Before Batista and Randy Orton became multi-time WWE Champions, the two men formed Evolution alongside Triple H and Ric Flair. While Batista and Orton had all the potential in the world, the two were still young and inexperienced given their position.
And that may have rubbed certain veterans the wrong way.
On Ruthless Aggression: Evolution, a match between Orton & Batista against The Dudley Boyz went wrong with Batista suffering a torn tricep, Orton suffering an ankle injury, and Bubba Ray suffering a back injury. How the injuries occurred depends on who is speaking.
"We'd just gotten in the ring and Bubba came full-on running at me. He just smacked into my arm and my tricep just popped. I went back and tagged Randy," said Batista.
Bubba recalled things differently, saying, "I mushed him in the face. He mushed me back and blew out his tricep."
As far as Orton goes, he got injured on a double flapjack spot where Bubba ended up coming down hard on Orton's ankle. From there, Batista recalled how things unfolded backstage.
"After that, what I remember most was Bubba yelling at Randy about hurting his back when he fell on Randy's foot."
Bubba said, "I don't remember tension. I do have a memory of me and Randy having a conversation. I might have been yelling. Bubba got injured too that night. Bubba had sustained one of his worst injuries ever."
Earlier in the documentary, Batista discussed people liking him, saying "Most of the guys who didn't like me were assholes anyway."
When it comes to Bubba, he stated, "I think he was irritated with Randy and I to begin with. Just being that we were two big muscular guys who are now with Ric Flair and Triple H. I think he just hated it. He was always a dick to both of us."
Bubba chalks up the rough match to "an unlucky night at the office."
According to cagematch, the only time Orton and Batista teamed to face The Dudley Boyz was at a March 2003 live event.
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