Dave Bautista
| Dave Batista | |
|---|---|
| File:Davebatista.jpg | |
| Born | January 18, 1969 Arlington County, Virginia |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Leviathan Khan Deacon Batista Batista Dave Batista |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Billed weight | 325 lb (145 kg) |
| Billed from | Washington, D.C. |
| Trained by | Afa Anoai |
| Debut | 1997 |
David Michael ("Dave") Bautista (born January 18, 1969 in Arlington County, Virginia), better known by his ring name Batista, is an American professional wrestler. Batista is currently working for the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Early career
Before getting into professional wrestling, Dave worked as a bouncer in various clubs, and was once arrested for brawling with a man even though his actions were taken in self-defense.
Dave's wrestling career began when he met Curt Hennig (Mr Perfect) and Joseph Laurinaitis (Road Warrior Animal) at a bodybuilding meeting. He tried out at the WCW Power Plant but was told he would never make it in the wrestling business. He then went to the WWF who sent him to work with Afa Anoai. He wrestled in Anoai's WXW promotion under the name Khan.
He made his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000, joining forces with Synn. During his tenure in OVW he used the name Leviathan. As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable he would go undefeated until being beat at an OVW supercard, Christmas Chaos by WWF's Kane (with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin). He would later go on to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship from 'The Machine' Doug Basham. After losing the belt to The Prototype, Synn felt Batista was getting too independent and "sold" him to Reverend D-Von to begin his WWE (then still WWF) career.
World Wrestling Entertainment
David Bautista began his WWE career on the May 9 2002 episode of SmackDown! as Deacon Bautista, a heel enforcer for Reverend D-Von on the SmackDown! brand. Batista made his WWE match debut in a tag match teaming with D-Von against Randy Orton and Faarooq with Batista pinning Orton. After splitting with D-Von (and defeating D-Von after a Batista Bomb), he went to RAW and was rebranded as Dave Batista (or simply Batista or Dave).
After establishing himself as a monster through a series of squash matches, including one where he maliciously and relentlessly attacked Tajiri, sending him to the hospital for a long recovery, he aligned himself with Ric Flair and feuded with Kane, getting a couple of wins over Kane. Batista's pay-per-view debut was at Armageddon 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he defeated Kane, only after heavy interference from Flair.
Evolution
In January 2003, Batista joined with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton to form the stable Evolution. However, Batista was sidelined for much of 2003 after he tore a biceps at a house show, then later tore his right tricep while running with his wife. He made his return on the October 20, 2003 episode of RAW, interfering in a match between Goldberg and Shawn Michaels match and "shattering" Goldberg's ankle by inserting it in a folding chair and then jumping off the second rope on to the chair. On the November 10, 2003 episode of RAW, Goldberg defeated Batista by disqualification when Triple H interfered and attempted to hit him with a sledgehammer.
At Armageddon 2003, Batista took part in two matches, losing to Shawn Michaels in a singles match but winning a tag team turmoil match along with Ric Flair, eliminating the Dudley Boyz to become one-half of the World Tag Team Champions, in which all three male championships on RAW were held by members of Evolution, with Triple H holding the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship. They held the titles until the February 16, 2004, episode of RAW, when they were defeated by Booker T and Rob Van Dam. They later regained the titles for a short period.
In late 2004, after Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H evicted him from the group, claiming that the title which Orton held was rightfully his. It was Batista who delivered an electric chair to Orton after Triple H gave Orton a "thumbs up" before turning it into a "thumbs down."
Between SummerSlam 2004 and roughly before the period he began his program with Triple H, Dave suffered an embarrasing losing streak. Triple H would jokingly taunt Dave for this over the latter part of 2004. In fact, Dave's struggles seemingly culminated when Dave was pinned by mid-card wrestler Maven on the October 25, 2004 edition of RAW.
At the 2004 Survivor Series, Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky, and Edge were defeated by Maven, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Orton in a match for control of RAW over the following month (the members of the winning team would each be the RAW general manager for a week), adding to the unrest within Evolution. In the first week following Survivor Series, Triple H had offered Maven a spot in Evolution (rather than have Maven challenge him for the World Title) which was turned down.
Throughout the next two months, the relationship between Batista and Triple H began to deteriorate. After a loss to Chris Jericho by disqualification, Batista was verbally insulted by Triple H. Batista teased leaving Evolution that night, but he declared that he was still part of Evolution and that they tricked everyone. Still, Dave began behaving more like a face in the next few weeks, despite Evolution's heelish tactics. One particular moment showed a disgusted Batista as Triple H and Ric Flair boasted about how they had intimidated and/or beat up Jim Ross, Danny Hodge, and Stacy Keibler. He continued to show his loyalty to Triple H and Evolution by running down to the ring and assisting him in matches.
Triple H suggested that Dave not enter the Royal Rumble, claiming that it would be selfish of him to do so, and to simply focus on Triple H retaining the title. Dave entered anyway and went on to win the Royal Rumble, earning the right to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the world champion of his choice. In an attempt to persuade Batista to challenge WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield rather than Triple H, Triple H concocted a scheme that saw him attempt to have Batista run over in a limousine resembling the one used by Layfield. Initially, Dave didn't want help from Evolution and wanted to confront JBL by himself. Triple H insisted that Evolution stick together and accompanied Dave anyway. In fact, it was HHH that saved Dave from the oncoming vehicle. Batista became aware of the plot while sneakily eavesdropping on fellow Evolution members, and on the February 21 episode of RAW he signed a contract guaranteeing him a match with World Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 21, thus leaving Evolution and officially turning face for the first time in WWE. He emphasized his departure by powerbombing Triple H through the table used for the contract signing. Batista initially pretended that he would sign with SmackDown!, giving Triple H and Flair the "thumbs up," but turned it into a "thumbs down" before attacking the pair, much to the delight of the crowd. Batista went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship on April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21, where Triple H lay down for Dave, and, hence, the Batista era had begun.
World Heavyweight Champion
At Backlash, on May 1 2005, Batista once again faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista retained the title but continued to feud with Triple H.
On May 23, 2005, Batista successfully defeated Edge to retain his title. After the match, Batista was betrayed by Ric Flair, who helped Triple H viciously attack the champion. During the brutal attack, Triple H challenged Batista to Hell in a Cell, setting up a match at Vengeance 2005. Batista survived the pedigree and won the match, retaining his title yet again. With this win, Batista became the first wrestler to pin Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match.
On June 30, Batista was revealed as the last pick in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, making a surprise appearance while John "Bradshaw" Layfield was celebrating his victory in a six-man elimination match to win the new SmackDown! Championship. With Batista on SmackDown!, there was no need for the new belt; and a feud between Batista and JBL was set up. They faced off at the Great American Bash on July 24, where JBL defeated Batista by DQ after the referee saw Batista use a steel chair. They had a rematch at SummerSlam on August 21, in a No-Holds-Barred match which saw Batista pin JBL following a powerbomb on the steel steps. The feud culminated in a match between the two on the first episode of SmackDown! broadcast after the show's move to Friday nights, with Batista retaining the title in JBL's signature bull rope match.
Soon after retaining the title in a feud with Eddie Guerrero, WWE.com reported that Batista suffered a muscle tear in his back at the taping for the November 11, 2005 edition of SmackDown! due to a double chokeslam from The Big Show and Kane. [1]. Plans had been made for Batista to defend the title in a triple threat match with Eddie Guerrero and Randy Orton on the November 18 episode, but the match didn't take place due to the unexpected death of Eddie Guerrero on November 13. Batista paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero during the SmackDown! tribute show dedicated to Guerrero's memory.
Batista would lead Team SmackDown! against Team RAW in an interbrand feud before 2005's Survivor Series. The feud would see the Big Show and Kane chokeslamming Batista several more times in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series in an on-camera explanation for Batista's injury. Batista would help his team win the Survivor Series main event.
On the December 2 edition of Friday Night SmackDown!, Batista saved Rey Mysterio from a double team attack by RAW 's reigning World Tag Team Champions The Big Show and Kane. It was later announced that Mysterio would team with Batista to face Big Show and Kane at Armageddon 2005, a SmackDown! exclusive pay-per-view.
On the December 16, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, Batista and Mysterio received a title shot at the WWE Tag Team Champions MNM. The two defeated MNM to become champions in a match which they dedicated to the late Eddie Guerrero. With Batista and Mysterio becoming the WWE Tag Team Champions, the clash with the Big Show and Kane at Armageddon turned into a Champions vs. Champions encounter. At Armageddon on December 18, Batista and Mysterio lost to Kane and Big Show when Kane pinned Mysterio after a chokeslam.
On the December 30, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, MNM defeated Batista and Mysterio after help from the returning Mark Henry to regain the WWE Tag Team Championships. During the interference, Henry attacked Batista, lifted him up, and gave him the World's Strongest Slam.
Injury and Title Surrender
On January 9 2006, WWE.com announced that Batista had torn his right tricep following a match with Mark Henry at a live event on January 8, 2006 in Verona, New York. The following day, WWE.com announced that due to his injury, Batista was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship at the SmackDown! tapings in Philadelphia on January 10, 2006, two days after surpassing Triple H's previous mark of 280 days for longest reigning champion. Later that night, Kurt Angle defeated the final contestant, Mark Henry, to become the new World Heavyweight Champion after winning a battle royal. These events were aired on the January 13, 2006 edition of SmackDown!. Dave went on to have successful surgery on his tricep on January 12, 2006.
On February 19 2006, Batista made an appearance at No Way Out 2006 and told the crowd that once his tricep had healed he would return to regain his World Heavyweight Championship. At WrestleMania 22, Batista once again made a brief appearance. This time he interrupted a Randy Orton interview, putting SmackDown! on notice; the World Heavyweight Championship would return to him by WrestleMania 23.
The Return of Batista?
The poster for The Great American Bash pay-per-view was released in the middle of May. The poster showed Batista on the front, seeming that Batista will return to WWE around this summer. No word from either WWE or Batista himself has had anything to comment regarding this situation.
In wrestling
Finishing and signature moves
- Batista Bomb / Demon Bomb (Sitout powerbomb)
- Spinebuster
- Clothesline
- Running powerslam
- Spear
- Two handed choke lift
- Repeated turnbuckle thrusts
Nicknames
- "Demon of the Deep" (as Leviathan)
- "Guardian of The Gates of Hell" (as Leviathan)
- "The Animal"
- "Big Dave" (By Ric Flair)
Championships and accomplishments
-
- Defeated Machine on November 28, 2001 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
- Lost to Prototype on February 20, 2002 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
-
- Defeated The Dudley Boyz on December 14, 2003 in Orlando, Florida, USA
- Lost to Booker T & Rob Van Dam on February 16, 2004 in Bakersfield, California, USA
- World Tag Team Championship (2) - with Ric Flair
- Defeated Booker T & Rob Van Dam on March 22, 2004 in Detroit Michigan, USA
- Lost to Chris Benoit & Edge on April 19, 2004 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
-
- Defeated Triple H on April 3, 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA
- Vacated the title on January 10, 2006 due to injury
- 2005 Royal Rumble winner
-
- Defeated MNM on December 13, 2005 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
- Lost to MNM on December 27, 2005 in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
- 2005 Feud of the Year (vs Triple H)
- 2005 Wrestler of the Year
Personal life
Batista's year of birth was disputed for several years. His website originally listed him as being born in 1969, while several contradictory news reports, as well as the IMDb, had claimed that he was actually born in 1966. In addition, Obsessed with Wrestling [2] claimed for a time that, when Batista re-signed with WWE in January 2005, he revealed that he had been working under a fake age (a common practice in the entertainment field) and admitted that he was actually thirty-nine years old (and would therefore have been born in 1966). However, this claim was later removed. In March 2006, Batista stated in an interview that he was born in 1969.
Batista is of Filipino and Greek heritage.
Batista married wife Angie in October 1998. Angie is a survivor of ovarian cancer. Batista has three daughters from a previous marriage. Dave is one of the few wrestlers to have a belly button ring.
Batista has numerous tattoos, including a large Chinese dragon on his back, red Kanji lettering on his upper left biceps which says "Angel" in tribute to his current wife, a signature design on his upper right biceps, and a small Sun on his stomach which encircles his belly button ring. He recently got a small signature design tattoo on the back of his neck.
Was in and out of trouble during his childhood in Washington D.C. and Virginia. One of his more infamous scrapes with the law involved him stealing automobiles when he was 13.
At a 2006 Summerslam PPV commercial shoot, Batista got into a real-life fistfight with Booker T. It has been stated that Booker T seemed to get the best of Batista during the fight. The two were forced to immediately sort everything out. Insiders say the fight was to do with Batista thinking that he was one above everyone when he was the holder of the title. Booker T and numerous other wrestlers thought this was an outrage, especially when Batista didn't have as much experience as them. Booker T told Batista out right, which sparked the fight. Other wrestlers were glad that Booker T had the courage to do what he did. Despite this fight happening, the wrestlers are now good friends, which was then verified when Booker and Batista were seen having lunch together.
Trivia
- Batista's entrance music was remixed and had lyrics added to it in March 2005 and debuted the new theme after Wrestlemania 21. The song called "I Walk Alone" was performed by Saliva. A rerecording of the song with different lyrics is also included on the WWE album, Wreckless Intent. He also added a rockaway dance to his entrance routine.
- In mid-to-late 2005, Batista began shaking the ring ropes before making his "thumbs up, thumbs down" gesture, which he has acknowledged he took from the Ultimate Warrior.
- Batista holds the record for the longest World Heavyweight Championship reign (282 days) beating Triple H's previous mark of 280 days. His reign was also longer than any World Champion in WWE since Diesel's WWF Championship reign in the mid 1990s.
- In an edition of Smackdown magazine, He stated that he collected lunchboxes. This collection started when he bought his wife an ET lunchbox and she didn't want to break it, so he bought a second one.[3]
- Batista can breakdance. This was shown in a commercial promoting WWE SummerSlam 2004 where he did his take on a "floor routine" (basically mocking the floor routines shown at the Olympic Games).
- Batista was the first World Heavyweight Champion after its post-WCW/Alliance re-incarnation on SmackDown!