Dave Bautista to be Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
'As soon as I hung up the phone, I was like, I gotta give a speech!,' said the six-time World Champion
With his recent achievement, Bautista has officially cemented his place in WWE history. As the six-time World Champion, who competed in the ring as Batista — will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April, PEOPLE reported.
Bautista is a founding member of the faction Evolution, alongside storied performers Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton. He took the ring for the last time at April’s WrestleMania, competing against Triple H. He has also transitioned to Hollywood and appeared in films like Stuber.
The ceremony for Bautista, 50, will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida, as part of WrestleMania week.
During an interview with the outlet about the honour, “Vince (McMahon) called me personally to ask me, I was just, I wasn’t surprised, but I was pretty happy. It’s a good feeling, it’s a really great feeling.”
Bautista went onto add that he told the Chairman and CEO of WWE he would “be honored,” but admits, “As soon as I hung up the phone, I was and excuse my language, I was like, ‘S–t, I gotta give a speech."
“And that is what I’ve been stressing about since,” he laughed, as he admitted that he isn’t sure about how to put the honor “into words right now.”
“I don’t think it’s sunk in,” he says. “And I was thinking about it because I mean, it seems like a long journey, but it also feels like yesterday when I started my career. And it also feels … because I’m still working so much, it doesn’t feel like an end of a journey.”
He continued, “And I said that at WrestleMania last year: It’s the end of my in-ring journey, but it’s not the end of my journey with the WWE. I will always be connected with them, I’ll always be affiliated with them, I hope that I will always have a good relationship with them. So it doesn’t really feel like an ending for me, it feels like, kind of, I’m right in the mix. All I can say is it feels good, it’s just satisfying. I feel like I accomplished something. I feel like it was all worth it.”
The star concluded by comparing the moment to his happy ending, “For me, it was a storybook ending,” he explained. “It was as good as it gets. I got to close out my career the way I wanted to.”
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Bautista is a founding member of the faction Evolution, alongside storied performers Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton. He took the ring for the last time at April’s WrestleMania, competing against Triple H. He has also transitioned to Hollywood and appeared in films like Stuber.
The ceremony for Bautista, 50, will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida, as part of WrestleMania week.
During an interview with the outlet about the honour, “Vince (McMahon) called me personally to ask me, I was just, I wasn’t surprised, but I was pretty happy. It’s a good feeling, it’s a really great feeling.”
Bautista went onto add that he told the Chairman and CEO of WWE he would “be honored,” but admits, “As soon as I hung up the phone, I was and excuse my language, I was like, ‘S–t, I gotta give a speech."
“And that is what I’ve been stressing about since,” he laughed, as he admitted that he isn’t sure about how to put the honor “into words right now.”
“I don’t think it’s sunk in,” he says. “And I was thinking about it because I mean, it seems like a long journey, but it also feels like yesterday when I started my career. And it also feels … because I’m still working so much, it doesn’t feel like an end of a journey.”
He continued, “And I said that at WrestleMania last year: It’s the end of my in-ring journey, but it’s not the end of my journey with the WWE. I will always be connected with them, I’ll always be affiliated with them, I hope that I will always have a good relationship with them. So it doesn’t really feel like an ending for me, it feels like, kind of, I’m right in the mix. All I can say is it feels good, it’s just satisfying. I feel like I accomplished something. I feel like it was all worth it.”
The star concluded by comparing the moment to his happy ending, “For me, it was a storybook ending,” he explained. “It was as good as it gets. I got to close out my career the way I wanted to.”
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.