Welcome to the latest Roundtable discussion here at iFight365.com where this week, we’re asking the question: Does Batista’s injury make WWE’s plans for WrestleMania any easier?

Mark Bright: Undoubtedly, Batista’s injury had made WWE’s WrestleMania plans easier, and also more interesting. That’s not a knock on Big Dave, but the fact is that he’s a top star and by removing him from the picture it means they have less marquee players to fit onto the show without having to relegate somebody to a match unfit for them.

Just like when HHH tore his quad for the second time in 2007, it allowed the WWE to do something different in pushing Shawn Michaels to the main event, working with John Cena in a dream match that I doubt the WWE had even considered for a top level rivalry before, but one that developed into something great to the point where they now have a history which can be played off whenever they interact, as has been shown recently with their RAW matches and promos surrounding the JBL-HBK angle. The chemistry Cena and Michaels have isn’t something the WWE saw in them, it’s something they lucked into when forced by HHH’s injury to try something they hadn’t wanted to do.

Back to the subject of Batista, I think it’s pretty clear that were it not for his injury, the main event of WrestleMania this year would’ve been Cena-Batista II (or possibly Cena-Batista III depending on if they had a second match at the Royal Rumble), and it probably would’ve been with Batista as a heel. His injury has allowed Randy Orton to get a tremendous heel main event push that he’s responding to by growing into a tremendous all-around performer. In that sense, I don’t believe a heel Batista could’ve given the performances on the mic or in the ring at the level Orton is capable of, so that’s a benefit to WWE.

The other fairly obvious route for Batista to get onto the WrestleMania card would be in the Chris Jericho/Mickey Rourke/Ric Flair angle. If Rourke isn’t doing a match, and Jericho is insulting Flair but knowing Flair is retired and won’t wrestle him, who better to come to Flair and Rourke’s rescue and beat up Jericho than Flair’s former Evolution stablemate and friend Batista? The fact that Batista and Jericho also have history together, trading the World Title back and forth would’ve only added to the drama. And in this case, I don’t know that Jericho v. Rourke would be better. It may get more publicity, but just by having Rourke involved, especially if he follows up the SAG awards and the BAFTAS by winning the Oscar, you are guaranteed huge publicity anyway, and the match would be better with Batista involved.

James Mustoe: WrestleMania is always going to be a loaded card that’s going to be difficult to fit everyone on. Aside from the obligatory multi man matches and diva affair, almost every other match on WrestleMania in the last few years could potentially be the ‘main event’ of a lesser PPV. Obviously if Batista had been healthy he would have had a major role on the card, probably against Randy Orton or John Cena, but he being injured doesn’t necessarily make it any more difficult to book WrestleMania.

Just off the top of my head right now, you’re likely leaving off guys like Kennedy, Kozlov, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio, Christian, Kane and The Big Show. Again, most of these guys probably will feature on the show, and most of them could have easily been plugged in as Big Dave’s opponent. Therefore his absence doesn’t really make any difference at this point; if he had been involved in a big match and got injured right before WrestleMania, it would have been a big deal, but with months of build up after his injury, it doesn’t really mean anything.

Michael Campbell: Almost every year, the WWE is faced with a similar situation when it comes to WrestleMania. Most notably, in 2007, the main event was scheduled to be John Cena versus Triple H (a rematch from the previous year). This unfortunate piece of booking could have been a catastrophe. However, in an, erm, Twist of Fate, Helmsley was injured that January (at New Year’s Revolution), and thus unable to provide his services for the big event.

It was a blessing in disguise.

This situation is slightly different – not because Batista is undeserving of whichever spot he was earmarked for – but because the roster is oversaturated at the top, due to the WWE injecting new talent into the Main Event scene in 2008 (Punk, Jeff Hardy, Jericho), but being unwilling to make the old dogs take a step back.

The bookers had a wonderful main event on the horizon in Batista/Cena. But they scuppered much of its appeal by providing that epic first-time encounter last Summerslam, with a criminal lack of build-up. It could still have worked yeah, but it wouldn’t have been the same. The other touted encounter was Batista versus Orton, but again, the WWE showed horrible impatience and through that out in December. That left a potential triple threat between the three. DO we really need more triple threats for the World titles at Mania? 2004, 2006, 2008 (and last year’s included both Cena and Orton).

Another blessing in disguise, the removal of Dave Batista from the picture, gave them one less main eventer to fixture into the overcomplicated equation. It was almost impossible to see whom he could be matched against for this card if he wasn’t competing for the World title. Although I would never wish to see an injury inflicted upon any superstar, I feel that Dave’s absence will have fans clamouring for his return, and the fact that creative would have saw their plans scuppered, will hopefully provide us with some surprises and intrigue.

Phil Lowe: I think its safe to say that should Batista have not been sidelined by injury that he would have featured towards the top end of the card for WrestleMania, with Batista vs. John Cena quite possibly being the main event in a rematch of their first singles match last summer at Summerslam. Of course, at the time, many (including some of us here on the site) felt WWE had made a huge mistake by rushing that match rather than giving it months of build ahead of the big one this April.

I think Big Dave’s injury has actually made WWE’s plans for Mania much, much easier. Even if he was fit, I don’t think Batista would have found himself in as high a profile match as he’s had in previous years. In fact, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see him somehow get involved with the Chris Jericho vs. the Legends angle that is building up to Mania. It actually wouldn’t surprise me if he somehow made an appearance as part of that angle, depending on how it plays out between now and April, and more specifically, how Ric Flair is used by WWE.

I’m not a huge Batista fan and unless he’s in there with somebody to motivate him (Undertaker or Triple H being two examples although I wouldn’t want to see Batista versus either of them at Mania this year) his matches are often a letdown. Him being out of action until post-Mania may actually be a blessing, both for him and WWE. His return will get a huge pop and he can come straight back onto TV post-draft and into some fresh matches, rather than perhaps just being another name on the card this April in Houston.