Former WWE World Heavyweight champion Dave “Batista” Bautista is currently one of the top movie stars in the world. In addition to being one of the central figures of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s been in top films such as Spectre and Blade Runner 2049 (which was nominated for multiple academy awards).
However, Batista has been very vocal about wanting to return to WWE for a final pro wrestling run, potentially in a feud with Triple H culminating in a WrestleMania match.
Back in December, he appeared on Jim Ross’ podcast and had the following to say about wanting to return to WWE in a full-time capacity:
“I want to do some house shows, and I want to be a part of the program, man. I love it. The one-off thing, the ‘cheap pop’ thing just doesn’t do anything for me.”
In speaking with grplgme recently, Batista revealed why he has yet to accept a WWE Hall of Fame induction when he offered the following on a possible return to wrestling:
“I would love to go back [to WWE]. I’ve been very vocal about that, you know, never say never. And this is why I haven’t accepted any nomination into the WWE Hall of Fame, because I just don’t feel like my career is over. I still feel like I have plenty to offer. But now it’s a scheduling issue and it’s also a creative issue.”
Back in December, Dave Meltzer seemed to corroborate the creative claims made by Batista, as Meltzer noted that when a talent signs with WWE, the company owns that contract, so anyone else that wants to do business with that talent would first have to negotiate with WWE.