On January 30, 2005, the Royal Rumble concluded in an unexpected and unscripted twist when both Batista and John Cena accidentally went over the top rope simultaneously.
What followed became even more memorable as Vince McMahon furiously charged down to the ring to address the situation, only to tear both his quadriceps while sliding into the ring. He was forced to sit awkwardly on the mat as officials tried to determine the rightful winner of the match.
During a recent appearance on the “Insight” podcast, Dave Bautista reflected on the chaotic moment, explaining that he initially had no idea why McMahon was sitting on the canvas. “I didn’t realize during the match what was happening,” Bautista shared. “I was focused on the match and didn’t know why he was sitting there. It wasn’t until later that I found out what had happened.”
In the end, Batista was declared the winner and moved on to WrestleMania 21, where he ended Triple H’s reign as World Heavyweight Champion. He would win another Royal Rumble in 2014, though fans famously booed that outcome as they had hoped for Daniel Bryan to win instead. Meanwhile, Cena had to wait until 2008 for his first Royal Rumble victory, before securing another in 2014.
The next day, Batista was understandably nervous about his unscripted error in such a high-profile match and feared repercussions from McMahon. “As soon as I got to the building, someone told me, ‘Vince wants to see you in his office.’ I thought, ‘This is it,'” Bautista recalled.
To his surprise, McMahon was in a jovial mood when Batista entered the office, despite being wrapped in bandages and using crutches. “I asked, ‘You’re not going to fire me?’ and he just laughed and said, ‘No, I loved it. It was real. Nobody expected that, and it was perfect.'”
Batista believes that McMahon, having achieved so much throughout his career, craves excitement. The unpredictable finish to the match seemed to energize McMahon, allowing him to quickly forgive the mishap.