Despite his last match coming in April 2019, Batista remains one of the most popular stars in WWE history. The Animal remains one of the most accomplished stars in the promotion’s history while also winning multiple world titles and winning the Royal Rumble twice.
The star has forayed into Hollywood and has also made a name for himself there as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy. While he has announced his retirement from the squared circle, Bautista seems to be eager to come back to the ring for one last run.
Taking to Instagram, WWE personality and superstar Titus O’Neil shared a photo of him training with Batista and Jiu-Jitsu trainer Cesar Gracie. The former tag team champion captioned the photo and stated that training with the esteemed athletes was “fun.” This has also given rise to speculation that the Hollywood megastar could be training to return to the squared circle and is therefore being seen with O’Neil.
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The former World Heavyweight Champion first made his mark in WWE as part of the famed OVW class, which also consisted of Randy Orton and John Cena. The Animal went on to win four world titles and the tag team titles. Bautista was also a part of the famed stable Evolution which was led by Triple H and also consisted of Orton and Ric Flair. Bautista’s last match in WWE came against The Game at WrestleMania 35, where he succumbed to a defeat.
Batista regretted having an affair with former WWE Superstar Melina
By his own admission, Dave Bautista was never interested in doing drugs or alcohol. The Animal was always around women, and it ultimately cost him his first marriage. During an on-screen interaction with then-MNM manager Melina, the two started an affair off-screen. This ultimately hurt Bautista’s marriage. At the time, the superstar was at the peak of his popularity, and being surrounded by women go to him.
Years later, Batista realized his mistakes and decided to clean up his act for the sake of his family and personal relationships. He regretted getting involved with all the women and stated that if there ever was something he could change about his life, this would be it. The former world champion also revealed some of the details about his said relationship in his book Unleashed.
When people make fun of Batista to me it’s annoying. Just because I had an incident w him YEARS ago doesn’t mean I wanna make fun of him. It’s the past and VERY old news. We made amends and ended that negative energy a LONG time ago. pic.twitter.com/KCwaRHKz4I
— Shelly Martinez🦇 (@ShellyFromCali) May 8, 2023
“I don’t have a lot of regrets in my life, and I haven’t been an angel,” he said. “But if I could change anything, it’d be the chapter with all the women. It hurt the people I love.”
It remains to be seen whether The Animal will ever return to the ring and make his presence felt in one final outing. The legend was reportedly set to be inducted into the 2020 Hall of Fame, but that was postponed due to the pandemic. It will also be interesting to see when he will get the opportunity to etch in the murals of WWE history.
