Batista is done as a pro wrestler, but he says he's happy with how that ended.
The movie juggernaut Dave Bautista (or Batista in wrestling circles), has yet another effort coming up with his action-comedy film Stuber set to release in July. Along the media tour, he spoke with Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, and revealed that he didn't end up actually working out the match with Triple H from an in-ring perspective ahead of WrestleMania 35.
“We were scheduled to train, and we did go to the training facility, but we didn’t train. Because he said ‘I can get in the ring, and I can work out and I can feel a little more confident,’ He said, ‘or I can get in the ring and I can re-tear my pec.’ He said, ‘let’s be safe about this, we’ve been in the ring enough, we know each other.’ So we did. We did not touch each other in the ring until we got to WrestleMania, that was it. So I am really proud of what we could accomplish. Because it could’ve been better, it could’ve been better, but it could’ve been a lot f*cking worse. Like, It could’ve been disastrous and I think, considering, I’m very proud of what we accomplished," said Batista.
The match had been rumored for years, and was something Batista was public in desiring. However, hurdles, movie schedules, injuries and the like prevented it. A 2018 Evolution reunion on Smackdown Live helped renew interest.
“The reason is, I said I want to go back and I want to tease the thing with me and Triple H because I want to know if people are still interested," said Batista. "Cause it had been so far removed and it has been so many years since our rivalry. I didn’t know if people would care anymore. We teased it and it went over great. As I was leaving, and Hunter knows I’ve wanted this match at Mania for years to end my career — I wouldn’t officially retire or even consider going into the Hall of Fame until I had this match to close out my career — but as I was leaving Hunter goes, ‘get in shape, motherf*cker.’ And I was like ‘alright, it’s on!’”
Triple H would go on to defeat Batista, and the latter would retire shortly after the WrestleMania 35 bout. For "Drax," there are no regrets.
“I’m proud of that match. I was proud to close out my career that way with the guy I wanted to close it out with. That was personal for all kinds of reasons and now I just finally have closure on my career. Like that night. And I wanted to announce it [retirement], I didn’t want to make it a company thing. I didn’t want them to have me come on the show and do the big spot where I’m announcing my retirement. I just wanted to announce it and slowly just kinda fade away. That’s it. I’m done. I should’ve hung up my boots a long time ago, but I was very stubborn and adamant and I just wanted to do it on my terms. And I got the opportunity to do that," he said.
You can see Batista's full interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet at this link.
