First, a Beast came home. Now, so does an Animal

2 years ago, the WWE welcomed back former champion Brock Lesnar, who just won't wrestle on TV. As his real-life friend and on-screen manager Paul Heyman puts it, Lesnar "doesn't fight for free", but that's only because it's written in his contract.

Now, I'm not so sure the same can be said for this next guy, who returns to WWE tonight after more than 3 1/2 years away........



Dave Bautista, also known simply as Batista or "The Animal", returns on Monday Night Raw tonight after leaving the WWE in May 2010. He's entered in Sunday's Royal Rumble, a match he won in 2005. Which side of the fence he's on will be determined either tonight or Sunday. Since leaving WWE, Bautista has dabbled in MMA, and moved on to movies, like others before him. His film credits include "Scorpion King 3" (DTV) and "The Man With The Iron Fists", and will be in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" this summer. So, he has something in common with The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) in that he's returning and using WWE's promotional pull to help promote his outside projects.

Rock. Lesnar. Rob Van Dam last year. Now, Batista. Ultimate Warrior is going into the Hall of Fame. Rumors have Hulk Hogan returning yet again for Wrestlemania 30 and being inducted in the Hall again, this time as part of the 1st Wrestlemania in 1985, along with fellow Hall of Famers Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Cowboy Bob Orton, & Paul Orndorff, with Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, & the late Liberace likely going into the celebrity wing just for fun. I'm figuring that they'll all come home in New Orleans the first weekend in April. That may be just what WWE needs to bring back disenfranchised viewers who've turned away from current recycled storylines. All I can say for now is, stay tuned.