WWE Smackdown results: Batista unleashes his warrior spirit while Bray Wyatt sends more haunting messages to John Cena

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship battle is heating up with Wrestlemania clearly on the horizon

Batista powerbombs Sheamus (Sky Sports)

Michael Cole and JBL introduced this week’s Smackdown as Batista makes his way to the ring to a chorus of boos from the Boston crowd. Batista said that for years the fans were begging for him to come back to the ring and that now he has retuned they boo the six time world champion over “wannabes” like Daniel Bryan. The 2014 Royal Rumble winner said that whether the fans cheer him or not, he’s going to be walking out as WWE World Heavyweight Champion since Stephanie McMahon hits harder than any of his opponents.

Triple H’s music then hit and the “Cerebral Assassin” told Batista to leave his wife out of the situation. Batista responded by saying that Stephanie is the reason why everyone is in this situation since if he didn’t marry the boss’ daughter, Hunter wouldn’t have any power. Triple H asked why “Big Dave” makes everything so personal and said that even though he never beat Batista, that it was a long time ago and that “The Animal” had a fully belly and has turned soft. The COO mentioned that we have not seen Dave’s animalistic side yet and that he will go one on one against Sheamus as he reminds him of a younger Batista.

Believe In The Shield

The Shield made their way to the ring through the audience as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose took on Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal of 3MB. The match was over quickly as Rollins flipped over the ropes onto Mahal while Ambrose hit his Dirty Deeds bulldog for the win. Kane’s explosive pyro went off as the director of operations approached the stage with the newly dubbed Corporate Outlaws. Kane said what The Shield did to 3MB is what he and the Outlaws will do to The Shield at WrestleMania.

Kane then made another match for The Shield on the spot against Ryback and Curtis Axel. “Rybaxel” controlled the beginning of the match over Ambrose until Rollins was able to make the tag and cause a momentum shift. Rollins sent Axel to the floor followed by a huge plancha. Axel then caught Rollins off the ropes but the “Architect of The Shield” countered the Perfectplex and managed to hit the Piece of Mind curb stomp for the win. Kane and the Outlaws were still watching on after the match as Rollins hit a dive into Ryback. Ambrose threw Ryback back in the ring as Reigns signalled for the triple powerbomb, which followed as The Shield send a strong message to The Authority heading into WrestleMania.

The lights dimmed for Sin Cara’s match against Damien Sandow following their previous match on Raw where Sin Cara was assisted by a Scooby Doo mascot. Sandow’s bad run continued as his Irish whip was countered into a swift roll-up for the finish after only one minute. Sandow looked furious in the ring, his momentum has significantly dropped since last year where he was the Money in the Bank holder and on course to win the World Championship.

Smackdown continued as Renee Young interviewed The Big Show backstage. He said that even though what Bray Wyatt did to John Cena was demented, it does make people question themselves as what Wyatt says does make sense in a twisted way. Show concluded that it is part of The Wyatt Family’s plan to get in our head and that tonight Bray has a giant problem on his hands.

Up next Goldust and Fandango continued their mid-card rivalry heading into the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal as they locked up once again. Summer Rae continuously distracted Goldust by taunting him with her dance moves. There was no Cody Rhodes this time around to counter Summer’s efforts. The distraction proved too much for the “Bizarre One” as it allowed Fandango to kick Goldust in the face followed up with a cover for the win.

The Animal Is Unleashed

Batista and Sheamus squared off next with the future WrestleMania headliner finding his technique again following a series of sub-par matches. “The Celtic Warrior” however ended up getting the best out of the match up with a series of clotheslines followed by a powerslam to set up the Brogue Kick. Batista bailed out of the ring to grab a chair to hit Sheamus with, the referee called for the bell to be rung as “The Animal” unleashed his true spirit with a Batista Bomb. Triple H watched the carnage from a screen backstage as Batista grabbed a microphone to tell Hunter that what just happened is an example of what will occur at WrestleMania.

The sixth match of the night is The Bella Twins versus AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka with Vikki Guerrero joining the announce team to discuss her WWE Divas Championship invitational at WrestleMania. The announcers highlighted the rift that has been occurring between AJ and Tamina, which began to resurface during the match-up. Brie hit the dropkick on Tamina as she fell to the floor. Tamina hit back as AJ yelled and shoves her, Tamina then responded by tagging AJ back in and shoving her to the mat, which allowed Brie to hit the X-Factor for the pin.

The show continued with Jack Swagger taking on Jey Uso with Zeb Colter, Cesaro and Jimmy Uso all surrounding the ring. Both parties looked to get the upper hand ahead of the Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania. The match was fast paced with Uso countering Swagger’s holds with his aerial manoeuvres. Jey continued with chops in the corner followed with a corkscrew moonsault. Uso looked to take the win but Swagger managed to cut him off with a chop block and the ankle lock to make Uso tap.

Another match to promote the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal followed as Mark Henry took on The Miz. Henry started off in control but Miz avoided a Vader bomb by Henry to set up the figure four leg lock, Henry managed to kick away but Miz tossed him over the ropes. Henry was struggling to find his feet but finally managed to regain momentum by tossing Miz into the barricade, setting up a World’s Strongest Slam back in the ring as the big man stood tall.

Follow The Buzzards

Bray Wyatt made his haunting entrance to face The Big Show who was already standing in the ring. Wyatt’s work has been really paying off as the fans chat “Let’s go Wyatt” before the match even got underway. Wyatt hit his signature Senton splash for a near fall followed by his demented lean back and crab walk from the turnbuckle to hit Show with a clothesline. Big Show was about to make a comeback but Erick Rowan tried to enter the ring, which caused the referee to be distracted to allow Luke Harper to kick Show in the head from the outside. Wyatt then capitalised with the Sister Abigail to wrap up the penultimate Smackdown before WrestleMania.

Bray Wyatt looked stronger than ever kneeling over the giant following a week of playing mind games with John Cena. He will be looking to continue his feats on Raw to head into his WrestleMania match-up against the 14-time world champion with the ball in his court. All the face-offs at this year’s extravaganza have developed into strong storylines that could go either way. Either Daniel Bryan or Triple H have to see each other off before entering the main event and could be stopped by a hungry “Viper” in Randy Orton or newly reformed “Animal” in Batista. Monday’s Raw will be the last one heading into WrestleMania and is bound to set up a thriller of a show.