The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Interviews Batista

Former WWE champion and Smackdown superstar, Batista, recently signed autographs at a mall in Milwaukee. He found time afterward to give a newspaper the following interview:

Q: You gained the World Heavyweight title by defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 21. Was that your crowning achievement?
A: It was a huge achievement for me and a real dream come true because I never thought I would make it that far. To get the opportunity to work with people like Triple H and Ric Flair at that stage of my career is something a lot of wrestlers don't get a chance to do.

Q: I heard that Road Warrior Animal and the late Curt Hennig influenced your career. How did that happen?
A: I met both of them at a gym in Minnesota, and they really put a spark in me to consider professional wrestling. So I tried out during an open tryout and the rest is history. I come to events like this in the hopes that maybe I can spark someone else out there to try to make it in this industry.

Q: It wasn't all lights and glitter. What was your experience like at the WCW Power Plant training facility?
A: It was horrible. There was this little trainer, a guy who went by the name Sarge, who was about 5'5" who tried to run me into the ground. He told me that I didn't have what it takes to make it in the industry. I was the biggest guy there, and he really took it upon himself to try and break me down, but I didn't let him.

Q: Your World Wrestling Entertainment debut (in 2002) was a total squash of Justin Credible. What was that like?
A: It was cool and one of my early mismatches. I was glad to work with Justin, he's a great guy. But I was not able to sell myself in the business. It's hard to show what you can do in squash matches. While a squash is good, you show what you can do in 30-minute matches. I didn't want to be the 30-second squash guy like Bill Goldberg. I remember that match with Justin; he was a little intimidated by my size. He didn't like to roughhouse and he had this look on his face like I would kill him.

Q: At 37 years old, you're still in your prime, but a lot of wrestlers have gotten into acting. Can we expect the same from you?
A: I do have a role coming up in (the CW network show) Smallville next month and that was my first acting experience outside of what we do in WWE. What I learned is that you have to branch out to market yourself. I have two more years left on my (wrestling) contract, and I would like to accomplish some more things in the ring, while at the same time other wrestlers have successfully laid the groundwork for doing a lot more. It will be interesting to see what the future brings.