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This weekend saw the second iteration of Josh Barnett's Bloodsport event, a worked mix of MMA/Pro Wrestling style matches promoted by GCW.
At the event, Killer Kross, who is currently at a standstill with Impact Wrestling regarding his contract status, faced Nick Gage in the Bloodsport main event. The bout saw Kross defeat Gage via submission with a rear naked choke.
Following the match, Kross cut a promo on the microphone and actually called out retired WWE star Dave "Batista" Bautista.
It remains unclear why Kross targeted Batista in his promo, but Batista was rumored to be filming something in the same building in which Bloodsport took place, so it's possible Kross was calling out Batista to see if he could get The Animal to make some type of surprise appearance at the event.
During Kross' promo on Batista, he said he knows how much Batista loves the pro wrestling business, so let's take a look at five reasons why The Animal might come out of retirement.
#5 Batista's final feud in WWE was less than stellar
Following his last run in WWE, Batista was publicly adamant about wanting to return to the company to finish his career on his own terms, in a feud against Triple H.
While many fans scratched their heads as to why The Animal wanted to face The Game for his final pro wrestling feud, Batista felt the match was full circle for him and would offer perfect closure to his storied WWE career.
The match was finally made for WrestleMania 35 this year, and after the bout, Batista publicly retired from WWE, saying his days in the ring are officially over.
The feud with Triple H, however, was underwhelming at best, mainly due to Batista oddly returning as a heel against The Game, who was not necessarily a babyface. Additionally, The Animal, as good as he is, made too few TV appearances to build the match prior to WrestleMania.
#4 Batista loves the pro wrestling business
Shortly after WrestleMania 35, WWE released a great documentary on the road to Batista's final match in the company, and the documentary revealed that the wrestler-turned-actor is a very passionate individual.
Prior to his return to compete at WrestleMania, Batista's previous run in WWE was marred by creative botches and a heel turn forced by the fans when they rejected The Animal's Royal Rumble win, preferring Daniel Bryan win the big match.
Batista was clearly unhappy with the run and wanted to return to the business he loves and respects so much in order to put real closure on an incredible WWE career. As mentioned, the final feud for The Animal was probably not what fans had hoped for, given its hot start with Batista attacking Ric Flair.
Despite Batista's movie career thriving before and after his WWE departure, it's possible that Batista's genuine love of pro wrestling and WWE could coax him out of retirement at some point down the line for one final hoorah at WrestleMania. The idea seems like a long shot, due to Batista's adamant claims that his career in the ring is over, but the phrase "never say never" applies to pro wrestling more than virtually any other profession, so anything is possible.
#3 All Elite Wrestling could make him a massive offer
Batista has been a WWE "lifer", as he has never competed for any other company despite WWE since entering the company's developmental system known then as Florida Championship Wrestling.
But it could be the fact that Batista has only worked with WWE that could possibly bring him out of retirement one day.
All Elite Wrestling is gearing up for its big debut on TNT in October, and the company promises to be an alternative to the current WWE product, which could be something that is attractive to The Animal.
Most recently, Chris Jericho revealed that AEW will not have a writing team and that wrestlers will cut unscripted promos in the company as that is how Jericho feels pro wrestling is supposed to be presented.
Should AEW offer a major offer to Batista for a high profile match, it's not entirely realistic to assume The Animal would shoot the offer down, as it was reported before Batista returned to WWE for his final match that he was indeed in talks with AEW about a possible deal.
There are a number of talents Batista could work with in AEW in "dream match" scenarios, including Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Cody.
#2 Batista is not a fan of the WWE PG product
Although Batista chose to end his pro wrestling career in WWE, and has always praised WWE for giving him the chance to live out his dream, it's no secret that The Animal has a lot of issues with the company.
Batista has done numerous interviews during which he has taken shots at WWE, whether it be poor creative that he has had to deal with during his time in the company, or WWE's PG product which the company turned to in the aftermath of the Attitude Era.
One of Batista's most infamous runs in WWE came along with the moniker "Bluetista," during which Batista entered the ring wearing blue wrestling trunks much to the dismay of the WWE fans.
The fans were already unhappy that Batista had returned to WWE and "stole" a Royal Rumble win from Daniel Bryan, and things spiraled from there until The Animal unceremoniously left the company.
Following his departure, Batista was vocal about his frustration with a lot of the WWE creative process and PG product, and with All Elite Wrestling claiming its product will not be PG, that could end up being a draw for Batista should he want to return to the ring.
#1 Batista's movie career could stall out
Not only has Batista enjoyed a very successful pro wrestling career, but he has rather seamlessly transitioned to the world of film acting and is a star on the rise in Hollywood.
Batista has an impressive film acting resume, having appeared in films such as Hotel Artemis, co-starring Jodie Foster, and Blade Runner 2049, starring Ryan Gosling.
This year, The Animal starred alongside Kumail Nanjiani in the comedy Stuber, and of course, he reprised his role of Drax The Destroyer in the mega-hit Avengers: Endgame. Batista will continue playing the role of Drax in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which has been Batista's most successful movie franchise to date.
While The Animal's movie career shows no signs of slowing down, the film world is very unpredictable, and career longevity is never a sure thing in show business.
Should Batista's movie career ever stall out, it's very possible he might entertain the idea of another high profile wrestling match in order to keep his career rolling.
Would you like to see Batista return to pro wrestling? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow SK on Twitter and Facebook!
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