WWE recently held its Hall of Fame event for the class of 2023 from the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony took place right after the March 31, episode of SmackDown Live. Headlined by Rey Mysterio, the event also saw four more big names getting inducted. It saw Stacy Keibler, Andy Kaufman, Tim White, and The Great Muta joining the prestigious list. However, “The Animal” Dave Batista was also rumored to join the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
The former 7-time WWE World Champion was planned to join the list in 2020 but got postponed due to the pandemic. For the last six months, there were reports that WWE will induct Batista into the 2023 Hall of Fame class. Well, that didn’t happen, and there’s a reason for that, according to WWE’s Global Ambassador, Titus O’Neil.
Dave Batista couldn’t join the 2023 Hall of Fame because of his acting commitments
During the WrestleMania 39 weekend, Titus O’Neil has a short conversation with WrestlingNews.Co. The Global Ambassador of WWE discussed a few things, including why Dave Batista wasn’t on the 2023 Hall of Fame list.
Just like some earlier reports asserted, Titus also stated that The Animal is in South Africa right now. He is in Cape Town filming his upcoming Hollywood movie My Spy 2. WWE’s Global Ambassador noted it would be hard for Batista to make it to the Hall of Fame from there.
“[Dave Batista] He’s in South Africa right now. So, it would be hard for him to make the actual [Hall of Fame] ceremony. He’s shooting a movie. He’s over in Cape Town, South Africa, shooting ‘My Spy 2’.” Titus said.
“The Aminal” ended his WWE career after an epic match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35
Batista left WWE in 2010 in order to become a Hollywood star. The former WWE superstar has been a part of successful movies like the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and more.
However, The Animal joined the WWE company the same year John Cena did (2002). In fact, he had 8 great years in the ring before jumping to Hollywood. Batista has been a world champion seven times in his WWE career. He hung up his wrestling boots at WrestleMania 35 after an epic No Holds Barred Match against Triple H.
Nevertheless, if not this year, fans will hope to see Batista in the WWE Hall of Fame next year. Though considering his acting schedule, nothing can be said until it happens.
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