Batista refused HOF because he's not done yet

[Lee]

http://www.fox13news.com/entertainment/dave-bautista-avengers-infinity-war

"â??Iâ??ve been offered a spot in the Hall of Fame and I turned it down not because I donâ??t feel like there's closure on my career,â? Bautista said."

[Yaz]

He has said he wants to come back for one last run ending in a Wrestlemania match with Trips, but according to him, Vince holds one of those Vince grudges because of how his last run went and how successful he has become out of WWE. He said if he doesn't hear something by WM 35, he will call it a career.

[Y 2 Jake]

I'd like to see one last run but definitely not ending with a HHH match.

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah, I read about Batista wanting one last run. The reports I read said that he wanted something against either Triple H or the Rock.

If Batista wants one more run, I'm generally okay with it as long as it's not some rehash of a match we've seen him have a hundred times already and that most definitely includes Triple H. Nobody's really gonna give a crap about a rehash of Batista vs. Triple H. As far as a bout with the Rock goes, I could see Vince getting on board with it because it'll generate tons of mainstream media headlines. As much as I think the match would probably suck, the novelty of seeing two of the biggest action film stars going today going up against each other in a wrestling match for a WrestleMania would probably be a significant draw. The problem with this match is that movie studios don't want the Rock to wrestle again due, in part, to insurance companies that insure the Rock during production are reluctant to do so. There's also scheduling conflicts to consider as it's often possible that he's filming scenes in big money roles in $100 million+ budgeted blockbusters; they gave him some breathing room on that during his 2nd match with John Cena but he got hurt and that impacted the filming of the Hercules movie and it ultimately cost the studio millions to reschedule the shoots.

The thing about Batista, however, is that he's wanting to come back and ultimately be the big man on campus, so to speak, as that's a big part of why he came back the last time. However, both he and Vince McMahon vastly underestimated and/or ignored just how much fans had changed during the time he'd been gone.

[FunKay]

The thing about Batista, however, is that he's wanting to come back and ultimately be the big man on campus, so to speak, as that's a big part of why he came back the last time. However, both he and Vince McMahon vastly underestimated and/or ignored just how much fans had changed during the time he'd been gone.

I think you're being extremely harsh here. Batista has been on record, on Jericho's podcast I do believe, as saying they were telling him he was getting the returning hero push, and he was completely against it. He fully acknowledged that the fans would be either wholly indifferent ('who's he mum?') or boo him, much like 2003 Rock, based on his buggering off and conquering Hollywood only to return to soak in the glory.

Batista has a far sharper business sense than people ever have or will give him credit for. He wanted to be the douchebag heel he morphed into from the moment he came back, and he happily jobbed to Bryan at Mania because it was the right move from a business and booking perspective, he acknowledged that.

As for a return, I'd like to see it, if only for closure. I'd enjoy the showdown with Rock in a Hollywood vs. Hollywood style spectacle. They teased him versus Lesnar too, which they never did deliver in 2014 and I'd be down for that. Him versus Trips, not feeling that so much, but hey, if that's what he wants, and that's what Vince agrees to to get back in the Animal's good books, then sure, why not.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I wouldn't mind seeing one more run out of Batista.

[jmt225]

I think you're being extremely harsh here. Batista has been on record, on Jericho's podcast I do believe, as saying they were telling him he was getting the returning hero push, and he was completely against it. He fully acknowledged that the fans would be either wholly indifferent ('who's he mum?') or boo him, much like 2003 Rock, based on his buggering off and conquering Hollywood only to return to soak in the glory.

Batista has a far sharper business sense than people ever have or will give him credit for. He wanted to be the douchebag heel he morphed into from the moment he came back, and he happily jobbed to Bryan at Mania because it was the right move from a business and booking perspective, he acknowledged that.

As for a return, I'd like to see it, if only for closure. I'd enjoy the showdown with Rock in a Hollywood vs. Hollywood style spectacle. They teased him versus Lesnar too, which they never did deliver in 2014 and I'd be down for that. Him versus Trips, not feeling that so much, but hey, if that's what he wants, and that's what Vince agrees to to get back in the Animal's good books, then sure, why not.

I agree 100% with this post.

Batista is one of the very few big stars pro wrestling has had that openly admits that he cares about how the fans perceive his work. He truly wants to be respected as an incredible wrestler and tremendous personality, both of which I personally believe him to be. One last good run would hopefully help others see that as well.

Although like Jake said, I'd rather see it happen against someone other than Triple H.

[Jack-Hammer]

I think you're being extremely harsh here. Batista has been on record, on Jericho's podcast I do believe, as saying they were telling him he was getting the returning hero push, and he was completely against it. He fully acknowledged that the fans would be either wholly indifferent ('who's he mum?') or boo him, much like 2003 Rock, based on his buggering off and conquering Hollywood only to return to soak in the glory.

Batista has a far sharper business sense than people ever have or will give him credit for. He wanted to be the douchebag heel he morphed into from the moment he came back, and he happily jobbed to Bryan at Mania because it was the right move from a business and booking perspective, he acknowledged that.

As for a return, I'd like to see it, if only for closure. I'd enjoy the showdown with Rock in a Hollywood vs. Hollywood style spectacle. They teased him versus Lesnar too, which they never did deliver in 2014 and I'd be down for that. Him versus Trips, not feeling that so much, but hey, if that's what he wants, and that's what Vince agrees to to get back in the Animal's good books, then sure, why not.

You may be right but I'm still suspicious. Batista used to be a pro wrestler and now he's a Hollywood action star, meaning that the man's ultimately a professional bullshitter. Maybe he was telling the truth with Jericho, maybe he wasn't but we'll never know either way just like we won't know about the reports of Batista being majorly upset at how the fans were treating him, I just have a naturally suspicious. Podcasts are just like nearly every interview you see on TV featuring a celebrity in that the person being interviewed or telling his/her side of the story ALWAYS paints himself/herself in as positive a light as possible so of course Batista is going to take the position he took. Again, not saying he's being untruthful, maybe he was but even if he wasn't, he wasn't to admit it; he's not going to admit that he behaved like spoiled, petulant child because fans didn't give him a returning hero's welcome and that WWE had to change its plans.

[DNA 2.0]

I don't understand Vince's reasoning. Batista is one of the easiest guys to work with. The guy even wanted to do only house shows, he really loves the fans and the wrestling. Right now WWE have 5-6 HUGE money matches that can involve Batista and those are: against Brock, Lashley, Reigns, Strowman, Triple H. Oh what a coincidence all of them are on RAW. Plus he can do great programms with Styles, Rollins, Balor, Bryan and maybe even Big Cass. He definately has one full year left in him. Fans love Batista, just keep away from the world title picture.

And the HHH match is a win-win situation. Triple H will keep wrestling forever as it seems, so why not have him pick up a victory and retire Batista? Isn't that HHH's norm nowadays? Lose to young stars, win against old guys. Given the fact that Triple H has NEVER defeated Batista, this makes sense. HHH made Batista, he may as well be the one to end him.

Batista's popularity isn't getting any bigger than what it already is. Drax is the biggest role Batista could ever get and not because Drax is anything special, but because Batista is exposed to the biggest fanbase in the world. So unless Batista lands a main role in another big film, I doubt he will get any more popular, so why doesn't Vince capitalize on that??