By Shane McKinkley, Torch specialist

Batista will turn heel at Backlash, join Legacy and Legacy will become a top heel faction on Raw. I don't have access to inside sources nor is this a bonafide, guaran-damn-tee that it will happen. This is all from gut feeling, speculation, and using what WWE has shown us so far.

If we take a look at the content WWE has been showing fans, Legacy will become the top heels on Raw. But they need something to really push their group over the edge.

And that person is Batista. There are seven proofs for why Batista will turn heel and why Legacy will become the top heel faction on Raw (credit to kupywrestlingwallpapers.info for pic).

The first proof that Batista will turn heel at Backlash is the slightly ridiculous "if anybody from Team Orton pins somebody from Team McMahon, Orton wins the WWE championship." Fans have to entertain the absurd notion that Trips could retain by Shane pinning DiBiase. These type of matches are not really the calling card of WWE. People have talked about how this is a "TNA Special," and TNA only has these types of matches to encourage more PPV buys than storyline development (which is evident in TNA's recent PPVs).

With this Vickie stipulation (which they haven't fully explained why Vickie has more power than Vince or Shane McMahon), it seems like just the ticket for WWE for Trips to get screwed out of the belt by Batista. A good example of this was the weird "Scramble" matches at the Unforgiven PPV last year. It was a quick way to get the championship belt off of CM Punk and onto Jericho, because the next PPV would feature Jericho vs. HBK for the championship in a ladder match.

The second proof would be the amount of Legacy hype that has been pumped up for nearly half a year. The common perception about Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes is that they are nothing more than Orton's punching bags, male models more concerned with looking moody and slathering body oil than being a true threat.

If WWE is committed to pushing DiBiase and Rhodes, having Batista join Legacy (e.g. the new Evolution, the new-new-new Four Horsemen), DiBiase and Rhodes can get the rub by having Orton and Batista as their leaders, akin to how Triple H and Ric Flair were the leaders to Orton and Batista back in Evolution (credit to ba.img.v4.skyrock.net for pic).

The third proof would be the unification of the tag team titles. The tag team division has always been somewhat of an afterthought, and it's hard to swallow that they unified the tag team belts because they like Primo and Carlito so much or they really care about the tag team division. It looks like they unified the tag team belts in order for DiBiase and Rhodes to become a legitimate force. Primo and Carlito needed to win over a credible tag team (really the only current credible tag team in WWE with John Morrison and The Miz) so that DiBiase and Rhodes could face a credible face tag team so that they can win the unified tag team belts.

The fourth proof would be the character of Orton himself. He's got the psychotic, seething heel vibe, but his character is usually portrayed as a dumb meathead who is always getting outsmarted. I remember when Jericho came back with his raging metro sexual character and joked about how stupid Orton was. "I'm going to Ortonize it."

We want to believe in the character of Orton, but Trips has always outsmarted him and been two steps ahead of him. If Batista screws Trips out of the title and we find out that Batista and Orton were in cahoots all around, the character of Orton can finally get his psychological revenge after Orton getting booted out of Evolution all those years ago (which WWE has bothered to show).

The fifth proof would be Trips's heelish actions at the end of his WrestleMania match against Orton. It was an anti-climatic finish to the match and it definitely put into question the face status of Trips. This would be the perfect reason for why Batista would screw Trips out of the title. WWE fans have been shown how much respect Batista has for Ric Flair. Batista can talk about how much honor and dignity there was in that WrestleMania 24 match...and how they was absolutely no such dignity at the Trips vs. Orton WrestleMania 25 match. Batista can highlight the fact that Trips hid the sledgehammer under the ring, not wanting to get caught.

I would like to have Orton and Batista in cahoots all along, but that might be a stretch considering that Orton put Batista out of action. Batista could cut a promo saying how that Trips is much of a scumbag like Orton, but Orton's pursuit of gold and domination is somewhat pure compared to the "I'll do anything to retain the title" corrupt nature of Trips.

WWE could play up an uneasy alliance with Batista and Dave. Trips would be denied his rematch championship clause due to the powers of Vickie (and also because I have Trips remaining on Smackdown on my "WWE Draft Gets The Absurd Wrath" article). Trips could then get his revenge against Batista by chasing him backstage with a sledgehammer, invading his house, and beating his buddy Cody Rhodes inside a steel cage...whoops.

Personally the Orton vs. Trips needs to be separated, because it's hard to believe Orton as a dominant heel if he is in a feud with SuperTrips.

The sixth proof would be Rey Mysterio winning the Intercontinental title. It's fine and dandy that Batista didn't want to see Trips retain after his dirty actions at WM 25, but he would still be cheered. They could go down the route of "nobody cared about me when I was injured," but that doesn't do it for me. Enter Rey Mysterio. Batista could further cement his heel status by beating up Rey Mysterio for the IC title, and thus Legacy would have a lot of gold on them: The WWE Championship, the IC title, and the Unified Tag Team belts (credit to image.blingee.com for pic).

The seventh proof is that Trips himself is surrounded by thieves. As stated before, Batista could have been in cahoots with Orton all along and fooling Trips into a false sense of security. It's one thing to beat Trips for the title, but that isn't enough. No, just think how destroyed Trips would be to learn that he was outsmarted and embarrassed on a PPV scale.

The character of Batista has that advantage of coming back (so fans aren't sure if he is fully face or heel), but remember that Shane is also in the match. To really push Legacy over the edge, Shane could be their "special buddy" who pulls strings. I do admit that Shane joining Legacy is a stretch, considering the actions that Orton and Shane committed against each other. For Legacy to be a top heel faction on Raw, they need to have some pull. This can be done in the form of Vickie...but it would be stronger if it was done in the form of Shane. So in this case, it is up in the air whether or not Shane will join Legacy. Shane was "born better" and he could be a part of the "future" of WWE.

Trips getting screwed out of his title by both Batista and Shane would be a defining moment and a damn good reason to start accepting the male models known as Legacy as a bonafide real threat.

Email is mckinley.torch@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt