Batista and Randy Orton were the two stars chosen by Triple H and Ric Flair to groom in the Evolution stable.
Orton was forcibly removed from the faction when his fellow stablemates betrayed him. This led to several battles between the two.
Batista was next to leave Evolution, but by choice when he challenged Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship (more on that later).
The two former friends would meet again in 2008 and 2009 when they fought over the WWE Title with Batista defeating Orton, but he was injured in the process.
The Legend Killer regained the gold after the sidelining injury.
When Batista returned to WWE in 2014, he won the Royal Rumble and was set to challenge Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
However, the plucky Daniel Bryan got in the way and would beat both men in a classic three-way main event at WrestleMania XXX.
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