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Former WWE Champion Dave "Batista" Bautista announced his retirement from professional wrestling following his No Holds Barred match against longtime in-ring partner and rival Triple H at WrestleMania 35.
The bout, which featured the former Evolution stablemates pulling out all the stops for one final, violent in-ring encounter, capped Batista's WWE career which spanned nearly two decades.
This past Monday night, WWE Network aired a special WWE 24 documentary covering Batista's road to WrestleMania 35, and taking an in-depth look at how the bout between The Animal and The Game came to fruition, and the intense training Batista put into his final performance in a WWE ring.
In the following piece, we take a look at five things we learned from the fantastic WWE 24 special which is currently available on the WWE Network.
#1 Batista began his wrestling career out of necessity
The WWE 24 Network special takes a very personal look at Batista's troubled childhood, with The Animal himself admitting that as an adolescent he was "goalless" and had no relationship with his father.
Batista furthered that once he became an adult, he found himself broke and unable to feed his children. Batista even admitted to spending time in jail, and revealed it was out of a necessity to provide for his family that he made the decision to enter the world of professional wrestling.
It was truly incredible to see the documentation of Batista's drive throughout his career, and the WWE 24 special takes a close look at his early days as a pro wrestler, and the sense of urgency, drive and work ethic which was fueled by the need to care for his children.
That same drive continued to bleed into Batista's career long after he became a big star in WWE, and carried into his work outside of WWE as his film career continued to flourish.
#2 WrestleMania 35 was his final shot at closure
Long before his match at WrestleMania 35 was officially announced, Batista had spoken very publicly about wanting to end his pro wrestling career with a match against Triple H.
He even admitted during interviews that people like Vince McMahon were initially uninterested in the match between The Animal and The Cerebral Assassin, however, over time, WWE officials warmed up to the idea of the match, and it finally came together.
A very telling moment in the WWE 24 Network special is when Batista reveals that he told Triple H that WrestleMania 35 was a "now or never" time for him. The seeds for Batista vs Triple H were planted back in 2018 at the Smackdown Live 1,000 special when Batista claimed Triple H had accomplished everything in pro wrestling, except for beating The Animal.
During the WWE 24 special, Batista admits he later told Triple H that their match, which was not yet official when he laid down the challenge at Smackdown 1,000, needed to happen at WrestleMania 35, or it would likely never happen.
Batista noted he wanted closure on his WWE career or he would feel a certain emptiness inside, and the closure might have never come if the match did not take place at WrestleMania 35.
#3 He suffers from social anxiety
At one point in the WWE 24 Network special, Batista has a great moment in the arena, prior to WrestleMania 35, with then-Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey.
During the exchange, Batista admits, much to Rousey's surprise, that working in front of live audiences at events such as WrestleMania makes him very nervous as he suffers from social anxiety.
While it might come as a surprise to people, it is not uncommon for actors to admit they struggle with social anxiety, and they often times gravitate towards acting/performance because the ability to express themselves through the creation of a character can be easier than expressing themselves in a social atmosphere.
During the WWE 24 moment, Rousey was certainly taken aback by the admission from Batista - a man who possesses so much charisma and energy in front of a camera - that he is indeed a very passive, and even socially anxious person.
#4 Busy career has led to loneliness
Batista noted at one point in the WWE 24 special that he was being flooded with script and movie offers while he was training for his in-ring return at WrestleMania 35, but he had to inform his management team that he was unable to focus on acting while he was so intently training for WWE.
The special reveals just how hard Batista had to train for one final match against Triple H, and shed some light on how busy his schedule is both in and out of the ring.
The incredibly busy schedule has allowed The Animal to work on career-defining projects such as The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and his latest movie, Stuber, but Batista admitted that the hectic nature of his schedule certainly has a price - loneliness.
Batista opened up during the documentary about his ex-wife, and noted his time on the road working with WWE and in the movie business has very much cost him a personal life. The sacrifices he has made to achieve success in and out of the wrestling ring have certainly left The Animal with a definite feeling of loneliness when he is not at work.
#5 Batista, Triple H and Vince McMahon share a great moment backstage after WrestleMania 35
Towards the end of the WWE 24 special, footage is shown of Batista's long journey back to WrestleMania coming to a close after he faced Triple H, for the very last time, in a No Holds Barred match.
The post-match footage features Batista, Triple H and Vince McMahon at the Gorilla position immediately following the bout, and a relieved Batista tells Triple H that he feels the bout was the perfect storybook ending to his exhilarating career in WWE.
Both Batista and Triple H then share a hug following the bout, with The Game agreeing that the match was a great sendoff for The Animal.
Joining Triple and Batista in the post-match celebration is Vince, who also gives Batista a hug following his tremendous efforts at WrestleMania 35. Throughout the documentary, Vince is shown a number of times encouraging Batista during his final on-screen feud with Triple H and applauding the big man after various segments throughout the journey.
What are your thoughts on the Batista WWE 24 special? Let us know in the comments section!
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