David Bautista

David Michael (Dave) Bautista (born January 18, 1969 in Arlington, 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

Bautista's wrestling career began when he met Tyrone Talarico and 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 was called Leviathan. As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable he would go undefeated until being beaten 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 Batista, 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).

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.

2003

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 his right triceps at a house show in a tag team match against the Dudley Boyz that saw his tag team partner, Randy Orton break his foot as well. During his recuperation after surgery to reattach his triceps, Dave was out jogging with his wife in the rain when he slipped, retearing his triceps. He faced another setback when after his second surgery to reattach his triceps he suffered an infection that required a third surgery to clean out the infection. He made his return on the October 20, 2003 episode of RAW, interfering in a match between Goldberg and Shawn Michaels 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. By the end of the PPV, all three male championships on RAW were held by members of Evolution, with Triple H winning the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

2004

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 embarrassing 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. However, despite this, fans started cheering for Batista, which made some wonder what he could accomplish in the upcoming New Year.

2005

As 2005 opened, Batista's growing popularity was becoming more and more evident, especially to Triple H. Triple H soon realized the possibility of Batista, much like Randy Orton the year before, becoming a threat to his World Heavyweight Championship. 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. After defeating La Resistance in a handicap match, 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, who became unglued upon the thumbs-down. Batista went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship on April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21. The show ended with confetti falling through the air as Batista celebrated his title win with the fans chanting his name.

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. Along the way, he even helped commentator Jim "J.R." Ross gain an upset victory over Triple H on RAW.

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. This also made him the first wrestler to defeat Triple H at three consecutive pay-per-views.

Prior to being drafted to "SmackDown!", Batista was arguably RAW's most popular star, and easily its most dominant.

On June 30, 2005 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 this, Batista became the first World Heavyweight Champion after its post-WCW/Alliance re-incarnation on SmackDown!. With Batista as the new face of 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, 2005 where JBL defeated Batista by DQ after the referee saw Batista use a steel chair. They had a rematch at SummerSlam on August 21, 2005 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. 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, 2005 episode, but the match didn't take place due to the unexpected death of Eddie Guerrero on November 13, 2005. Batista paid homage to Eddie Guerrero during the SmackDown! and RAW tribute shows 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, 2005 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 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, 2005, 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.

To date, 2005 was the best year of Batista's career. He won the Royal Rumble, broke away from Evolution, defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 21, defeated him twice more, became SmackDown!'s most popular star, defeated challengers such as JBL and Eddie Guerrero, and established himself as the company's biggest star. He would win PWI Wrestler of the Year honors (winning with 37% with first runner-up John Cena finishing at 29%), Most Improved Wrestler honors (the fourth consecutive OVW alumnus to win the award, following Brock Lesnar in 2002, John Cena in 2003, and Randy Orton in 2004), as well as the top spot in the annual PWI 500, making him arguably the top star in the business.

2006

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. Batista made his official return during the July 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown! immediately entering into a feud with the man who put him out with the tricep injury, Mark Henry. This feud would lead to a scheduled match between the two at The Great American Bash for the #1 contendership to the World Championship.

At Saturday Night's Main Event, Batista won his first televised match since his return, a tag team bout with Rey Mysterio and Lashley taking on King Booker, Finlay and Mark Henry. During his entrance, he was billed as being 300 pounds. Before his injury, he was about 317 pounds, and there was a definite visible difference in his body from before to after the injury, as his core seemed much slimmer. During the match, Henry was injured, and was ruled out of the scheduled match between the two at The Great American Bash prompting Batista to issue an open challenge for the event.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves
- Batista Bomb (Sitout powerbomb)
- Spinebuster
- Spear
- Walking powerslam
- Sidewalk slam
- Strong clothesline
- 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)
- "Evolution's Animal"
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.
- Since WrestleMania 21, Batista has used the "thumbs up, thumbs down" gesture before he performs the Batista Bomb on his opponent. This is a reference to the gesture Triple H used against Randy Orton when he kicked Orton out of Evolution (leading to a brutal assault). Batista took this gesture from Triple H when he feigned signing to SmackDown!
- In mid-to-late 2005, Batista began shaking the ring ropes violently before making his "thumbs up, thumbs down" gesture, which he has acknowledged he took from the Ultimate Warrior.
- We will see Batista gesture pulling a pin from a bomb before lifting his opponents up to perform his finisher; a variation of JBL's extinguishing of a cigar on his opponents back before his jacknife powerbomb finisher.
- Before wrestling Batista used to train in the gym with Brock Lesnar.
Championships and accomplishments
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Heavyweight Championship
Defeated Machine on November 28, 2001 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
Lost to Prototype on February 20, 2002 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA
- World Wrestling Entertainment

World Tag Team Championship - with Ric Flair

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 and Rob Van Dam on March 22, 2004 in Detroit Michigan, USA

Lost to Chris Benoit and 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 13, 2006 due to injury

WWE Tag Team Championship - with Rey Mysterio

Defeated MNM on December 16, 2005 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

Lost to MNM on December 30, 2005 in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

2005 Feud of the Year (vs Triple H)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated

2005 Wrestler of the Year
2005 Most Improved Wresler of the Year
PWI ranked him #1 in the 2005 PWI 500

Personal information

Batista is of Filipino and Greek heritage. His 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 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 married wife Angie in October 1998. Angie is a survivor of ovarian cancer. In the August 2006 edition of WWE magazine Batista (who is on the cover) revealed that he and his wife are now separated.

Batista has two daughters and a step daughter, all from a previous marriage.

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. He recently added a tattoo on his arm of the Flag of the Philippines and Greece merged into one.

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 did not want to break it, so he bought a second one.

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 has torn his right triceps three times, and has had four surgeries on it (three reattachments, one to clean up due to infection).

Controversy

Batista 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 his stealing automobiles when he was 13. Before getting into professional wrestling, he 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.

In 2005, Batista gave two controversial interviews to the British tabloid newspaper The Sun. In the first interview, Batista, then wrestling on the RAW brand of WWE, criticised SmackDown!, stating, "I've watched their tapings live and it seems like a lot of the guys couldn't care less. There's a lack of passion and pride." In the second interview, Batista acknowledged that his statements had attracted considerable backstage heat from members of the SmackDown! brand. He then went on to claim, "there are guys on both shows who are lazy, couldn't care less and show no dedication." He then criticized rival wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, claiming, "I've also seen clips of their car wreck matches with A.J. Styles doing his stunts. That's not wrestling. Wrestling is storytelling." In April 2006, Styles responded to Batista's comments, quipping, "I think it's funny that a guy who takes a bump and tears his back tells me that I don't know how to wrestle."

At a 2006 SummerSlam pay-per-view commercial shoot, it was reported that Batista got into a real-life fistfight with Booker T (Booker T had a noticeable black eye at the next SmackDown taping).

References

External links

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