WWE Alum Dave Bautista Recalls WCW Telling Him He'd Never Make It In Pro Wrestling

Before Dave Bautista became a household name in Hollywood, he spent nearly a decade at the top of WWE, picking up such accolades as four World Heavyweight Championships, two WWE Championships, and two WrestleMania main events. According to Bautista, however, he was not always destined for success.

Discussing his early days with Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show," Bautista said he was unsure what he wanted to do when his first career choice did not pan out.

"I thought I wanted to body-build," Bautista said. "Thirteen years later, I had nothing to show for it. I was just big and jacked, and I was broke, and I thought, 'What am I going to do?'"

He eventually decided to pursue professional wrestling, trying out for WCW. Unfortunately, that didn't work out either.

"My first tryout was miserable," said Bautista. "They told me to leave and that I'd never be a pro wrestler ... that was in Atlanta, Georgia. It's a place called the Power Plant, which was WCW at the time. They literally told me to leave. 'You're not gonna make it, you're never going to make it.'"

This account from Bautista is seemingly about his tryout in 1999 with Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker (DeWayne Bruce). In a 2022 interview, Parker claims he felt he was doing Bautista "a great favor," feeling that WCW would not use Bautista properly; Bautista has previously referred to Parker as "a bitter troll of a man."

Bautista retired from WWE, seemingly for good, following his WrestleMania 35 loss to Triple H. He was set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020, but asked to postpone his induction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While WWE honored his request, Bautista has not been included in a Hall of Fame class since.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Tonight Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.