Dave Bautista is one of the few professional wrestlers to have transitioned into a successful acting career. Bautista went on to have a successful tenure in the WWE from 2000 to 2010 and made sporadic appearances in the later years to round out his career. He followed in the footsteps of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson by transitioning to acting in hit movies such as the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
Despite his continued popularity in the wrestling circuit, Bautista has admitted that he won’t be following Johnson’s queue this time around and returning for some in-ring action. In a recent interview, Bautista admitted that he was happy with the way he left things off in the wrestling business and had no intentions of ruining his picture-perfect ending. Here is what Bautista had to say about a potential WWE return.
Dave Bautista Reveals Why He Won’t Follow in Dwayne Johnson’s WWE Footsteps
Dave Bautista became one of the most popular WWE wrestlers during the decade of 2000s. He later ventured into acting, gaining popularity for his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Bautista appeared in a No Holds Barred match with Triple H at WrestleMania 35 with his career on the line.
Following his loss in the match, Bautista announced his retirement from professional wrestling in 2019. The former wrestler recently sat down for a conversation with Chris Van Vliet to promote his upcoming film The Killer’s Game. At the same time, Bautista was asked about a potential return to wrestling.
I dream about walking out and hearing my entrance music, but I know if I do that, I’ll just tarnish my storybook ending, and I’m just not willing to do it.
Bautista made the above statement, explaining that he got to retire on his own terms, an opportunity few wrestlers get in the business.
Furthermore, Bautista felt that his final match in the WWE served as the perfect ending to his career. Therefore, unlike Dwayne Johnson, who recently returned to the ring in a spectacular heel run leading up to WrestleMania 40, Bautista did not want to tarnish his legacy by making a return.
WWE Fans Praise Dave Bautista As the Wrestler Turned Actor Holds Hope For Hall of Fame Induction
During the same interview, Bautista admitted that he would return to the WWE for his Hall of Fame induction at some point in the future. The Dune 2 star admitted that logistical issues prevented him from appearing at his induction ceremony which was first planned for 2020.
I was working on a film. I was in South Africa, so logistically, we just couldn’t make it happen. But yeah, I’m still open to it, and one day, I would like to.
Bautista stated the above regarding his hopes for his Hall of Fame ceremony. Following the former wrestler’s statements about a potential return to WWE, fans took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and expressed their views on the same.
As the tweets suggest, fans want to see Bautista make his WWE return but also understand his perspective of not wanting to tarnish the storybook ending he received at WrestleMania 35.
Ultimately, fans are eagerly looking forward to Bautista’s impending Hall of Fame induction. Nonetheless, some fans expressed a desire to see him go on one final run in the WWE, which seems unlikely given Bautista is currently focused on his acting career.
The Killer’s Game is slated to release on September 13, 2024.
