Will Dave Bautista return to WWE in 2023?

Dave Bautista’s WWE return has been on the minds of fans ever since he retired from professional wrestling. Considering the way he went out, the six-time world champion needs to have another round inside the ring like Ric Flair and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

WWE Superstar Batista’s last performance inside the squared circle was on April 7, 2019. He fought his friend and mentor Triple H at WrestleMania 35 in a No Holds Barred Match and also put his career on the line. The Animal insisted on the match, both in the storyline and in real life.

Fans of Dave Bautista would have preferred a better send-off as the former champion was dominated by The Game throughout the bout. The infamous nose-plier incident added salt to the wounds.

Dave Bautista’s WWE return unfortunately may not happen in the future. In 2019, Fightful reported that Batista will avoid competing in the ring at all costs, but might continue appearing on WWE programming. The wrestler-turned-actor is sticking to that notion to this day as revealed to Justice Con in 2021.

“It’s just not that way with me. I exited the business in such a storybook way, I could never go back. I’m just done. I got to finish on my own terms and nothing is going to bring me back and take away from that,” said Dave Bautista. (5:10 - 5:30)

Nevertheless, Batista is scheduled to appear in WWE in 2023 to complete his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He was supposed to headline the Class of 2020 but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE then combined the 2020 and 2021 classes, but Batista asked for his induction to be postponed since he wasn't available for the ceremony.

Since his departure from WWE, Batista has starred in a number of hit films including Army of the Dead and Escape Plan: The Extractors. He also nailed the role of Drax The Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Dune 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 are some of his upcoming projects.

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Rian Johnson hailed Dave Bautista as the greatest “wrestler turned actor ever”

Legendary director Rian Johnson lauded Dave Bautista’s acting skills in a recent interview with The Atlantic. He worked with the former WWE Superstar in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and was “smitten” by the authenticity Bautista bought to the role.

“Bautista is genuinely, immediately vulnerable when you meet him, and that’s what I was excited about. This is someone who has the physical trappings of someone who would play it big, but he actually brings sensitivity to the role,” said Rian.

Written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson, the film was released on September 10th, 2022, and has been nominated for and won several film awards. Dave Bautista plays the role of Duke Cody, a men’s rights activist and Twitch streamer, alongside top actors like Daniel Craig and Kathryn Hahn.