SUMMARY
- Dave Bautista is one of the most successful wrestler-turned-actors in the long history of professional wrestling.
- Alongside Dave's acting skills, the 55-year-old's physique has also played a major role in his Hollywood success.
Over the years, numerous WWE stars have made a transition to Hollywood to make a career in acting. Dwayne Johnson is arguably considered to be the biggest wrestler-turned-actor. But one name that gives him competition in this aspect is the legendary Dave Bautista.
Despite all the love The Animal receives from fans due to his charming presence and acting skills, there’s one aspect of his personality that often raises questions. The former WWE World Champion is always spotted wearing sunglasses in public. And that’s why his admirers wonder what’s the real reason behind this strange habit of Dave.
A lot of people believe that the actor probably wears them for the sake of fashion. But Dave’s reason to wear sunglasses i not what most of the fans think. In fact, there’s a very personal reason behind this habit of the 55-year-old Hollywood star. Its reason revealed by Bautista during an interview with Men’s Health, and it was surprising.
As per the Guardians of the Galaxy star, he suffers from anxiety, and the glasses help him to handle it. In the cover story, Bautista talked about his anxiety surrounding premieres. He shared how sunglasses help him feel better in crowds despite his shyness and public aversion. The actor shared that he wears his sunglasses—large black-rimmed, ski-goggle tint—as a “pacifier, a therapeutic thing.”
“When I was a kid, you could barely get two words out of me. I was just such an introvert, and I was attached to my mom’s leg,” the veteran pro wrestling figure shared with the outlet. These comments by the MCU star reveal the reason why the actor is always spotted wearing sunglasses in the public.
The Animal has been pretty vocal about his mental health issues
Dave sharing why he always wears sunglasses isn’t the only time the 55-year-old wrestler-turned-actor talked about such a topic. In fact, The Animal has been pretty vocal about his mental health issues. He has talked about the impact they had on his life in different interviews throughout his career.
During one such conversation, he talked about the kind of circumstances he had to go through in his childhood. It included his father never really being there for him. In fact, the WWE legend once also disclosed how his mother used to be terrified. And the reason was her fear that her son’s troubled youth was going to end up taking his life.
During his young age, the actor used to be involved with gangs. He was someone who was just hanging around, stealing, and doing such criminal activities. Despite everything that the veteran went through at a young age, he was able to conquer the circumstances. In fact, his run with the Stamford-based promotion that helped him get rid of all these things over the years.
Bautista himself has credited his career in the Triple H-led promotion as a major step in his life. The wrestler feels it helped him get out of the shell. In addition to this, he also feels that bodybuilding had a major role in his success. According to him, bodybuilding saved his life, and it helped him attain mental health benefits alongside his stunning physical growth, which helped him in his professional journey.
Has Dave Bautista retired from the WWE?
Since turning his focus to his acting career, Bautista hasn’t been a full-time wrestler. But he has still been around WWE, and he even had a stretched run with the wrestling organization in 2014. This stint saw him returning to the company on the January 20, 2014, episode of Monday Night RAW.
In fact, the Triple H-led promotion pulled the trigger on pushing him to new heights in this run by giving him a Royal Rumble win. But it wasn’t well received by fans, and that’s why he faced a lot of backlash from the audience throughout the initial days of his comeback to the organization. Due to this, on the February 28 episode of SmackDown, he eventually turned heel.
In the main event of WrestleMania XXX, the 6-foot-4 lost a triple-threat match for the WWE Championship involving Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. Following this, the veteran was aligned with his iconic Evolution faction. Then, he had a decent run with the group before legitimately quitting due to creative differences between him and the company.
Following this, the 55-year-old made another return to the Stamford-based promotion in 2018. It happened on the 1000-episode anniversary of Friday Night SmackDown, as Dave reunited with the group on the October 16, 2018 show. In fact, this appearance started an iconic storyline between Bautista and Triple H.
After weeks of rumors, the storyline eventually began on February 25, 2019, as The Animal attacked Ric Flair. This ended up setting up a high-profile encounter between The Game and Batista, as they faced each other at WrestleMania 35. In fact, the match had high stakes, as it was a No Holds Barred with careers on the line, which made everyone really excited.
It was a storyline masterclass, but at the end, this match ended up becoming the Hollywood star’s last bout in the WWE, as he lost to Hunter after an interaction by The Nature Boy. On the next day, Dave officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, which was the end of the legendary performer’s in-ring career in the Stamford-based promotion.
From starting as a rookie in the pro wrestling world to being able to become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista has come a long way. In fact, his journey in the entertainment industry has been incredible. Still, those who know him from his pro wrestling days still want him to return to the Triple H-led promotion.
Even though he’s not been seen in the company since a long time, but at multiple occasions rumors of his return have surfaced. Initially, during the SAG-AFTRA strike, it was speculated that he might be thinking about a return, but it didn’t really happen. Later, it was reported that he could be making an appearance at Royal Rumble 2024. But it also ended up being a hyped rumor on the internet.
Amid the popularity Bautista enjoys, the WWE universe wants to see more of him in the promotion. But looking at the current situation it seems like a far-stretched possibility. It remains to be seen if he will ever be able to make a comeback to pro wrestling or not.
