Dave Batista’s return to the WWE has, to say the least, irritated, even infuriated, many wrestling fans. Not because he’s returned to a wrestling ring after four years – he’s not the first to leave for an extended period and return. The Rock has most notably done it several times. What’s grating people so badly is that he was instantly given the top spot at a World Title match.

Not to say this is a first either. Rock has had this happen more than once, too.

What’s different here seems to be that Batista’s return is largely, and probably not without cause, is political in nature. Where someone like The Rock is seen as a popular celebrity due to his varying levels of Hollywood success, Batista isn’t as well-known outside of wrestling, and more to the point, is known among the smarks as a close friend of now-executive Triple H, who holds massive sway over booking and the story lines.

Longtime fans know about “the Kliq”, that circle of friends going back into the 1990s who were close-knit and who helped one another out, including booking, and keeping themselves in the spotlight. What they see is that, “Gee, Dave Bautista is good friends with Triple H, I’m sure that’s why he’s getting this push.” And the reaction is visceral. They don’t want to see an older guy march right in after four years of not competing and get the push the younger talent deserve and have busted their asses for, simply because he’s tight with management. People see that favoritism on the job, and they despise it there as well. And so when Batista shows up now, he’s greeted with outright hatred by the fans.

You can’t say that it’s undeserved. If you’re plugging away at your job, trying to get ahead, only to have the boss’s golf buddy get hired into the position you were working for, you’re going to be pissed off.

While I’m sure that Batista’s return is at least somewhat if not mostly due to his association with Triple H, and his upcoming movie, few if any are contemplating that maybe this really IS, as Triple H likes to say, “Best For Business”.

Why? Glad you asked.

Think about how this is playing out. Batista’s presence is drawing ENORMOUS heat. Probably the most heat I’ve heard since at least Hogan turning nWo, if not ever. I mean, the reaction from the fans is insanely strong, so much so that WWE officials are somewhat concerned about the March 3 RAW in Chicago.

It’s no secret that the fanbase is salivating over Daniel Bryan getting a title shot. fans are clamoring for CM Punk to return (and as of this writing that might happen – it’s possible his “departure” is a work), but instead they’re getting the same top guys over and over…Batista, Orton, Cena, etc. They’re tired of the same faces and want some fresh ones in the mix.

That angry reaction is putting asses in seats. As much as people complain about Batista, they want to see him get his come-uppance. They want Bryan in the WrestleMania main event. Badly. They think Vince, Triple H, and the WWE is ignoring the fans. So they’re coming out in droves to protest.

I don’t think the powers that be at WWE are so stupid as to push their own agenda over the growing discontent of the fans. They know that fans want new blood. The same guys at the top have been there for years. Have potentially great guys been buried because Triple H didn’t like them? Hell yes. Can they do it forever? Not if they want to stay successful.

Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are huge, they bring money in, and a lot of it. Triple H may have his buddies, and may help them where he can, but at the end of the day, he still has to answer to Vince. I think what we’re seeing is, as Jim Ross calls it, the “slow burn” that some of us older folks remember from times past, where an angle is built up over months or even a year or longer, to that glorious payoff.

Daniel Bryan will get his time. He’s too popular to ignore, even if Triple H doesn’t like him. But if the fans get the impression he’s being passed over for office politics, they’ll scream louder for him until they think the office listens to them, so they’ll come in larger numbers and with louder voices (and of course, more cash for Daniel Bryan merch) until that payoff, be it at WrestleMania, or another date. In the end, the fans will get their guy on top, and the WWE walks away with truckloads of cash.