986, the Four Horsemen are running wild. Ric Flair is the NWA champion, but what if? What if... Arn Anderson were the WWE champion, huh? They would've been unstoppable... but it never happened.

Think about it like this - DX in our prime, on top of our game. Shawn Michaels is the WWE champion! What if I had been the WCW champion? We could've written history. You see that, Dave? But it never happened. You and I, you and I have an opportunity to make history and we owe it to ourselves to do it.Now Dave... I don't want you to be concerned about Bradshaw, I don't want you to be concerned about Cena, because I know deep inside of my heart, you can beat both those guys in the same time like that. You see, Dave... We have an opportunity to do the greatest thing that has ever been done in this industry. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the world. You and I to walk that aisle with 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair, side by side, owning this business.Doesn't seem like a difficult decision to me at all, Dave. It really doesn't. And I've got feeling a you know what you wanna do, big man, don't ya? You know what you wanna do?"?[Batista grabs the microphone, while Triple H returns to Flair.]

Batista:?"Hunter... I've known what I was gonna do for a long time...

['The Animal' once again stares at both contracts. Seconds later, he drops the RAW contract to the mat. Bischoff looks completely defeated, Long smiles from ear to ear, Triple H and Flair are celebrating and the crowd sounds disappointed. Batista holds the SmackDown contract and looks at his Evolution allies. He gives them the 'thumbs up', but suddenly he turns it into a 'thumbs down' to an astounding ovation. Batista then launches an attack on Hunter and Flair, which culminates with 'The Animal' putting champion through the table with a Batista Bomb. After signing a RAW contract, Dave picks the microphone and addresses Triple H one final time.]

Hunter, I'm staying right here on RAW! At WrestleMania, I'm taking the world championship... FROM YOU!"?[Batista grabs the title and celebrates with it to close out the segment.]