When Batista won the 2005 Royal Rumble, the question became whether he would use his WrestleMania 21 championship match to go to SmackDown! and face WWE Champion JBL, or take on his mentor, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. Despite The Game's best efforts to convince Batista to go to SmackDown!,The Animal turned on his mentor, Batista Bombing him through a table, and signing the RAW contract for WrestleMania 21.

After 2 months of intense psychological warfare between the Cerebral Assassin and The Animal, Evolution finally exploded at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles. When the smoke cleared, it was the student who stood tall. Despite interference by Ric Flair and a tremendous effort from a bloodied Game, Batista was able to hit the Batista Bomb to get the pinfall, claiming his first World Heavyweight Championship.

Shelton Benjamin made an immediate impact on SmackDown! upon entering WWE, capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship with partner Charlie Haas. Then he was shipped off to RAW, where he made a similar impact, defeating the likes of Triple H and Ric Flair. His biggest victory, however, came at Taboo Tuesday when the fans voted him into the Intercontinental Championship match against Chris Jericho. Benjamin made the most of his opportunity, beating Y2J for the gold.

Trish Stratus and Lita continued their heated rivalry at New Year's Revolution, as Lita put her Women's Championship up for grabs. The two Divas didn't waste any time going at it as they engaged in a physical battle. Lita, however, suffered a torn ACL when she hit a Lou Thesz Press off the apron and onto the floor. Trish clearly had the upper hand after the injury. Lita made one comeback attempt, but after she had Trish set for a DDT, her knee buckled and Trish nailed her with the Chick Kick for her record sixth Women's Championship.

William Regal and Eugene lost the World Tag Team Championship to La Resistance at a non-televised live event on Jan. 16. Unfortunately for Eugene, he was injured in the days leading up to the championship match, leaving him unable to participate in the bout. An upset Regal used his rematch clause to take on La Resistance on Feb. 7. With Eugene still nursing an injured leg, Regal chose Tajiri as his tag team partner. With his home country behind him in Japan, Tajiri rose to the occasion. Both Regal and Tajiri left Japan as World Tag Team Champions.