Batista Reveals His Favorite Wrestler, Talks "Failing Miserably" As A Wrestler At First
Batista recently sat down with SPORTbible to reflect on his illustrious career, from his early teenage days to his journey to becoming a professional wrestler. Batista's obsession with bodybuilding and growing his physique helped net him a job as a bouncer at only 17 years old.
"I found my way into bouncing at nightclubs, really young," Batista said. "I started bouncing in nightclubs when I was 17. And it's funny I was still in high school bouncing in nightclubs and all my friends who were too young to drink would come down to the nightclubs I was working in and of course I would let them in. Then I spent all of my twenties just wasting away, you know pursuing becoming huge and bouncing in nightclubs and making easy money. "
Batista says that he felt himself wasting away, but decided to pursue pro-wrestling because of the type of shape he was in. He admits that it didn't go so well at first.
"I kind of got wrapped up in that life that just led to nowhere. When I kind of reflected and thought, 'What could I do with myself?' I don't have an education. I don't really have any training or job training but I have this great big huge body and I thought 'I'll be a professional wrestler.' And my first go at that, I failed miserably."
He would later transition into the film industry appearing in movies such as The Man with the Iron Fists, Blade Runner 2049, and his biggest role to date as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Batista said that he wasn't sure how much wrestling helped his movie career."
"I don't know how much the wrestling had to do with my career in acting," Batista stated. "It brought me out of my shell a little bit."
Batista also noted that his favorite wrestler was The Warlord due to his size.
"When I was a kid, Warlord was absolutely my favorite wrestler and it was because he was the most immense human being I had ever seen in my life, he was massive," Batista said. "I was just awestruck by him. I was mesmerized by him."
"Later on, when I was actually in wrestling I realized that he wasn't the most technical wrestler, but when I was a kid my memories are nothing but being awestruck, seeing him in excitement, waiting for him to come out."
You can check out the full interview below:
Source: SPORTbible