WWE legend Dave Batista once shed light on the financial struggles he had to go through after leaving pro wrestling in 2010.
Dave Batista is an accomplished actor and has starred in big-budget movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Specter, and Army of the Dead.
In fact, he is one of the few superstars who have made a successful career in acting after leaving WWE. The former 6-time World Champion is well-known for his role as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the transition from wrestling to acting was not very smooth for him.
Batista was asked by WWE to not make any stronger commitments in Hollywood. So, in 2010, he decided to leave the squared circle and began his quest to shine on the big screen. However, in an interview in 2019, he shared the financial drought he suffered after leaving WWE.
Dave Batista revealed that he ‘starved for three years’ after leaving WWE
During the Denver Pop Culture Con 2019, the former WWE champion opened up about the financial troubles he faced after he quit wrestling in 2010. Batista stated that when he left WWE, he was on the top. But, eight months later, he was broke and lost everything he had. He had to borrow money from people to give presents to his children.
Batista revealed that he almost starved for the next three years, but was not willing to step back into wrestling. He wanted to prove himself as an actor and was desperate to do so. Finally, he received an offer to play Drax in MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy and things changed forever after that. Batista stated:
“I starved for three years, I went broke, I lost everything, I couldn’t get a job and I said that I will never go back to wrestling until I prove what I set out to prove, and that was that I can make it as an actor. Then I got the role on Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Batista also stated that after he finished shooting for the MCU movie, he made a call to Vince McMahon. He wanted a WWE return which he made at the 2014 Royal Rumble.
Although he won the Royal Rumble that year, his return wasn’t as good as he had anticipated. He left the company again later that year citing creative differences as the reason.
The Animal’s last match in WWE was against The Cerebral Assassin at WrestleMania 35
Batista shocked the WWE Universe when he attacked Ric Flair before WrestleMania 35. He assaulted his former Evolution mentor on his 75th birthday to get the attention of Triple H. A year before that, on the 1000th episode of SmackDown, Batista had mocked The Game for never beating him.
So, at WrestleMania 35, both men finally faced each other in a No Holds Barred Match. In what was his last WWE match, The Animal suffered a defeat at the hands of his long-time friend, Triple H.
Batista has since made it clear that he would rather go broke again than step into the squared circle again. He seems happy with what he is doing and where his acting career is heading towards.
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