The Feb. 25 edition of WWE Raw was expected to come up with a lot of surprises, headlined no less by the return of Roman Reigns. The former Universal Champion revealed that he was in remission since taking a leave of absence due to Leukemia. But he was not the only former champion who was present.

Also appearing was former WWE heavyweight champion, Batista. The Wrestling Observer first revealed that the former six-time champion was backstage at the arena in Atlanta. His presence was linked to Ric Flair’s 70th birthday celebration but it seems the Animal was there to spoil the party.

Instead, what transpired is a longstanding rumor that involved Batista and Triple H. Rumors of a potential match between the two for Wrestlemania 35 had circulated since the fall and now it looks like things are slowly shaping up.

While Stephanie McMahon, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H were waiting for Ric Flair to come out, cameras cut backstage showing Batista dragging Flair out of the locker room. The Animal turned to the camera and asked the WWE COO if he had caught his attention – obviously a challenge issued. Triple H raced backstage to check on Flair but Batista was nowhere to be found, Wrestling Inc. reported.

Wrestlemania 35 happens in April so it will be interesting how things will go. There are also questions on the condition of Batista, seeing that he has not wrestled since June 2014. Ironically, that was a match between the two wrestlers alongside Randy Orton against The Shield in a six-man tag team elimination match.

Before Wrestlemania, the next WWE pay-per-view scheduled is Fastlane which happens on Mar 10. So far, only three matches have been made official. Triple H and/or Batista could be booked at some point to ramp up preparations in a seemingly obvious match that will happen at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Apr. 7.

Batista is likely to take on someone else, someone associated with Triple H and Flair. Right now, Orton is the first name that comes to mind although the Viper is on WWE Smackdown. If The Animal ends up showing himself on the blue brand as well to brag or spur up some hype, a potential showdown between the two former evolution members could go down at WWE Fastlane.

There are plenty of possibilities at this point to build hype on the Batista vs. Triple H match for Wrestlemania 35 so make sure to watch the upcoming WWE shows to see how this goes down.