‘Never wanted to be the Rock’ – Batista won Royal Rumble, was booed by fans then James Bond broke his nose
From being mercilessly booed by fans to becoming one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors – not even WWE scriptwriters could have predicted Dave Bautista‘s future. It’s been ten years since the 56-year-old made a dramatic return to the wrestling company where Batista became a two-time Royal Rumble winner in 2014. WWE legend Batista is a winner of two Royal Rumbles – in 2005 and 2014WWE The upcoming Rumble will see the 11-year anniversary of his triumph – though it wasn’t the fairy tale victory the six-time world champion would have expected. Batista initially left the promotion in 2010 in his quest to pursue a career in acting, while also being left unimpressed with the direction of WWE. But he returned in January 2014, before departing again later that year, with ‘The Animal’ making his second return in late 2018. He subsequently retired from wrestling the following year, with Batista in line to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. To say it has been a whirlwind of a decade would be an understatement for the Washington native. Here talkSPORT.com breaks down Batista’s highs and lows from the last ten years. Royal Rumble winner What was expected to be a dream for fans turned out to be a nightmare as Batista was heavily booed on his return to the ring. He won the Royal Rumble after entering as the 28th man, but in the audience’s eyes, anyone but fan favourite Daniel Bryan were seen as public enemy number one. Just ask WWE icon Rey Mysterio, who was showered with jeers when he was the last wrestler to enter the 30-man Rumble – ending any hopes of Bryan featuring. Batista had won the Royal Rumble in 2005 in a memorable ending with John Cena that included a botched endingWWE Batista’s return coincided with the meteoric rise of ‘The American Dragon’, with the WWE faithful desperate for him to compete on the biggest stage and win the most prestigious titles. And with Batista coming back on a part-time deal, fans were keen for him not to be given golden opportunities. Having returned as a face [good guy] in WWE, he had to change his persona to a smug heel. Speaking to WWE.com about his reaction, Batista admitted: “[It] was weird. It wasn’t like a normal response. It was almost like a personal attack. “It had to do with factors that were not in my control, factors and things that were going on in the company with other people, stuff that really had nothing to do with me. “To me, it was a little frustrating, a little confusing, and, you know, I don’t want to say I completely took it personal, but I did somewhat.” Fans were left unimpressed when Batista returned to win the RumbleWWE Hollywood legend At the time of his Royal Rumble return, a buzz was circulating around his upcoming flick ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. Playing the character of ‘Drax the Destroyer’ in the hit-Marvel movie, the wrestler charmed everyone with his performance of the violent, but lovable ex-criminal. Leaving the audience in fits of laughter with his deadpan comedic style, Batista played Drax in six films – as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special in 2022. Following the third instalment of the franchise in 2023, Batista officially bid farewell to the character he had played for nine years. Batista earned rave reviews for his performance of ‘Drax the Destroyer’ in multiple Marvel filmsRex His collection of films have amassed over £6billionRex As well as starring in blockbuster superhero bonanzas, Batista has also stolen the show in films such as Glass Onion, Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and Knock at the Cabin. Incredibly, Batista’s films have amassed around £6.3billion. He never had the opportunity to fight wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson one-on-one inside the ring, with their only match together being a 3-on-2 Handicap match at WrestleMania XX. However, the playing field has been levelled in their post-WWE careers and Batista has shown he is more than a match on the big screen. It’s been mission accomplished for ‘The Animal’ in Hollywood James Bond villain We couldn’t mention Batista’s acting credits without talking about THAT villainous role in Spectre in 2015. Playing ‘Mr Hinx’ – Spectre’s top assassin – Batista proved to be a nemesis of Daniel Craig’s James Bond. While Craig would play Bond for a final time in 2021, he may have thought his days of playing the iconic agent were over following a fight scene with Batista. During filming, he accidentally broke the nose of the American, with the Brit joking he ran away in fear of retaliation from Batista. Batista starred alongside Craig when they filmed Spectre in 2015Rex “I broke his nose, I didn’t do it deliberately, it was a mistake!”, Craig told the Graham Norton Show. “He’s a big guy, professional wrestler, you really wouldn’t mess with him, and I threw this punch, I hit him on the nose and I heard this crack, and I went, ‘Oh God no!’ and ran away
From being mercilessly booed by fans to becoming one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors – not even WWE scriptwriters could have predicted Dave Bautista‘s future.
It’s been ten years since the 56-year-old made a dramatic return to the wrestling company where Batista became a two-time Royal Rumble winner in 2014.
The upcoming Rumble will see the 11-year anniversary of his triumph – though it wasn’t the fairy tale victory the six-time world champion would have expected.
Batista initially left the promotion in 2010 in his quest to pursue a career in acting, while also being left unimpressed with the direction of WWE.
But he returned in January 2014, before departing again later that year, with ‘The Animal’ making his second return in late 2018.
He subsequently retired from wrestling the following year, with Batista in line to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
To say it has been a whirlwind of a decade would be an understatement for the Washington native.
Here talkSPORT.com breaks down Batista’s highs and lows from the last ten years.
Royal Rumble winner
What was expected to be a dream for fans turned out to be a nightmare as Batista was heavily booed on his return to the ring.
He won the Royal Rumble after entering as the 28th man, but in the audience’s eyes, anyone but fan favourite Daniel Bryan were seen as public enemy number one.
Just ask WWE icon Rey Mysterio, who was showered with jeers when he was the last wrestler to enter the 30-man Rumble – ending any hopes of Bryan featuring.
Batista’s return coincided with the meteoric rise of ‘The American Dragon’, with the WWE faithful desperate for him to compete on the biggest stage and win the most prestigious titles.
And with Batista coming back on a part-time deal, fans were keen for him not to be given golden opportunities.
Having returned as a face [good guy] in WWE, he had to change his persona to a smug heel.
Speaking to WWE.com about his reaction, Batista admitted: “[It] was weird. It wasn’t like a normal response. It was almost like a personal attack.
“It had to do with factors that were not in my control, factors and things that were going on in the company with other people, stuff that really had nothing to do with me.
“To me, it was a little frustrating, a little confusing, and, you know, I don’t want to say I completely took it personal, but I did somewhat.”
Hollywood legend
At the time of his Royal Rumble return, a buzz was circulating around his upcoming flick ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.
Playing the character of ‘Drax the Destroyer’ in the hit-Marvel movie, the wrestler charmed everyone with his performance of the violent, but lovable ex-criminal.
Leaving the audience in fits of laughter with his deadpan comedic style, Batista played Drax in six films – as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special in 2022.
Following the third instalment of the franchise in 2023, Batista officially bid farewell to the character he had played for nine years.
As well as starring in blockbuster superhero bonanzas, Batista has also stolen the show in films such as Glass Onion, Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and Knock at the Cabin.
Incredibly, Batista’s films have amassed around £6.3billion.
He never had the opportunity to fight wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson one-on-one inside the ring, with their only match together being a 3-on-2 Handicap match at WrestleMania XX.
However, the playing field has been levelled in their post-WWE careers and Batista has shown he is more than a match on the big screen.
James Bond villain
We couldn’t mention Batista’s acting credits without talking about THAT villainous role in Spectre in 2015.
Playing ‘Mr Hinx’ – Spectre’s top assassin – Batista proved to be a nemesis of Daniel Craig’s James Bond.
While Craig would play Bond for a final time in 2021, he may have thought his days of playing the iconic agent were over following a fight scene with Batista.
During filming, he accidentally broke the nose of the American, with the Brit joking he ran away in fear of retaliation from Batista.
“I broke his nose, I didn’t do it deliberately, it was a mistake!”, Craig told the Graham Norton Show.
“He’s a big guy, professional wrestler, you really wouldn’t mess with him, and I threw this punch, I hit him on the nose and I heard this crack, and I went, ‘Oh God no!’ and ran away [laughs] cause I thought he was gonna come after me.
“And he was so sweet, and he literally just did something like this [mimics re-setting a broken nose] ‘Ah, it’s fine.’ He’s a lot tougher than I am, I’ll give you that.”
Giving his version of events, Batista quipped: “He did not run!!! He started screaming ‘F*** I broke his nose!’
“And then he hugged me, apologised, we laughed, I changed clothes, shoved TP up my nose and we continued to make one of the best fight scenes ever. Very proud of it. And I love me some DC.”
But it was Craig who ultimately had the last laugh, as unsurprisingly, Batista met his demise at the hands of Bond.
Second WWE return
Four years after leaving the WWE in 2014, Batista returned in what proved to be another short stint in what was his third and final run.
His final match proved to be a defeat against old rival Triple H, with the duo competing in a No Holds Barred fight at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019.
The following day, he announced his retirement from professional wrestling, though this time, Batista has insisted he will not be coming back.
The WWE announced he was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020.
But the event was pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Batista was nowhere to be seen in 2021, as he stated he would prefer to be inducted in front of a live audience.
He was set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023, but he couldn’t make the ceremony due to a conflict with his filming schedule.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Batista said: “Eventually I will. I want to. There was a good opportunity for me to go in a couple of years ago, and I agreed to do it.
“Hunter [Triple H] asked me to do it and I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ It was here in LA, and I thought it was perfect, it was storybook because I won my first title here in LA. We couldn’t figure it out because I was working on a film in South Africa.
“So logistically, we just couldn’t make it happen. But, yeah, I’m still open to it. One day I would like to.”
