The Animal bares his teeth
With a moniker like "The Animal," it should come as no surprise that Batista has a "Rough Side." The former World Heavyweight Champion has a reputation for unleashing his inner beast in the ring, though perhaps no time had The Animal been more vicious than in his Stretcher Match against Shawn Michaels at One Night Stand -- which just happens to be WWE.com's No. 4 "Rough Side/Soft Side Moment."
There had been bad blood between the two Superstars since WrestleMania XXIV, when Shawn Michaels retired Batista's mentor and friend, Ric Flair. The Animal's rage grew after he faced Michaels at Backlash, where HBK faked a knee injury to defeat Batista. Then, at One Night Stand, their rivalry came to a head as they competed in a grueling contest that all but guaranteed at least one of these Superstars would get seriously injured. In a Stretcher Match, the winner is the first man to beat his opponent so badly that he's placed on a gurney and wheeled across a designated line outside the ring. And in June 2008, Batista entered this match hell-bent on being the one wheeling the stretcher.
Shawn Michaels has a history of pulling out big wins even against oversized, overpowering opponents; however, not even Sweet Chin Music was enough to contend with the primal fury of The Animal that evening. Batista unleashed months of pent-up rage, decimating HBK with a Batista Bomb and placing him upon the stretcher. But before he could wheel away his opponent, Chris Jericho emerged to encourage Michaels off the gurney, only for Batista to slam HBK onto the steel ring steps and place him on it once again. As if his actions hadn't spoken clearly enough, The Animal clarified things for his opponent moments before in an eerie echo of HBK's words to Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV, growling, "I don't love you, and I'm not sorry."
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