Batista
News (Page 2)

Internally, Batista is being compared to Jim "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig a lot now. People inside of WWE say he doesn't really love wrestling and simply got in because he had a great a body and was always protected/pushed.

With that in mind, it seems highly unlikely that Batista would be the one to end Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania 23. Fans are very much into this record and Vince McMahon might not be prepared to make Batista into such a star by stoking his ego and havng him go over at the event.

On the other hand, Triple H is a big supporter of Batista. He wanted Randy Orton and Batista as the next two big stars of wrestling because he and Ric Flair could legitimately say they developed them, which was the final goal of the Evolution faction.

This may make the result of Wrestlemania a bit more in question - but we still don't see Batista being the one to end Undertaker's reign.

Dave Batista has been known as "The Animal" since childhood, thanks to a temper that got him into trouble most everywhere he turned.

It took years for this 6-foot-5, 290-pound native of Washington, D.C., to harness his energy. Raised in a rough part of the city, he describes himself as "a skinny kid with asthma and a bad size complex" and a penchant for getting into trouble with authorities.

He spent a few years in San Francisco after his parents separated, until his mother sent the troubled teen to live with his father in suburban Virginia. By the time he turned 17, he was estranged from both parents, living on his own, and still getting into trouble.

the better part of 10 years, Batista spent his days training and competing as a bodybuilder and his nights "bouncing in clubs, floating from here to there."

His drifting stopped the night he unleashed his explosive temper on two patrons who had attacked his fellow bouncers.

"By the time I was finished with them, they were lying on the ground with their eyes rolling in the back of their heads. I was very scared they were going to die." They didn't, but the incident did result in Batista's arrest, a year's probation, and his decision to make radical changes in his life.

Batista is now a superstar with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). On Sunday at Springfield's MassMutual Center, he will compete for the World Heavyweight Championship against Mr. (Ken) Kennedy. The two are headliners in "Road to WrestleMania," presented by WWE Smackdown and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling).

Batista's trip to the top began when he enrolled in Wild Samoan Afa's wrestling school in Allentown, Pa. He was unimpressed by sports entertainment except as "a way to make a living," until he was told at a tryout that he didn't have what it took. He was determined to prove otherwise.

"Wrestling became an obsession that I fell in love with," he said. "I completely redirected my training and philosophies, redesigned my body and mental outlook. I just really wanted to be an athlete and an entertainer."

He got into WWE in May 2002. He credits former Evolution colleagues Triple H and Ric Flair with developing "a muscle-headed goofball" into a World Heavyweight Champion.

Batista, who can now be seen on the covers of such muscle magazines as Flex, happens to have a soft spot for vintage tin lunchboxes, having collected more than 50. Among his favorites is a 1967 Green Hornet lunchbox with Bruce Lee's face on the front.

Other Smackdown Superstars competing include King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Kane, Boogeyman, Finlay, and many WWE Divas.

Also on the card are Lashley vs. RVD for the ECW Championship and fellow Extremists CM Punk, Balls Mahoney, Sylvester Terkay, and Elijah Burke.

SOURCE: The Republican

Batista, reportedly, is not the most popular guy in the WWE locker room these days.

Looks like the same can be said of TNA Wrestling, at least as far as one star is concerned.

In the April edition of Men’s Fitness, Kurt Angle lashes out at the WWE World Champion. During an interview, Kurt speaks on several different topics from the transition from amateur to professional wrestling, getting in barroom brawls with his brother, and of course, the differences between WWE and TNA. While talking about this subjec,t he said the following about Batista:

"A guy like [WWE star] Batista can't walk and chew gum at the same time. He prefers wrestling with smaller guys than jacked up guys who "look” good to the crowd but doesn't know what he's doing."

Looks like CM Punk isn't the only superstar drawing heat in the locker room.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a lot of negativity towards Batista right now from the Smackdown crew. A lot of resentment stems from negative things he said about Smackdown while he was on the RAW roster.

Some feel that Batista was a guy hand-picked for stardom by Jim Cornette and Vince McMahon based off his physique alone, one who doesn’t have passion for wrestling that the Benoit and Mysterio types have. Most within the company attribute his popularity with fans to the rub he got from Triple H and Ric Flair. The feeling backstage is that he is lucky crowds haven’t completely turned on him already.

Kurt Angle wasthe first to publicly bash Batista when in a recent interview with Live Audio Wrestling he said that Batista is simply “horrible.”

WWE has upgraded its superstar-related clothing line.

For example, take a look at this new Batista shirt and slogan:

Click here to see what else WWE Shop has to offer.

Trish Stratus isn't the only former or current WWE wrester to enter the world of reality TV.

John Cena, Batista and Ashley Massaro will be starring on an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition this Sunday.

Click here to read the full story.

The Richmond Times Dispatch has an article up with Batista promoting the WWE Armageddon PPV this Sunday night in the city.

One of the more interesting comments from Batista had to do with his real life fight with King Booker a few months ago.

We worked that out a while ago and have worked together a lot since then. We've really developed a mutual professional respect for each other. We're always going to be different people with different opinions, but we have the same objective. And with all that said, with more animosity, it can add to better matches. But we put each other's lives in each other's hands. We had to get along. A guy who can't get along is probably not welcome here.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

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.

Superman has nothing on Batista.

As reported earlier this summer, Batista will be making a cameo on the hit show, Smallville. Here are a couple exclusive shots featuring the WWE superstar on set:

Evidently, The Animal might be a friend of Superman.

Fresh off his latest attempt to win back the Heavyweight Title, Batista will appear as a guest star on a November episode of Smallville, one of the new CW Network's biggest hits.
The TV series focuses on the Clark Kent as a younger Superman, as he learns to deal with his powers and the responsibilites they bring.

Let's hope Batista does well. But not well. We don't wanna lose him from the ring like we did with The Rock.