It often is said that a caged animal is the most dangerous. At No Mercy, Batista proved that theory by brutalizing The Great Khali and escaping the Punjabi Prison first to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Despite going into the unknown, in his opponent's signature specialty match, The Animal was able to conquer the 7-foot-3, 420-pound Great Khali for the second straight time -- third if you count his disqualification victory at SummerSlam. So what's next for the powerful World Heavyweight Champion? According to him, it's not going to be round four with the Punjabi powerhouse.

"I'm ecstatic about winning; it was a great match," Batista admitted shortly after surviving his time in Punjabi Prison. "I'm sore as hell, tired, beaten up…but that's it. Khali got his rematch, on his home field. It was his match, the Punjabi Prison Match, and he lost. That's the end of that."

But is that the case? Was No Mercy Khali's final opportunity at the gold? That decision lies not in the hands of Batista, but on the shoulders of Acting SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. Whether or not Vickie thinks Khali deserves another opportunity is yet to be seen, but The Animal is confident that his rivalry with The Great Khali is a thing of the past.

Batista knows all about last chances; after all, it was The Animal who, after three losses to Edge this summer, was barred from challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship while The Rated-R Superstar held the gold.

And according to Batista, this was Khali's last chance.

"They say ‘it ain't over 'til fat lady sings,'" The Animal laughed, "but I have a feeling that fat ladies are singing all over the world right now, because I am still the World Heavyweight Champion."

What lies ahead is unknown, but in Batista's mind, it's time to move onto bigger challenges -- well, newer ones, anyway.

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