American actor and former professional wrestler
“ David Batista ” redirects here. For the brazilian football player, see David Batista ( football player )
David Michael Bautista Jr. ( have a bun in the oven January 18, 1969 ) is an american english actor and early professional wrestler. As a professional wrestler, he is known for his fourth dimension in WWE from 2002 to 2010, in 2014, and one final run in 2018–2019. Outside of professional writhe, he is known for his acting career, most notably as the character Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Bautista began his wrestling career in 1999, and in 2000, he signed with the then- World Wrestling Federation ( WWF, renamed to WWE in 2002 ). From 2002 to 2010, he gained fame under the ring name Batista and became a six-time world supporter by winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship doubly. His first gear reign with the World Heavyweight Championship is the longest reign for that entitle at 282 days. He has besides held the World Tag Team Championship three times ( twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena ) and the WWE Tag Team Championship once ( with Rey Mysterio ). He was the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble couple and went on to headline WrestleMania 21, one of the peak five highest-grossing pay-per-view events in professional wrestling history. After leaving WWE in 2010, he re-signed in December 2013, making his first appearance back in January 2014 and won that year ‘s Royal Rumble match. He headlined WrestleMania XXX earlier again departing that June. In October 2018, Bautista made his second return to WWE and faced Triple H at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019, before retiring from wrestling. Bautista began acting in 2006 and has starred in The Man with the Iron Fists ( 2012 ), Riddick ( 2013 ), the James Bond film Spectre ( 2015 ), Blade Runner 2049 ( 2017 ), Army of the Dead ( 2021 ), and Dune ( 2021 ). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has played the role of Drax the Destroyer in the films Guardians of the Galaxy ( 2014 ), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ( 2017 ), Avengers: Infinity War ( 2018 ), and Avengers: Endgame ( 2019 ). He has besides appeared in several direct-to-video films since 2009. In August 2012, Bautista signed a narrow with Classic Entertainment & Sports to fight in shuffle soldierly arts ( MMA ). He won his alone MMA fight on October 6, 2012, defeating Vince Lucero via technical smasher in the first attack .

early life

Bautista [ 7 ] was born January 18, 1969 [ 8 ] in Washington, D.C., [ 9 ] the son of Donna Raye ( née Mullins ) and hairdresser David Michael Bautista. His mother is of greek lineage, while his founder is the son of Filipino immigrants. [ 7 ] [ 10 ] His parental grandfather served in the philippine military, worked as a taxi driver and barber, and held other jobs to feed the family. His beget is a lesbian. [ 11 ] Bautista has said that he lived in poverty, [ 12 ] and that he had a hard life—before he reached the age of nine, three murders had occurred on his movement lawn. [ 13 ] As young as age 13, he was stealing cars. [ 14 ] By senesce 17, he was estranged from his parents and lived on his own. [ 15 ] He by and by admitted, “ I am gallant of my parents. They are good, honest, hard-working folks. They taught me the values of working hard. ” [ 14 ] He was a cabaret bouncer until he was arrested after a fight that left two patrons injured, one of whom was rendered unconscious. [ 15 ] After a trial, he was sentenced to one year of probation. [ 15 ] He besides worked as a lifeguard [ 16 ] before pursuing a career in bodybuilding, [ 15 ] crediting the latter with saving his life. [ 17 ] Bautista said he decided to turn his life around and become a wrestler after having a dislocation ascribable to the shame he felt after asking a coworker to lend him money so he could buy his kids Christmas presents. [ 11 ] During his wrestling career, Bautista used the resound appoint “ Batista ”, with a modify spell. When he went into act, he reverted to the name ‘s original spell, and is billed as Dave Bautista .

professional wrestle career

train and early career ( 1999–2000 )

Bautista tried out at the World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) Power Plant, but was told he would never make it in the writhe business by Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. [ 18 ] He then went to the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ), who advised him to train with Afa Anoa’i in the Wild Samoan Training Center wrestling school, [ 19 ] where he went to train and compete in Anoa’i ‘s World Xtreme Wrestling ( WXW ) forwarding. He had his debut peer as Khan on October 30, 1999. [ 5 ] Bautista besides trained with Marrese Crump in Muay Thai and Eskrima. [ 20 ] Most recently, he trained at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu under Cesar Gracie and has become a purple knock in brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. [ 21 ]

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE

Ohio Valley Wrestling ( 2000–2002 )

Upon signing with the WWF in 2000, Bautista was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ), a WWF developmental territory. He made his OVW introduction late that class under the surround name Leviathan, where he immediately joined forces with Synn. As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable, he went undefeated until being beaten at Christmas Chaos by Kane with aid from Stone Cold Steve Austin. He late won the OVW Heavyweight Championship from “ The Machine ” Doug Basham before losing the belt to The Prototype. A few months by and by, Bautista left OVW after he was promoted to WWE ‘s main roll. [ 4 ]

early storylines ( 2002–2003 )

While still in OVW, Bautista began appearing on non-televised WWE events. [ citation needed ] He began his telecast WWE career on May 9, 2002 on an episode of SmackDown! as Deacon Batista, a cad hatchet man for Reverend D-Von. [ 22 ] He made his WWE in-ring debut in a tag team peer teaming with D-Von against Faarooq and Randy Orton, pinning Orton. Over respective weeks, Orton tried to beat D-Von and Batista with different partners, but ultimately lost each time. [ 23 ] Batista suffered his first loss in a pit against Rikishi after D-Von incidentally punched him, allowing Rikishi to take advantage and peg Batista. Batista and D-Von argued over the extroverted weeks, with Batista finally turning on D-Von. On the November 14 episode of SmackDown!, Batista defeated D-Von to end their feud. [ 24 ] After splitting with D-Von, he was assigned to the Raw brand and was renamed Batista. He aligned himself with Ric Flair [ 25 ] and feuded with Kane, whom he defeated at Armageddon. [ 26 ]

Evolution ( 2003–2005 )

In January 2003, Batista joined Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton to form the heel stable Evolution. [ 27 ] Batista, however, was sidelined for much of 2003 after he tore his right triceps muscle at a Raw know consequence in a tag team match alongside Orton against The Dudley Boyz. While prepare after the injury, Batista re-tore his triceps, extending his stay on the sidelines. [ 28 ] Batista made his render on October 20 sequence of Raw, interfering in a match between Goldberg and Shawn Michaels. [ 29 ] At Armageddon, Batista and Ric Flair became the World Tag Team Champions. [ 30 ] while Triple H won the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton the Intercontinental Championship. [ 31 ] Batista and Flair held the title until February 16, 2004 episode of Raw, when they were defeated by Booker T and Rob Van Dam. [ 32 ] They late defeated Booker and Van Dam on the March 22 episode of Raw to regain the titles before losing them to Chris Benoit and Edge on the April 19 episode of Raw. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] [ 35 ] Since late 2004, the relationship between Batista and Triple H began to deteriorate in kayfabe. After a loss to Chris Jericho, Triple H verbally insulted Batista. Batista teased leaving evolution that night, but declared that he was calm part of Evolution and that they tricked everyone. [ 36 ] Despite this gambit, Batista began behaving more like a face over the next few weeks in comparison to Evolution ‘s heel tactics. One particular consequence saw Batista express disgust as Triple H and Ric Flair boasted about how they had intimidated and/or beat up Jim Ross, Danny Hodge, and Stacy Keibler. Regardless, he continued to show his commitment to Triple H and Evolution by running down to the ring and assisting them in matches. As 2005 began, Triple H realized the hypothesis of Batista becoming a menace to his World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H suggested that he not enter the Royal Rumble, claiming that it would be selfish of him to do then, and to merely focus on Triple H retaining the title. Batista entered anyhow and went on to win the rumble earning the right to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the World Champion of his option. [ 37 ] In an undertake to persuade Batista to challenge WWE Champion John “ Bradshaw ” Layfield ( JBL ) and challenger John Cena in a triple-threat match preferably than him, Triple H concocted a dodge to have Batista run over in a limousine resembling the one used by JBL. Initially, Batista did not want avail from Evolution and wanted to confront JBL by himself. Triple H insisted that Evolution stick together and accompanied Batista anyhow, saving him from the oncoming fomite. [ 38 ] Batista became aware of the diagram while surreptitiously eavesdropping on chap Evolution members and signed a contract guaranteeing him a match with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 21, frankincense leaving Evolution and formally turning confront. Batista initially pretended that he would sign with SmackDown !, giving Triple H and Flair the “ thumbs up ”, but turned it into a “ thumb down ” before attacking the pair. He emphasized his departure by powerbombing Triple H through the table used for the shrink sign. [ 39 ]

World Heavyweight Champion ( 2005–2008 )

Batista won the World Heavyweight Championship on April 3 in the chief event of WrestleMania 21. [ 3 ] [ 40 ] WrestleMania 21 received 1.09 million pay-per-view buys worldwide – the then-highest ever count of buys for any non- packing pay-per-view. Batista ‘s match with Triple H was described by sports diarist Dave Meltzer as “ the extremum of one of [ WWE ‘s ] best storylines in years ”. [ 41 ] Batista won a replay with Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash. [ 42 ] After Batista retained his title against Edge on the May 23 sequence of Raw, he was betrayed by Ric Flair, who helped Triple H viciously attack the ace as Triple H challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance. [ 43 ] Batista won the match at Vengeance, retaining his championship however again. With this win, Batista became the first wrestler to pin Triple H in a Hell in a Cell couple. [ 44 ]
Batista in 2006 On the June 30 episode of SmackDown!, Batista was drafted to the SmackDown ! stigmatize as the last cream in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, making a surprise appearance to attack JBL, who was celebrating his victory in a six-man elimination match to crown the inauguration “ SmackDown ! ace ”. [ 45 ] JBL defeated Batista at The great american english Bash by disqualification after the referee saw Batista use a steel electric chair. [ 46 ] They had a replay at SummerSlam in a No Holds Barred match in which Batista pinned JBL. [ 47 ] The feud culminated in a Texas Bull Rope match on the September 9 episode of SmackDown! with Batista retaining his championship. [ 48 ] soon after retaining the title in a feud with Eddie Guerrero at No Mercy, [ 49 ] WWE.com reported that Batista suffered a brawn tear in his rear at the taping for the November 11 episode of SmackDown! ascribable to a double over chokeslam from Big Show and Kane. [ 50 ] Plans had been made for Batista to defend the title in a Triple Threat match with Eddie Guerrero and Randy Orton on the November 18 episode of SmackDown!, but the match did not take place due to the unexpected death of Guerrero on November 13, the date of the wiretap. Batista paid court to Guerrero during the Raw and SmackDown! tribute shows dedicated to Guerrero ‘s memory. [ 51 ] Batista led Team SmackDown ! against Team Raw in an inter-brand feud before Survivor Series. The feud saw Big Show and Kane chokeslamming Batista respective more times in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series in an on-camera explanation for Batista ‘s injury. [ 52 ] Batista ultimately helped his team win the match at Survivor Series. [ 53 ] After Batista saved Rey Mysterio from Big Show and Kane on the December 2 episode of SmackDown!, [ 54 ] leading to a match with Mysterio teaming with Batista to face Big Show and Kane at Armageddon. On December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Batista and Mysterio defeated WWE Tag Team Champions [ 55 ] MNM to win the titles in a match they dedicated to Eddie Guerrero, and therefore Batista became a double ace. [ 56 ] After this, the clash with Big Show and Kane at Armageddon turned into a Champions vanadium. Champions find. Batista and Mysterio lost to Big Show and Kane at Armageddon. [ 57 ] Two weeks later on SmackDown!, MNM defeated Batista and Mysterio after aid from the returning Mark Henry to regain the WWE Tag Team Championship. During the intervention, Henry attacked Batista, and performed his World’s Strongest Slam. [ 58 ] The teams met again in a steel batting cage match the follow week that Henry besides became involved in, and Batista and Mysterio were defeated again. [ 59 ] Batista tore his mighty triceps during a equal with Mark Henry at a house appearance on January 6, forcing him to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship at the SmackDown! tapings on January 13, two days after surpassing Triple H ‘s previous mark of 280 days for longest reigning champion. In his book, Batista Unleashed, Batista said that he believed that Henry was “ careless ” during their pit as he never gave Batista any warning that the move was coming. Batista went on to have successful operation on his arm on January 12. [ 60 ] Batista made an appearance at No Way Out and told the crowd that once his arm had healed he would return to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. [ 61 ] At WrestleMania 22, he interrupted a Randy Orton interview, putting SmackDown ! on notice that the World Heavyweight Championship would return to him by WrestleMania 23. [ 62 ] Batista made his official return during the July 7 sequence of SmackDown! immediately calling out and entering into a feud with Mark Henry. [ 63 ] At Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXIII, Batista won a six-man tag couple with teammates Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley, defeating World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, Finlay, and Mark Henry. [ 64 ] Henry was legitimately injure and was ruled out of the schedule match between the two at The great american Bash, thus far delaying a electric potential feud between the two after being delayed by Batista ‘s initial injury. [ 63 ] Batista put out an capable challenge to replace the injured Henry, which was answered by Mr. Kennedy. [ 65 ] At The big american Bash, Batista lost this match via disqualification for failing to stop choking Mr. Kennedy into the turnbuckle with his boot, but continued to attack Kennedy resulting in a laceration on his brow sol austere that it exposed his cranium and required more than 20 stitches to close. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] Batista lost another equal with Kennedy via count out in a replay on the July 28 episode of SmackDown! before last defeating Kennedy by pinfall on the August 4 episode of SmackDown!. [ 68 ] [ 69 ] Batista faced Big Show for the ECW World Championship on the August 1 episode of ECW, winning the match by disqualification but failing to win the championship as titles can not change hands by disqualification. [ 70 ] He then set his sights on King Booker ‘s World Heavyweight Championship, with the two confront in a meet for the claim at SummerSlam on August 20. however, Batista besides won this match by disqualification. [ 71 ] Batista continued his pursuit of the championship, failing to capture it once again in a fatal-four way at No Mercy in October besides involving Finlay and Bobby Lashley, [ 72 ] before finally defeating Booker to regain the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series on November 26. [ 3 ] [ 73 ] The following month at Armageddon, Batista teamed with John Cena to defeat King Booker and Finlay, putting an goal to the competition. [ 74 ]
Batista holding the World Heavyweight Championship and a sag of Puerto Rico in 2006 Going into 2007, Batista began a short feud with Mr. Kennedy over the championship. [ 75 ] Batista retained the championship over Kennedy at the Royal Rumble on January 28. [ 76 ] Batista ‘s future rival was The Undertaker, the winner of the Royal Rumble equal. [ 77 ] The two formed a reluctant alliance to face John Cena and Shawn Michaels at No Way Out in February, which they lost after Batista turned on Undertaker halfway through the match. [ 78 ] At WrestleMania 23 on April 1, Batista lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker. [ 79 ] They continued their feud with a last Man Standing match at Backlash late that calendar month, which ended in a disembowel. [ 80 ] The two wrestled again in a Steel Cage Match on the May 11 episode of SmackDown!, which besides ended in a guide. Following the peer, Edge took advantage and won the title from The Undertaker by cashing in his money in the Bank contract. [ 81 ] Afterward, Batista challenged Edge unsuccessfully for the World Heavyweight Championship at Judgment Day, One Night Stand ( in a Steel Cage Match ), and vengeance : Night of Champions ( in a last Chance match ). [ 82 ] [ 83 ] The loss at Vengeance stipulated that Batista could no long get another chance at the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge remained champion. [ 84 ] Batista accepted an open challenge from The Great Khali at The great american Bash. Edge relinquished the title due to an injury the workweek before The great american Bash, and Khali became the new World Heavyweight Champion, winning a Battle Royal and eliminating Batista. Batista and Kane, Edge ‘s championship opponent, faced Khali at The bang-up american Bash in a Triple Threat equal where Khali retained the title. [ 85 ] Batista received a disqualification victory against Khali at SummerSlam after Khali used a steel electric chair, thus Khali retained the title again. [ 86 ] Batista last claimed his third base World Heavyweight Championship after eight back-to-back attempts, by defeating Khali in a triple threat equal that included Rey Mysterio at Unforgiven. [ 3 ] [ 87 ] His beginning challenge was from The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison Match at No Mercy where Batista retained his title. He won the match by leaping from the inner bamboo structure to the out one, shortening his escape road and beating Khali to the floor. [ 88 ] After the render of The Undertaker at Unforgiven, the couple reignited their feud at Cyber Sunday where the fans chose Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special Guest Referee. Batista pinned The Undertaker after two Batista Bombs. [ 89 ] The feud continued with a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. During the match, Edge returned and interfered by giving The Undertaker a con-chair-to. He then pulled an unconscious Batista on top of The Undertaker for the pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. [ 90 ] At Armageddon, Edge won a triple Threat equal, alongside The Undertaker for Batista ‘s World Heavyweight Championship. [ 91 ]
Batista in June 2008 Batista appeared in the Royal Rumble and made the final three before being eliminated by Triple H. At No Way Out, he was region of the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match and eliminated Big Daddy V, but was last eliminated by The Undertaker. At WrestleMania XXIV, he defeated Umaga in an interpromotional equal. After Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a Career Threatening match ( forcing Flair to retire ) former that night, [ 92 ] Batista began a feud with Michaels, calling him selfish and egotistic. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the especial node referee. Michaels won after faking a stifle injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. [ 93 ] Batista then defeated Michaels at One Night Stand in a stretcher catch, frankincense ending their feud. [ 94 ] On the June 23 sequence of Raw, Batista was drafted from SmackDown to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE Draft. [ 95 ] After failing to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge at Night of Champions, Batista attacked Edge the follow night on Raw, allowing CM Punk to cash in his money in the Bank contract on Edge. This set up a title meet between Batista and Punk at The great american english Bash which ended in a double disqualification after Kane interfered and attacked both men. The following night on Raw, Batista and Punk had a replay, Batista won by disqualification after he was attacked by JBL. As John Cena came to the ring to fight JBL, he unwittingly punched Batista as JBL ducked. This started a plan between Cena and Batista leading up to SummerSlam, for which a match was made official by Raw general coach Mike Adamle. This was the first gear time a match between the two would occur as they had each been on discriminate brands since they both debuted in 2002. On the August 4 sequence of Raw, Batista and Cena won the World Tag Team Championship from Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, making Batista a three-time World Tag Team Champion. [ 96 ] [ 97 ] The future workweek on Raw, Batista and Cena lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Rhodes and DiBiase. [ 98 ] After losing the titles, the two had to be separated by multiple officials. Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam, legitimating injuring Cena ‘s neck in the summons. [ 99 ] Batista then competed in the World Heavyweight Championship championship scramble match at Unforgiven and was eight seconds away from being a four-time world supporter, but Chris Jericho sneak in and pinned Kane in the decline seconds. On October 26 at Cyber Sunday, Batista defeated Jericho for his fourth World Heavyweight Championship in a match in which Stone Cold Steve Austin was voted in as the special guest referee. [ 100 ] Batista ‘s reign, however, only lasted eight days when Jericho won the championship back in a Steel Cage equal on the 800th episode of Raw on November 3. [ 101 ] Batista then entered a feud with erstwhile Evolution spouse, Randy Orton ; at Survivor Series, Batista led a team of himself, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, and R-Truth to face the team of Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, Cody Rhodes, and Mark Henry. Orton ‘s team won with Orton pinning Batista, winning the match for his team. His feud with Orton continued up to Armageddon where Batista defeated Orton. On the December 15 episode of Raw, Batista was put into a handicap match against The bequest with John Cena as his partner. During the equal, Orton struck Batista with a punt to the head. Batista was knocked out and put out of action indefinitely due to a storyline capitulum injury. WWE.com later reported that Batista elected to undergo operation to repair a hamstring tear. [ 102 ] His hamstring was injured at SummerSlam, in the lapp match that John Cena was forced out of action with a neck injury. He was expected to be out of carry through for six to eight months .

WWE Champion ( 2009–2010 )

Read more: Willem Dafoe

Batista returned on the Raw after WrestleMania 25, to save Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon from The Legacy ( Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. ). Vince McMahon then scheduled Batista to team up with WWE Champion Triple H and Shane McMahon to face The Legacy at Backlash. During the pit, Batista had brought out a chair, but Triple H tried to stop him, so they would not get disqualified ( which would have cost Triple H the championship ). This distraction, however, monetary value Triple H his backing, after he lost it to Orton. The follow night on Raw, Batista won a singles match against Big Show due to a distraction by John Cena, to become the number one rival for the WWE Championship at Judgment Day, which he won by disqualification. [ 103 ] Batista went on to defeat Orton in a replay at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage match to capture his inaugural WWE Championship. [ 104 ] however, on the June 8 sequence of Raw, Batista was to vacate the deed due to a staged barbarous fire by Orton and the Legacy. It was later revealed that Batista had suffered a legitimate lacerate left biceps exchangeable to what he suffered in 2006. bequest was given on-screen credit for his injury. [ 105 ]
Batista returned on the September 14 episode of Raw with his arm hush in a vice. Randy Orton, assuming Batista was retiring, claimed that he ended Batista ‘s career. Batista then removed his arm vice, which turned to be fake, and attacked Orton. He then stated that he would not retire, but move to SmackDown rather. subsequently that night, he defeated Orton in a no-holds barred match which was to be his last match on Raw. [ 106 ] Following his return key to SmackDown, Batista defeated Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Jeri-Show ( Chris Jericho and Big Show ) in singles competition. [ 107 ] [ 108 ] These two victories culminated in a tag team championship equal against Jeri-Show with his partner Rey Mysterio on October 4 at Hell in a Cell, which Jeri-Show won. [ 109 ] That like calendar month at Bragging Rights, Batista was abortive in winning the World Heavyweight Championship in a black Four-Way match including CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, and champion The Undertaker. During the catch, Mysterio broke up Batista ‘s pin on Undertaker costing him the equal and the title. After the match ( which Undertaker won ), Batista and Mysterio appeared to patch things up, but Batista said he was tired of coming then close only to be stabbed in the back and told Mysterio he was going to rip his head off. Batista proceeded to viciously attack Mysterio, turning cad for the first time since 2005. [ 110 ] Batista faced Mysterio on November 22 at Survivor Series, where Batista won via referee stop after delivering three Batista Bomb s to Mysterio. [ 111 ] Batista defeated Mysterio again in a street fight on the December 11 episode of SmackDown. [ 112 ] On December 13 at TLC : Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Batista faced Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Chairs catch. Batista initially won the equal and the title, but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long reversed the decisiveness because Batista had hit Undertaker with a low blow behind the referee ‘s back. The pit was restarted with The Undertaker acquire and retaining the championship. [ 113 ] Five days late, Batista lost to Mysterio in a number one contenders match for the World Heavyweight Championship ; [ 114 ] Mysterio ‘s championship pit against The Undertaker on the December 25 episode of SmackDown ended as a no-contest after hindrance from Batista. [ 115 ] At the Royal Rumble in January 2010, Batista entered the Royal Rumble match at number 30, but failed to win as he was eliminated by John Cena. [ 116 ] Batista then became involved in WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Bret Hart ‘s competition by assisting McMahon in attacking Hart ; John Cena attempted to save Hart, but was assaulted by Batista. [ 117 ] On February 21 at Elimination Chamber, as requital for Batista attacking Hart, McMahon allowed Batista to face Cena for the WWE Championship immediately after Cena won the style in an Elimination Chamber meet. Batista won the match and therefore his second gear WWE Championship, which resulted in Batista moving back to Raw. [ 118 ] On March 28 at WrestleMania XXVI, Batista lost the WWE Championship to John Cena in a replay, ending his reign at 35 days. [ 119 ] [ 120 ] Batista received his replay for the title in a end Man Standing pit on April 25 at Extreme Rules, but was defeated by Cena after Cena duct-taped his peg around a resound post, preventing him from standing up. [ 121 ] Batista and Cena faced off once again for the WWE Championship on May 23 at Over the Limit, but he failed again to regain the deed from Cena in an “ I Quit ” match, quitting as Cena threatened to give him the Attitude Adjustment off the ceiling of a car. Cena did thus anyhow, throwing Batista off of the car and through the phase below. [ 122 ] The following night on Raw, Batista opened the appearance in a wheelchair and claimed that he would be pursuing legal action against Cena and WWE for his injuries ( which he revealed in 2014 to be a legitimate compaction fault of his L1 spur ). [ 123 ] His promo was interrupted by new Raw General Manager Bret Hart, who ordered he face an hurt Randy Orton to qualify for a photograph at WWE Championship against Cena again at the new Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view. Batista refused and quit the company after Hart named Orton winner by confiscate. His profile was subsequently moved to the alumni page on WWE ‘s web site. [ 124 ] He late said in an interview that he left WWE because he “ did not like the direction the party was going in ”. [ 125 ]

fall to WWE ( 2013–2014 )

On the December 23, 2013 episode of Raw, a vignette advertised the return of Batista on January 20, 2014 episode of Raw. [ 126 ] Batista returned as a grimace to confront WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton on the January 20 Raw, and vowed to win the 2014 Royal Rumble match and become ace at WrestleMania XXX. Later that night, Batista confronted Alberto Del Rio, who had been pan talking him for several weeks, and finally attacked him with a Batista Bomb. [ 127 ] Six days late at the Royal Rumble, Batista entered the rumble match at count 28 and last extinguish Roman Reigns to win the equal, becoming the fifth wrestler to win multiple grumble matches, and the first, and so far only multi-time Royal Rumble winner to win from the like entrant phone number ( 28 ). [ 128 ] The live push reacted negatively towards Batista ‘s succeed, as Daniel Bryan did not take part in the match. Despite a positive reaction in the first place, the crowd began to boo Batista after Reigns was eliminated. [ 129 ] After the show went off the tune, Batista mocked Bryan and gestured his middle finger at the crowd. [ 130 ] According to Batista, he thought a return as a face was a bad idea because of the fans being sol invested in Daniel Bryan ‘s “ Yes Movement ”. [ 131 ] On the February 3 Raw, Batista was confronted and was ultimately assaulted by Del Rio before chasing him off. [ 132 ] Batista retaliated the keep up week, powerbombing Del Rio through the broadcast postpone. [ 133 ] At the Elimination Chamber event and on the postdate Raw, Batista was heavy booed by the fans during matches against Del Rio. [ 134 ] Batista won the match at Elimination Chamber, but continued to suffer a torrid fan reaction with “ Boo-tista ” chants. [ 135 ] Batista responded to the audience on the February 28 episode of SmackDown, saying that he did not come back to be liked, then mocked the other wrestlers by stating that they were not “ real men ” and promised to be the adjacent WWE World Heavyweight Champion, therefore turning heel. [ 136 ] After Orton retained his title at the Elimination Chamber, the schedule WrestleMania XXX main event was Batista vs. Orton, however Bryan was added to the match after defeating Triple H in the open contest of the show. Batista ultimately lost the trio threat match at WrestleMania after Bryan forced him to submit to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. [ 137 ]
The following night on Raw, Batista and Orton teamed together to face The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but the match ended in a double count out. [ 138 ] Later that nox, Batista and Orton, along with Kane, attacked Bryan before he was set to defend his title against Triple H. Before Triple H could defeat Bryan, The Shield interrupted by spearing Triple H and taking out Batista, Orton and Kane, causing Bryan to retain his title via disqualification. [ 139 ] On the April 14 episode of Raw, Batista, Triple H and Randy Orton came gloomy to the gang to attack The Shield after their 11-on-3 disability match, using the list and the theme of Evolution. [ 140 ] At both Extreme Rules and Payback, Evolution lost to The Shield. [ 141 ] [ 142 ] On the June 2 episode of Raw, Batista foreswear WWE after Triple H denied him a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. [ 143 ] Batista legitimately quit the WWE due to creative differences soon after. [ 144 ] [ 145 ] In April 2015, Batista said that he would be interest in returning to WWE, but only at non-televised events. [ 146 ] He was contacted to appear at WrestleMania 32 in 2016, but turned down the offer. [ 147 ] Regarding his brief tenure in professional wrestle, he said that his greatest accomplishment was “ putting guy over ” and “ reward favors ”. [ 148 ]

second return to WWE ( 2018–2019 )

On October 16, 2018, Batista reunited with the rest of Evolution for an appearance on SmackDown ‘s thousandth episode, where Batista teased a match with Triple H, as Triple H had never beaten Batista in singles contest. [ 149 ] On February 25, 2019, Batista returned to Raw and attacked Ric Flair backstage as Flair was about to make an appearance for his seventieth birthday celebration arsenic well as subsequently calling out Triple H. [ 150 ] On the March 11 episode of Raw, Batista and Triple H had a face-to-face confrontation, in which Batista challenged Triple H to a meet at WrestleMania 35 in order to end his career in his own terms, while besides vowing to end Triple H ‘s, in which Triple H accepted, while besides adding the couple would be a No Holds Barred equal. [ 151 ] On the March 25 episode of Raw, Triple H put his career on the tune against Batista, per the order ‘s of Batista ‘s lawyers. [ 152 ] At WrestleMania on April 7, Batista lost to Triple H after hindrance from Ric Flair. [ 153 ] On April 8, 2019, Batista announced his retirement from professional wrestle. [ 6 ] [ 154 ] On December 9, 2019, WWE officially announced that Batista would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a depart of the class of 2020. [ 155 ] The event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it was announced that the class of 2020 would be inducted alongside the class of 2021 at the 2021 event. Prior to the event, however, he was removed from the list. [ 156 ] Batista posted to Twitter, confirming his removal, citing previous obligations as a reason for why he could not attend the 2021 event. He besides said that WWE honored his request to induct him at a future ceremony. [ 157 ]

professional wrestle style and persona

Batista Bomb, on Batista performing his eat up motion, the, on Finlay at a WWE family show in 2006 Upon his return to WWE in 2014, Batista was heavily booed by the crowd after winning the Royal Rumble, despite playing a face character. [ 158 ] In an interview with WWE.com, Batista said regarding the crowd reaction that “ it was wyrd. It was n’t like a normal reaction. It was about like a personal attack. It had to do with factors that were not in my control condition, factors and things that were going on in the company with other people, stuff that very had nothing to do with me. To me, it was a little torment, a little confuse, and, you know, I don ’ metric ton want to say I completely took it personal, but I did reasonably. ” [ 159 ] The fan reaction caused Batista to turn prematurely cad. [ 136 ] He was declared as the fiftieth greatest wrestling villain of all time by a WWE article in 2012. [ 160 ] WWE has besides ranked him as the moment best World Heavyweight Champion of all time. [ 161 ] WWE advertised the Batista character as being 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 290 pounds ( both statistics are different from his actual altitude and weight as of August 2020 ). [ 1 ] [ 3 ]

shuffle warlike arts career

After leaving WWE, Bautista attended Strikeforce: Los Angeles, a mix martial arts ( MMA ) consequence, on June 16, 2010 having previously registered an pastime in competing in MMA. On June 21, 2010, Bautista stated that he would be embarking on an MMA career. [ 164 ] He besides became a purple knock in brazilian jiu-jitsu under the tutelage of Cesar Gracie. [ 21 ] Bautista and Strikeforce agreed on a price and were negotiating a abridge. however, in April 2011, Bautista stated that negotiations fell through when the constitution was bought by the Zuffa company. [ 165 ]
The close moments of Bautista ‘s win against Vince Lucero in 2012 Bautista was expected to make his MMA debut against Rashid Evans ( not Rashad Evans ) on October 6, 2012 at the Classic Entertainment and Sports: Real Pain consequence in Providence, Rhode Island. [ 166 ] [ 167 ] however, on October 1, 2012, Evans was forced out of the bout after a probation misdemeanor landed him back in jail. Evans was replaced by craftsman and 40-fight veteran Vince Lucero. Bautista went on to win the battle by technical smasher ( TKO ) at 4:05 in the first round. [ 168 ]

mix martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
1 match 1 win 0 losses
By knockout 1 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 1–0 Vince Lucero TKO (punches) CES MMA: Real Pain October 6, 2012 1 4:05 Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Acting career

Bautista has acted and guest-starred in several television shows as both himself and in-character as Batista. He guest-starred in the one-eighth episode of season 6 of the american drama action /adventure television serial Smallville ; he played an extraterrestrial estrange named Aldar that escaped from the Phantom Zone, who sucks the bones out of people for nourishment. [ 169 ] In June 2009, Bautista made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the australian soap opera Neighbours. [ 170 ] In 2010, he made an appearance on an episode of Chuck. [ 171 ] He has besides made a cameo appearance in Relative Strangers. [ 14 ] Bautista worked aboard Rob Van Dam, Marrese Crump and Ja Rule on the 2010 natural process film Wrong Side of Town. [ 172 ]
Bautista at the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 empanel at the 2016 Comic-Con Bautista appeared as the nefarious Brass Body in the Universal Studios film The Man with the Iron Fists. He played Drax the Destroyer in the 2014 Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy, which was a critical and commercial achiever. [ 173 ] He played Mr. Hinx in the James Bond film, Spectre ( 2015 ), [ 174 ] and starred as the villain Tong Po in the boot of the 1989 soldierly arts film Kickboxer, opposition Georges St-Pierre. [ 175 ] Bautista joined the cast of Blade Runner 2049 as Sapper Morton, which was released on October 6, 2017. [ 176 ] He reprised his function as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, released in May 2017, [ 177 ] Avengers: Infinity War, released in April 2018 and Avengers: Endgame, released in April 2019. [ 178 ] In January 2019, Bautista was cast in the approaching Denis Villeneuve adaptation of Dune. [ 179 ] In 2018, Bautista joined his castmates in hold of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn after his open fire for old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape. [ 180 ] Bautista declared that if Disney ( parent company of Marvel Studios ) did not use Gunn ‘s script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he would ask to be recast, calling Gunn ‘s firing “ disgust ”. [ 181 ] ultimately, Gunn was reinstated as director of the film in March 2019. [ 182 ] On May 24, 2021, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the star confirmed that the approaching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be his final appearance as the character. [ 183 ] On February 5, 2021, Bautista was to set to star in the fantasy-adventure film In the Lost Lands with Milla Jovovich, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. [ 184 ] On April 5, 2021, it was announced that Bautista will appear in Zack Snyder ‘s Army of the Dead. [ 185 ] On May 11, 2021, it was announced that Bautista will appear in the sequel to Knives Out aboard Daniel Craig. [ 186 ] On December 6, 2021, he was cast in Knock At The Cabin written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan [ 187 ]

other media

Batista at a WWE meet and greet in 2005 Bautista appeared on the covers of the April 2005 Flex, [ 188 ] and Muscle & Fitness for September 2008. [ 189 ] Along with John Cena and Ashley Massaro, Bautista appeared representing WWE on an sequence of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in January 2007, giving the kids of the class whose house was renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23. [ 190 ] According to the Wrestling Figure Checklist, Bautista had 171 natural process figures released in the 2000s and 2010s, the huge majority were released in the mid-to-late 2000s by Jakks Pacific. [ 191 ] Baustia remarked on his 2007 appearance on MTV Cribs that “I was trying to collect my action figures, but I gave up, there became too many”. [ 192 ] On October 16, 2007, Bautista ‘s autobiography, Batista Unleashed, was released. [ 4 ] In an interview about the book, he claimed, “ I did n’t want to tell my floor unless it was honest … you have to go through three sets of lawyers : Simon & Schuster lawyers, WWE lawyers, my lawyers. Everything now being the way it is, you can be sued for the simplest thing. ” [ 193 ] One generator of controversy was the script ‘s mention of Chris Benoit, a wrestler who excellently killed his wife and strangled his son in a murder-suicide, who was about completely removed from the bible. Bautista responded, “ I loved the guy. I despise what he did, but that does n’t erase him from my life. I fought to keep him in there and glad they did. ” [ 193 ] When asked about his ex-wife, Angie, he says, “ [ We ] have actually become close again, which we very have n’t been in years. I in truth learned a lot about her, and she learned a lot about me from reading the book. She actually saw things from a different position from reading the script. So that was decidedly remedy. ” [ 193 ] During the workweek of November 5, 2007, he appeared on Family Feud with respective other WWE wrestlers. [ 194 ] On September 7, 2008, he appeared on an episode of Iron Chef America as one of the judges, with snails as the theme ingredient. [ 195 ] Bautista, along with Candice Michelle, Shelton Benjamin, and Josh Mathews, represented the WWE at the 2008 democratic National Convention in an effort to persuade fans to register to vote in the 2008 presidential election. [ 196 ] Batista has besides appeared on MTV Cribs showing his house and his cars. [ citation needed ] Bautista had his first biographic DVD released through WWE Productions entitled Batista: I Walk Alone. It was released October 20, 2009. A second biographic DVD was released which continued his biography narrative from walking away from WWE back in 2010 and then making his journey back to WWE in 2014 was released entitle WWE Batista: The Animal Unleashed, which was released in June 2014. [ 197 ]

Controversies

incidental with Booker T

During a commercial shoot for the 2006 SummerSlam pay-per-view, Bautista got into a legalize fistfight with Booker T. The incident was reported on WWE.com, with both men telling their sides of the fib. Booker T believed that Bautista considered himself to be better than the rest of the roll due to his main event condition and relatively quick ascent to achieve it. Wrestlers backstage were praising Booker for speaking his mind to Bautista about his attitude. [ 198 ] [ 199 ] [ 200 ]

steroid hormone allegations

In August 2007, ESPN falsely included Bautista on a list of names that they claimed were clients of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Florida, one of many pharmacies under probe for illegitimately providing anabolic steroids. [ 201 ] Bautista released a statement denying ESPN ‘s allegations and was angry over the report. He denied ever being a customer of Signature and stated that he has been “ tested regularly by the WWE, and I am in full complaisance with the WWE Wellness Program “. [ 202 ] WWE suspended ten wrestlers named in the statement ; Bautista was not one of them. [ 203 ]

personal life

Bautista in July 2013 Bautista married his first wife, Glenda, in 1990. They have two daughters in concert, Keilani ( bear 1990 ) and Athena ( born 1992 ), before divorcing in 1998. [ 204 ] Bautista married his second wife, Angie, on October 13, 1998. They have a son together, Oliver, [ 205 ] after divorcing in 2006. [ 206 ] Before the age of 40, Bautista already had two grandsons through Keilani. [ 207 ] [ 208 ] During his marriage to Angie, he became an avid collector of vintage metallic element lunchboxes. His favored is the 1967 Green Hornet lunchbox as it has Bruce Lee on it. This collection started when he bought Angie an E.T. lunchbox and she did not want to break it, so he bought a second one. [ 209 ] In October 2015, he married competitive pole dancer Sarah Jade. [ 210 ] The couple separated in early 2019. [ 205 ] As of August 2020, he is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 275 pounds. [ 1 ] He has numerous tattoos, including a big dragon on his back, bolshevik kanji lettering on his upper left biceps which says “ Angel ” in tribute to Angie, a signature plan on his upper right biceps, and a small sunday on his abdomen which encircles his navel. [ 211 ] He besides has a tattoo on his weapon of the flags of Greece and the Philippines. While taking time off due to injury in 2009, he had both upper arms covered in big, tribal expressive style tattoo, including the phrase “ DC soldier ” on his right biceps. [ 212 ] Bautista supported Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. [ 213 ] He endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election and appeared in an ad for his presidential campaign. [ 214 ] [ 215 ]

Filmography

film

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released

television receiver

Video games

Theme park attractions

Championships and accomplishments

Batista during his first gear World Heavyweight Championship reign

professional writhe

References

Read more: Willem Dafoe