Dave Bautista, a.k.a. Batista, has been out in Hollywood making a name for himself ever since leaving the WWE back in 2010. While The Animal had a short stint back in 2014 where he main evented WrestleMania 30 against Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, Batista hasn’t stepped inside a wrestling ring since quitting on RAW.
During a recent interview with talkSport, Batista discussed how his movie career would not have happened if he didn't leave WWE in 2010.
"It came about out of spite," Batista said of his transition from pro wrestling to acting.
"First it came from me discovering I was a horrible actor. I wanted to become a better actor and I wanted to do it while I was still with WWE. They would not give me the opportunity within the company. I said that I should be given the opportunity to do it outside of the company, and they said 'absolutely not.' I said, 'Well, I'm going to let my contract run out, and I'm gonna leave.' So that's exactly what I did and I set out to be an actor."
The former WWE champion admits that it was a brave move and maybe somewhat of a stupid one. Batista’s name in Hollywood has skyrocketed since his acting career started, going from a small role in 2013’s Riddick to gaining a starring role in Guardians of the Galaxy:
"It was brave and maybe a little stupid [laughs]," Batista said.
"It was three years of me barely working. You know, [I had] a nice thing with the WWE. I made a very good living there. I was very comfortable and I could have stuck with that, but I just wanted to do something else."