Wrestling / Batista

aka: Dave Bautista

I walk alone.

Batista is the ring name of Dave Bautista (born David Michael Bautista on January 18, 1969 in Arlington, Virginia). For more on his acting career and other entertainment ventures, see that page.

He was one of the top-tier wrestlers in WWE, with his tenure there lasting between 2002 and 2010, and returning to WWE twice in 2014 and 2019 before retiring from wrestling. During his time in WWE, he was part of the stable Evolution, and became a 4 time World Heavyweight Champion, 2 time WWE Champion, 1 time Tag Team Champion^note With Rey Mysterio Jr., and 3 time World Tag Champion.^note 2 times with Ric Flair, once with John Cena He is also a 2 time Royal Rumble winner, having won the 2005 and 2014 Royal Rumbles.

Since his time in the ring, he has also done other works and media, including MMA and acting in various movies and TV series.

He returned to WWE from January-June 2014, formally reentering in-ring competition in the 2014 Royal Rumble match, and winning. He returned one final time in 2019 in a feud with his longtime friend Triple H, culminating in what would be his final match, a No-Holds-Barred match, at WrestleMania 35. After Hunter won the match, Batista officially announced his retirement in an emotional Instagram post, thanking his fans for supporting him over the years. He was one of two WWE legends, alongside Kurt Angle, who wrestled their last matches there.

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"It's time to unleash the tropes":

• Arch-Enemy:
  • Triple H, The Undertaker, Edge, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena.
  • Dave does not have fond memories of Randy Orton. Randy doesn't have very many of those of him either thanks to the chip on his shoulder caused by Evolution's betrayal. Even then, however, neither Dave nor Randy consider each other to be one of their primary arch-enemies, seeing as while they do hate each other, they have much more beef with others. Dave had a lot of issues with The Undertaker over the years, and as much as Randy hates Dave for his part in Evolution's betrayal, it's is to a far lesser extent than the pure loathing he has for Triple H. Then there's the aforementioned Cena, who both despise more than they could anyone else. The only times Dave and Randy ever really clashed was due to conflict of interests (ex: the WWE Championship) — otherwise, they were more or less content to stay out of each other's way.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: A holdover from his time in Evolution, his promos frequently show him sharply dressed. With his penchant for pink dress shirts and ties, crosses over frequently with Real Men Wear Pink. Plays this straight nonetheless as Mr. Hinx.
• Bald of Evil: As Leviathan and during his 2009–10 heel run and his 2014 return.
• Beard of Evil: He started sporting a pretty dark five-'o-clock shadow during his 2010 heel run. This became a fuller beard for his 2014 heel run and Evolution reunion, which he grew back for SPECTRE.
• Big Eater: As shown when he was a guest judge in an episode of Iron Chef America. He was apprehensive at first when the secret ingredient turned out to be snails, but he pretty much devoured the food with great gusto once judging came. Some of the dishes were even served to him on bigger plates than those of the other judges.
• Book Ends: In 2006, he vacated and regained the World Heavyweight Championship in Philadelphia.
• Broken Pedestal
  • Has stated on Chris Jericho's podcast that Vince McMahon fining him, Jericho, and the referee for blading when Jericho beat him in a steel cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship by knocking him off with a piece of the cage was a moment that broke his heart and gave birth to his exit strategy from WWE, as he realized the company's business had changed in a direction he didn't want to be a permanent fixture in anymore. Jericho noted that Batista graciously paid his and the referee's fine as well.
  • Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who Batista has publicly supported out of patriotism due to their common Filipino ties, once made pointed comments about homosexual sex^note Much of it was because of Pacquiao's religious beliefs that homosexuality is against the tenets of Christianity in the similar vein of most American conservatives. Batista, whose mother is homosexual, was so pissed off about Pacquiao's comments that he launched into a Cluster F-Bomb tirade when the topic came up on TMZ.
  • Triple H was considered the man who made Batista's career due to his star-making role in Evolution, and since then they've always had a deep respect for one another. Or so Dave thought…when, after he expressed a desire to make an appearance at SummerSlam 2014 to do some cross promotional work for Guardians of the Galaxy shortly following his departure at the end of The Shield feud earlier that year, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon actually laughed at the idea, saying "We don't even know if that movie will be any good." Needless to say, the best revenge is success; in this case, Guardians became such a huge critical and financial success it put to shame the entire WWE Studios catalog combined, with Dave's performance as Drax singled out by many critics as one of the best parts of the movie. Not only did the Guardians go on to become key figures in the Infinity Stones arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dave himself would gain multiple movie roles outside of the superhero genre off the back of his performance as Drax, enabling him to fully transition into acting.
• The Brute: This was his role as a member of Triple H's Evolution stable
• But Not Too Foreign: He's a Greek Filipino. For awhile, viewers South of The Border thought he was Mexican American, leading him to receive a popularity boost Latin markets and be put in an angle with Eddie Guerrero.
• Chewing the Scenery: After turning heel, Batista started putting his propensity for ham to good use.
• Cool Old Guy: He was already in his thirties when he debuted in WWE. Of course, it helped that his longtime tag-team partner, Ric Flair, was already older at that point.
• Cool Shades: He frequently wears a pair of stylish shades when giving promos, and generally when out of the ring. There's a surprisingly practical reason for it — Batista admits to having anxiety from public speaking and that it'd show through his eyes, with the shades making it easier to hide from the public.
• The Dandy: One of the few monster wrestlers to also be this.
• Deuteragonist: During his first WWE run, after he turned face in the wake of Evolution's dissolution. Batista was the number two face of the company for years, acting as the protagonist for SmackDown! while John Cena carried RAW. Notably, nobody was able to dislodge him from this position until he turned heel in 2009-2010, which was his last run before his first exit from the company.
• Dirty Old Man: Repeatedly accused of hitting on the younger Divas, even if they were already seeing someone (and when he was married). He even admits it in his book, stating that while other wrestlers had drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms, he had women.
• Duct Tape for Everything: At Extreme Rules 2010, Batista lost his Last Man Standing match against John Cena by getting his legs duct-taped around a ring post. Definitely a humiliating loss for him and one he did not take well as he made clear the following night on Raw. The embarrassing loss was the gradual start of his Villainous Breakdown.
• Evil Power Vacuum:
  • In hindsight, one of the reasons Batista was moved back to SmackDown! after he returned from injury in 2009 was because Jeff Hardy left the company at the end of the summer that year, meaning the blue brand was lacking severely in top faces. It failed in part due to Batista deciding to turn heel for his last run with the company, and moving back to RAW to feud with John Cena.
  • Batista's Face–Heel Turn and own eventual departure from the company in 2010 meant SmackDown! no longer had a top babyface (especially after The Undertaker slid down into part-timer status as 2010 wore on). Rey Mysterio and The Big Show held the fort down for a while, but they were obvious patch jobs. Edge (after going through the Heel–Face Revolving Door for most of the year) ended up being his actual replacement until his first retirement, at which point the position permanently went to Randy Orton after he got drafted to the show in 2011. Once it became clear that they didn't have enough top stars for Randy to have solid feuds with and carry the brand, the brand extension ended and wouldn't return until 2016, when WWE had a deeper roster to work with.
• Fallen Hero: During his second heel run. Emphasized during his feud with John Cena at WrestleMania 26.
• Former Teen Rebel: Admitted that he was a Delinquent during his youth.
• Finishing Move:
  • Batista Bomb (sitout powerbomb), also known as Demon Bomb. When pitted against an opponent too big to powerbomb, Dave will switch to a spinebuster, which is otherwise just a Signature Move.
  • In 2010, he debuted the Batista Bite (scissored armbar crossface), his more technical move to date. It was practically his answer to Cena's STF.
  • While in OVW, he also used a nameless finisher in the shape of a belly to back suplex into a side slam.
• Genius Bruiser: Since he was "trained" by the Dirtiest Player in the Game, the Nature Boy Ric Flair, part of his gimmick is being smart enough to see the tricks people try to pull on him, almost smart enough for Eddie Guerrero. He's also prone to Dynamite Kid/William Regal-esque evasions to excessively fancy sequences.
• The Giant: Not that tall or heavy, but mean and strong anyways. Especially in OVW, even when he was fighting Brock Lesnar, the main thing to his matches was being big and throwing/squeezing the other guy while not being knocked down.
• Glass Cannon: He gets injured a lot, both legitimately and in storylines. That said, big Dave is known as big Dave for a reason.
• Green-Eyed Monster: The impetus of his 2010 feud with Cena. Despite both men arriving in 2002 and becoming World Champions in 2005, Cena was chosen as the face of the company with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin even Passing the Torch to him, something Batista did not take well. This is in addition to Cena never beating Batista.
• Handicapped Badass: He has asthma, dyslexia, and ADD, but doesn't let it bring him down.
• Heel–Face Turn: After Randy Orton was kicked out of Evolution by having the audacity to win the World Heavyweight Championship, which Triple H still believed was rightfully his despite his inability to win the title back after losing it at WrestleMania 20, Batista slowly began showing signs of dissent as he began to realize that he would never be able to become World champion if he remained part of the group. He ultimately left Evolution & turned face in the process as he elected to use his WrestleMania title shot by virtue of winning the Royal Rumble to face Triple H.
• He's Back!: He returns to WWE in the January 20, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw to challenge Alberto Del Rio... as a Face. The first thing he does upon his return? He wins the Royal Rumble. On February 25, 2019, Batista returned to Raw after nearly five years, after he attacked Ric Flair backstage as Flair was about to make an appearance for his 70th birthday celebration.
• Humiliation Conga:
  • A slight one as Deacon Bautista. Being fought off by someone a third your size can deflate you, especially if it is before she became a multiple title holder who wrestled with a broken face and was just off valeting.
  • The months after WrestleMania XXVI to his 4 year retirement could count as this right up to his last night, which is nothing short of this to him.
• I Have Many Names: Kahn, Leviathan, "Deacon" Batista, Batista.
• Ironic Echo:
  • Batista's "thumbs up-thumbs down" motion emerged as this. It was the signal Triple H gave when he kicked Randy Orton out of Evolution in late 2004. Batista turned it on him when he chose to use his 2005 Royal Rumble title contract to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21.
  • In the above-mentioned year, Batista beat Triple H in three straight PPVs featuring the RAW brand. Half a decade later, he suffers the same thing to John Cena.
• Irony: Batista quit because Triple H told him that nobody in Evolution would be getting anything they wanted until the Shield no longer existed. After he quit, Triple H invoked his Plan B, which was Seth Rollins defecting to his side, thus destroying the Shield. In other words, Batista quit because he was frustrated that he wouldn't get what he wanted until a seemingly-impossible goal was reached... but by leaving, he made reaching that goal possible.
• Irrational Hatred: Batista was guilty, in kayfabe, of condemning people for situations where they objectively did nothing wrong on multiple occasions. Despite being a babyface in at least one of these scenarios, it actually painted Dave as being very short-sighted, selfish, and highly susceptible to having his logic clouded by rage.
  • His feud with Shawn Michaels began because Batista was angry at Michaels for retiring Ric Flair. Not only was it painfully obvious that Shawn didn't want to do so, as he was also close friends with Flair, but it was Flair's idea to put the stipulation on their match that if he lost, he would retire, and Michaels pleaded with Flair repeatedly to not make him go through with it. Shawn was practically in tears for the entirety of their match and eventually did break down crying after he pinned Flair.
  • He feuded with Rey Mysterio after Batista accused him of being selfish for not letting Batista win an every-man-for-himself match in which Rey was also a participant. Apparently, in Batista's mind, the right thing to do would have been for Rey to simply allow Batista to win (or even to help him win) a match that Rey himself would also ostensibly, and understandably, want to win, especially considering that it was for the world championship. Also, needless to say, all four men involved were fully aware of the stipulation that only one man can win, and there has almost never been any occasion in WWE history where, friend or otherwise, anyone has ever let someone else win any type of free-for-all match.
• It's All About Me:
  • His 2010 heel run was centered primarily on demanding recognition from all around him. During his Villainous Breakdown on his last night, he went on a rant about the fans and WWE being nothing without him, even going as far as to claim that the company would go bankrupt in a week with him gone.
  • At his core, Batista was always this sort of person. The reason he ditched Evolution was because he knew he'd never be out of Hunter's shadow as long as he stayed. And while Face Batista helped out his friends often, his top concern was always about himself and the world title. It was only a matter of time before this attitude developed into something worse and he started showing his true colors.
• Jerkass: During his 2010 heel run, he was unquestionably the biggest asshole in the company, surpassing the likes of a rookie Sheamus, Straight Edge Society CM Punk, snobby intellectual Chris Jericho, and even psychotic sociopath Randy Orton. It was so bad, the fans nicknamed him "Douchetista" to describe this incarnation of his character.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he opened the Raw after Over the Limit whining about his loss to Cena and the injuries he got from him receiving the Attitude Adjustment off the top of a car, his complaint towards Bret Hart ordering him to compete in an immediate qualifying match against Randy Orton to have another shot at Cena for the WWE Championship isn't without merits as he's obviously in no condition (sitting on a wheelchair, no less) to compete. Even Jerry Lawler doesn't dispute his complaint after he quits the company.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: During his face run. The commentators treated him like he was Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but Batista was really this. While he was fine with helping his friends out of the occasional jam, his first priority was always the world championship and he was well-known for attacking his "friends" if they stood in the way of that. He was just too popular to make the fans turn against him for long; eventually, it took him turning against an Incorruptible Pure Pureness-face in Rey Mysterio to finally make the fans boo him.
• Kitsch Collection: He has a collection of metal lunchboxes that includes, among others, a 1967 Green Hornet box with Bruce Lee as Kato^note Batista called this the highlight of his collection., a 1982 E.T. lunchbox^note Batista credits buying one for his second wife and one to keep pristine for helping him develop a hobby of purchasing metal lunchboxes., and a 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy lunchbox with himself as Drax.^note Guardians director James Gunn had this made especially for him.
• Large Ham: His 2010 heel run, to the point that he would only cut his in-ring promos after demanding that a spotlight be shone on him and only him.
• Last-Name Basis: John Cena calls him Dave Batista, specifically to emphasize his lack of fear of him, but otherwise this is the case. Evolution stablemates are prone to calling him Dave too for more respectful reasons.
• Manly Tears: Upholding his mother's lessons not to bottle up his emotions, Batista's not afraid to show his sensitive side on camera, openly weeping when he won his first World Title and when he paid tribute to his friend Eddie Guerrero after his death.
• Our Demons Are Different: Leviathan was summoned from somewhere underwater (see Shout-Out below) by the Disciples of Synn and had Cute Little Fangs.
• Popularity Power: Batista's popularity unexpectedly took off during early 2005, leading to a baby face turn that saw him defeat Triple H and WrestleMania. In fact, he had gotten so popular that he was actually third choice to be the face of the company, after Lesnar left and Orton's face push didn't pan out well. Hence, he won the Royal Rumble and his match with Triple H closed at WrestleMania that year. Cena was unexpectedly more over than him, leading to Batista becoming the top face of WWE SmackDown instead and the #2 face overall.
• Power Stable:
  • (in OVW): The Disciples of Synn
  • (in WWE): Evolution
• Precious Puppy: Batista shared pictures and videos of his dogs Frankie, Janie, and Sadie acting cute, until one of them died in 2019.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
  • STOOP! THAT! LOW!
  • In his 2014 return after Batista Bombing Alberto Del Rio: "JUST! LIKE! THAT!"
• Red Baron: "The Animal"; (as Leviathan): "The Demon of the Deep, The Guardian Of The Gates Of Hell, Right Hand To The Devil Himself!"
• The Rival and Worthy Opponent: He and John Cena are both these to each other ever since the 2005 Royal Rumble. After Batista's Face–Heel Turn, he became the Rival Turned Evil in their WrestleMania 26 match and their following pay-per-view matches.
• Rogues Gallery: Triple H, Randy Orton, JBL, Edge, Kane, Mark Henry, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and John Cena.
• The Scapegoat: For WWE's terrible booking. Dave himself outright admitted he knew that his return was not going to end well when he learned of their original plans, but he wasn't able to convince creative to scrap those plans until the backlash became too great to ignore. After time had passed and the fans looked at things more objectively, they began to feel apologetic that Batista had to take the heat and have his return ruined like that, but at the same time were unapologetic because it was the only way they had to get the company to listen them and change their plans and get Bryan on top. Dave became the Fall Guy for their BS — understandably, after he left to promote Guardians of the Galaxy and was offered tons of movie roles thanks to that film's success, he decided not to come back until WWE gave him an unrestricted program with Triple H. When they finally gave him said program for WrestleMania 35, he was content to drop the match to Triple H and then quietly retire in a matter of hours.
• Screaming Warrior: During his initial Evolution run and his face run on Smackdown. WWE.com had an article comparing him to the Ultimate Warrior.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here
  • After repeatedly failing to beat John Cena for the WWE Title, getting injured in their last match, and Bret Hart showing No Sympathy towards his injuries, he quit WWE. But that was only on Kayfabe, because he had later stated that he didn't like the direction in which the company was going. Batista has been a longstanding detractor of the company's PG Rated mandate.
    • He also admitted in his return interview that he actually suffered a legitimate back injury during his "I Quit" Match with John Cena, which only sped up his decision to leave.
  • After Triple H made it clear that no one in Evolution would get what they wanted until The Shield was no more, Batista said he understood, and then that he quit.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Often came out in suits when not wrestling. This was so common a fan nickname for him was "Dapper Dave." WWE even thought to run a whole article on it.
• Shout-Out/Homage: The OVW vignette where the Disciples of Synn summoned Leviathan from the deep was based directly on Kevin Sullivan summoning the Purple Haze ("Maniac" Mark Lewin) in Florida in the 1980s.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: His outfit as Deacon Batista consisted of a suit without sleeves (he mentioned in an interview that when he was told to get a suit, he felt it was important to really look the part. He bought a very expensive suit at a time when he really couldn't afford it... then looked on in horror as they immediately hacked off the sleeves.) His 2014 run involves asking where are the real men, and he seemed to be frequently decked out in tank tops, vests and other sleeveless attire.
• Take That!: This exchange on Twitter. May also double as Biting-the-Hand Humor.
  @StephMcMahon: It's arguable that "the slap" is my character's finishing maneuver. Who do you think was hit the worst? #StephBook
  @DaveBautista: Plus it helps to get guys over!😐And it builds a great angle for when you get your receipt😳 it looks good😖 I tried! 🙁
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Let it be said that Dave Batista is a good looking man, and he seems to know it.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: During his heel runs.
• 10-Minute Retirement: On the record to saying he would like one more match/brief run with the WWE before taking an executive role in the company. He returned in 2014, just in time for the Royal Rumble. And WON the Royal Rumble match, punching his ticket to the Wrestlemania 30 main event. It seemed likely he would get another one, seeing as it was all but confirmed from all sides that he would return to WWE once his promotional tour for Guardians of the Galaxy ended. However, the additional movie roles Batista landed after the critical and financial success of Guardians have now left those confirmations in doubt. Ultimately, he returned for one final No Holds Barred match against Triple H in 2019 before confirming he's officially retiring from wrestling for good to focus entirely on acting.
• Too Dumb to Live: His 2009 Face–Heel Turn? Yeah, it basically happened because Batista apparently assumed that being in a Fatal Four Way for the World Heavyweight Championship with Rey Mysterio Jr. as one of his opponents meant that Rey wouldn't actually try to win and would just help him. Especially when Rey later admitted that if Batista had just asked him to help him, he would have. Then again, it's Insane Troll Logic, which is standard operating procedure for most heels.
• Underwear of Power: When wrestling, otherwise he tends to prefer or flat out suits.
• Villainous Breakdown: While he defies this following his first loss to John Cena at WrestleMania XXVI, he undergoes this after his following two PPVs losses:
  • After Cena resorted to using duct tape to tie his ankles around the ring post to defeat him in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules, the following night on Raw has him entered the ring before a #1 Contender match between Randy Orton and Sheamus furiously ranting about the outcome being a joke and wanting another shot at Cena. Although he's irritated when Cena decides to enter him in the match against Orton and Sheamus, he nevertheless calms down when he prevails and earns another shot but his promo the week after shows that he's still aggravated over the loss.
  • Batista opened the May 24, 2010 episode of Raw in a wheelchair badly injured and very angry over being forced to say "I Quit!" in said match against Cena at Over the Limit only to be given the Attitude Adjustment off the top of a car even after surrendering but it's Bret Hart being uncaring towards his battered state by offering him another opportunity against Cena if he could beat Randy Orton in a qualifying match only to name Orton the winner via forfeit when Batista refused by twice citing his injuries that proves to be the last straw for The Animal as he goes ballistic enough to quit WWE.
• Wardrobe Malfunction: His jeans suffered a rather large tear after he speared Randy Orton during a 2014 Monday Night RAW argument with Orton and Stephanie McMahon. The torn jeans later became autographed by Batista and put up for auction.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Rey Mysterio. (See above for reason)
• Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Has the Philippine and Greek flags tattooed on his left biceps, as a tribute to his mixed heritage. He repeatedly pointed to his Filipino flag during a trip to Manila to gain pops from his hometown crowd.
• Wham Line:
  • At SmackDown 1000:
  "There is nothing, nothing that this man hasn't done in this business...except beat me."
  • At Ric Flair's 70th birthday party celebration:
  "Hey, Hunter. Do I have your attention now?"
• Wrestling Monster: Leviathan, which was part of the reason his later Deacon Bautista run was so underwhelming, since the gimmick change was not really needed to fit with D-Von Dudley's preacher gimmick. In fact his exit scene from OVW featured D-Von buying his services out from the Disciples of Synn and he was still wearing chains early on as the Deacon as part of D-Von's donation box. If anything it was like D-Von had tamed the monster off-screen after acquiring him yet didn't even care enough to brag about it.

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