By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dave “Batista” Bautista spoke with TampaBay.com’s Christopher Spata and said he hates having his acting career compared to those of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena. “Do not compare me to The Rock or John Cena,” Batista said. “Everyone does it… Those guys are wrestlers who became movie stars. I’m … something else. I was a wrestler. Now, I’m an actor.”
Batista offered more on Rock and Cena. “Rock was, in a way, a movie star before he was even a movie star,” he said. “There is something about him that’s really special. I’d never take that away from him. Would I consider him a great actor? F— no. I want good roles. I don’t care about Fast and Furious or Bumblebee. … That’s not the kind of stardom I want. … I want to be in Dune. I want to work with Denis Villeneuve. I want to work with Sam Mendes and Jodie Foster. I want to work with Academy Award winners. I’m proud to be a character actor. I want that respect and credibility and education.” Read the full interview at TampaBay.com.
Powell’s POV: The story also includes notes on Batista preferring to be a heel rather than a babyface, which may help explain his current positioning in WWE. He said that he knew he wanted to leave the company when he was fined $100,000 for blading without permission, and said his return to WWE could allow him to end his pro wrestling career “the right away.” He’s an interesting guy and it’s a feature worth taking the time to read.
Check below for the new Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and former WWE Smackdown lead writer Alex Greenfield discussing the NXT call-ups, Stephanie McMahon’s past contributions to WWE creative, the growth of MLW, and much more.
LOL…..I would hope no one would be stupid enough to compare the Rock’s success at the box office to what Batista has “accomplished”….