WWE Legend & Hollywood Star Dave Batista was recently interviewed by WSVN’s Chris Van Vliet on a number of topics including his retirement from wrestling, his promo with Triple H prior to their WrestleMania 35 Matchup, tripping during his WrestleMania 35 entrance and his thoughts on AEW about whether or not he sees it as a legitimate competition for WWE. Below are the highlights from Batista’s interview with Chris Van Vliet:
On whether on not Batista sees AEW as a legitimate competition for WWE: “I don’t see it as legitimate competition. I see it as competition, which is great, there should always be competition but until they actually produce one of their own major stars, until they have a production that is as big as WWE. I mean WWE already has the next three generations of superstars because they have NXT camps all over the world now, they’re so far ahead of the game that I don’t see any real competition. Not even close”
On his promo with Triple H prior to their WrestleMania 35 Matchup: “We didn’t really figure it out, we didn’t talk about it, it wasn’t written out. So there were certain things we were looking for in that promo and there was something that I hadn’t said so he kept dragging it out and I wasn’t sure what it was so I have to keep escalating because once I went there, I couldn’t go back. So that’s why I kept screaming it louder and louder. I’m waiting for his cue and he’s waiting for my cue and we just weren’t getting there and finally, it dawned on me that I needed to say something in that promo and I can’t remember exactly what it was. That’s why it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It wasn’t intentional.”
On tripping during his WrestleMania 35 entrance: “I tripped. I think one of my boots got stuck on the rope. There were a lot of different factors but at the end of the day, I just tripped. You know what’s funny is I was so worked up before that and after I tripped, I just had fun. I went out and I just started really living in that moment because I knew it was the last time I was going to be there. As I looked around, I saw Triple H’s parents and as soon as the lights went out I went over and I hugged them. That put me at ease, believe it or not, that tripping because I was in that car a lot longer than people think that I was in that car just sitting there getting cold. Also, I warmed up like three times before I actually went out. It was a long show. So I was cooped up in that car, I got out and I was terrified, I was nervous, I was cold again and I was worried about that. I was concerned about way too much other than our match and then after I tripped it all went away.”
On his retirement from wrestling: “This is a real wrestling retirement. I am done. My in-ring career is over. I would love to go back on the show because I love the company and I believe in the product so I would go back and go on the show. If they ask me to go in the Hall of Fame I will. But I will not have another wrestling match. I will go broke before I have another wrestling match and I will not go and work for another promotion.”
You can check out the entire interview in the embedded YouTube video below:
Sanjay Thakur, a dedicated journalist for the Pro Wrestling News Hub brand since 2019, brings an unparalleled passion and insight to the world of professional wrestling. With his finger constantly on the pulse of WWE and AEW, Sanjay's articles offer in-depth analysis and up-to-the-minute coverage of the industry's most thrilling developments.
