Former WWE champion Dave Bautista recently spoke with Pro Wrestling Sheet‘s Ryan Satin while promoting his movie Stuber. During the interview, Bautista talked about his final feud in pro wrestling with Triple H, saying he initially went back for the Evolution reunion because he wanted to know if people were still interested. He cited how long he’d been away from wrestling as cause for concern, but saw how well the segment went, and said HHH told him to ‘get in shape, motherf*cker,’ a sign that he was getting the match he put off retirement for.
Bautista said the match was set, but they didn’t train because of Hunter’s untimely injury. Despite the setbacks, Batista says he’s very proud of what they accomplished in the ring, and that it could have been disastrous. He also said he had some reservations about coming back as a heel (which echoed past comments about being a heel in his hometown on the Chasing Glory podcast with Lilian Garcia) but he ultimately saw past a babyface / heel dynamic and realized people just wanted to see a fight.
“I did at first, but then it was weird. It was a weird spot to be in because I didn’t realize that Hunter had been getting so much love lately, and deservedly so for everything he had done with NXT. He was just getting a lot of love. He wasn’t the heel he’d always been. And then it got to the point where I just felt like people didn’t really care. They weren’t reading into the whole heel/babyface thing. They were reading into the nostalgic rivalry between us. And it was two guys that really just wanted to beat the hell out of each other. And they just wanted to see us beat the hell out of each other. So when I started kinda thinking more along those lines then it just became much easier. I mean, honestly, we’re both heels. People just wanted to see us go to war.”
Related: Batista On His Final WWE Run, What A Hall Of Fame Induction Would Mean To Him
Bautista said that while he’s proud of his final match and has closure on his career, he wanted things on his terms, and he’s lucky that he got that chance. He said he didn’t want WWE to make a big deal out of his retirement, and he was adamant that he left without a spectacle.
“I’m proud of that match. I was proud to close out my career that way with the guy I wanted to close it out with. That was personal for all kinds of reasons and now I just finally have closure on my career. Like that night. And I wanted to announce it [retirement], I didn’t want to make it a company thing. I didn’t want them to have me come on the show and do the big spot where I’m announcing my retirement. I just wanted to announce it and slowly just kinda fade away. That’s it. I’m done. I should’ve hung up my boots a long time ago, but I was very stubborn and adamant and I just wanted to do it on my terms. And I got the opportunity to do that.”
Bautista also touched on his penultimate run in WWE, one he considered to be a ‘nightmare.’ He said things appear like they’ve gotten worse, and it boils down to talent not having as much freedom as they used to.
“The creative process I still don’t get. It was a nightmare to me the last time I was there, which was 2014, and it seems like it’s become worse. I feel like they don’t have a clear vision, a long term vision, everything is very week-to-week. It doesn’t seem like they stick to a plan very much.”
“[Chris] Jericho pointed out something to me that makes complete sense. He said that John Cena is the last guy who is gonna be over like he is and it’s because the performers now they’re limited. Their hands are tied. They can’t go to war like we used to. We used to go to war and beat the crap out of each other and it earned a level of respect from people. And it was just like a different level of respect, it was a different level of getting over. We had more freedom.”
The full interview with Bautista, including more on his final WWE run, his friendship with James Gunn, and more, can be heard here.
