Reports spilled out over the weekend that Batista was slated to take a hiatus following Extreme Rules and that he refused to face and lose to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan at Payback on June 1 live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, and reports now indicate that Batista will likely stick around through the June event but will still not face Bryan.
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According to Wrestlingheadlines.com, there is a feeling within the WWE that Batista is "essentially staying" with the company through Payback before taking a two month hiatus to promote his upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie and returning to the WWE for SummerSlam in August.
The report indicates that the working plans for Payback now that Batista won't face Bryan are to have two rematches from Extreme Rules as Batista will team with Triple H and Randy Orton to take on The Shield in a rematch while Bryan will battle Kane again for the title, this time contested in a Buried Alive match.
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Batista reportedly refused a match with Bryan because he already lost to him at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 and believes that losing to a man of Bryan's size twice would be a bad impression for him to leave on the WWE fans before going on hiatus and also a bad look for him heading into his summer blockbuster film.
"The Animal" didn't totally have a problem with Bryan but he was reportedly frustrated over being promised things when he signed his WWE contract that didn't come to fruition. Batista was slated to win the Royal Rumble and then go on to defeat Orton for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXX, but the plans had to be changed.
The crowd began to reject Batista during the Royal Rumble leading to the WWE changing its plans and turning him heel while inserting Bryan into the WrestleMania main event along with Batista and Orton after he defeated Triple H.
Bryan went on to win the title while Batista and Orton joined up with Triple H to reform Evolution. Bryan then feuded with Kane with the expected plans being that Bryan would topple Kane at Extreme Rules then work his way through Evolution leading into a rumored SummerSlam match against Brock Lesnar.
While Batista may be sticking around, it looks as though the Payback card will bear a similar resemblance to the Extreme Rules card as two rematches are already in the works
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