Report: Triple H vs. Batista WrestleMania 35 Match Unlikely

A Triple H vs. Batista match at WrestleMania 35 this year looks unlikely, according to the latest report from Sports Illustrated (via Cageside Seats).

A match between the Avengers: Infinity War star and WWE Executive Vice President has been floated out by Batista in the past and finally picked up steam back at SmackDown 1000 when the two were apart of an Evolution reunion segment.

During the group's promo, Batista made the comment that Triple H never managed to beat him in a one-on-one match, leading to a tense face-off between the two. Unfortunately those plans hit a snag weeks later when "The Game" suffered a torn pectoral muscle during his tag team match at Crown Jewel, where he teamed up with Shawn Michaels to beat The Brothers of Destruction. He underwent surgery several days later, and the initial recovery timetable had him missing WrestleMania.

"I had surgery a week ago yesterday (Tuesday, November 6)," Triple H said in a media conference call leading up to NXT TakeOver: WarGames. "Everything is feeling good. In an immobilizer and on the road to recovery. It's just rehab, rehab, rehab and I will be back but that does not stop this machine from rolling on and its business as usual."

He gave another update in a conference call leading up to NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, saying he had completed his rehabilitation and had been given the green light to start working out again. Whether or not his recovery is ahead of schedule remains to be seen.

A WreslteMania 35 bout between the two would be an obvious callback to their initial feud that started at WrestleMania 21 back in 2005. Batista won that year's Royal Rumble and opted to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Champion, turning babyface and splitting off from the Evolution faction in the process. Batista won the title, then successfully defended it against the "King of Kings" at Backlash and in a brutal Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance.

Prior to SmackDown 1000, Batista was last seen in a WWE ring in 2014. He also won that year's Rumble match as a babyface, but was quickly rejected by the fans as they wanted the white-hot Daniel Bryan to be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture. "The Animal" wound up tapping out to Bryan in the main event of WrestleMania XXX and later moved on to a feud between Evolution and The Shield.

WrestleMania 35 will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 7.