Twilling's Blog Interesting statistics regarding Batista and his numerous title shots, Jim Ross changes his tune By Rich Twilling Jul 22, 2008 - 01:17 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Tuesday, JULY 22 – 1:17 P.M. -WWE Summerslam is on the horizon and it is possible that Batista will once again score a title shot. Of course, WWE could go with Batista vs. John Cena, but nonetheless, this got me to thinking to back when a shot at the Heavyweight Championship was a huge deal. If you received a shot, you damn well better have taken advantage of it because it was not likely to happen again. As Mickey Goldmill said in Rocky, “Like the bible says, you ain’t gonna get another chance.” At Wrestlemania III, Jesse Ventura made a big deal about how Andre the Giant deserved at least one shot at the title because of everything he had accomplished in his great career. Jesse’s head would spin if he had to explain the abundance of title matches granted to Batista. Yours truly decided to do a little bit of research, beginning at Summerslam 2006. In the last four pay-per-view events of 2006, Batista was unsuccessful in two title matches as a challenger vs. King Booker. He received a third championship match at the Survivor Series and defeated Booker for the title. He did not defend the title at the next PPV because he was involved in a tag team match. In 2007, Batista participated in fourteen (14) pay-per-view events. He was the World Heavyweight Champion in seven of these events. He defended the title six times and was involved in one tag team match. He challenged for the title in all seven of the other events, including three in a row vs. Edge (all unsuccessful) and three in a row vs. The Great Khali (two unsuccessful). This year, Batista has been unsuccessful in his two championships matches on PPV, vs. C.M. Punk at The Great American Bash, and vs. Edge at Night of Champions. If he is in the title match at Summerslam, I do not see him winning. WWE’s creative team has taken a beating for recycling the same matches over and over again. It is difficult to look at how they book Batista and not say the criticism is warranted. -It is funny how quickly things can change. When Jim Ross was drafted to Smackdown, he was very unhappy about it. Recently, a rumor surfaced saying Ross was on his way back to Raw. Ross wrote in his blog that he did not want to go back to Raw, citing the fact that he now had his “football weekends” off. With Triple H and Ross now on Smackdown, it is arguable that Friday night is in possession of the “A” show. With the schedule and the fact that Smackdown has always been the wrestling heavy show, I think Ross is right where he should be. A change of scenery, even an initially unwelcome one, can do wonders for someone. Now that the dust has settled, I bet Ross is very happy to be on Smackdown, both personally and professionally. This move could have added many years to the Hall of Famer’s career, so consider all of us very lucky if that is the case. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) CLICK TO RETURN TO DOT NET MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Twilling's Blog Latest Twelve Articles Twilling's Blog: If you haven't heard yet, Hulk Hogan has signed with TNA and that is a good thing Twilling's Blog: Looking at Shane McMahon leaving WWE, Nigel McGuinness going to TNA, where the best place for Nigel and Bryan Danielson is Twilling's Blog: Less is more; why the WWE Raw guest host gimmick is watering down the overall product Twilling's Blog: Did Chris Jericho make the Tag Team Championships so relevant that DX finally wants them? Twilling's Blog: Was Hulk Hogan's 80s run as bad as John Cena's current run? What was different about the times and why Chris Jericho is so valuable Twilling's Blog: Why are the fans accepting decent as good or great? Why finding the next Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or The Rock cannot be forced