5 Reasons why Batista is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
News just broke out today that David Michael Bautista Jr, best known to us wrestling fanatics as WWE Superstar Batista, is all set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2020).
Having made his debut for the company on the SmackDown episode of May 9th, 2002, The Animal soon became one of the biggest Superstars of WWE and joined the legendary Evolution stable in 2003, aligning himself with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton.
Winning his first World Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 21, Batista is a 6-time World Champion, 4-time Tag Team Champion, and one of the few Superstars to have won the Royal Rumble twice (2005 and 2014).
Speaking to PEOPLE, this is what he had to say about his Hall of Fame induction:
“Vince 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. As soon as I hung up the phone, I was … and excuse my language, I was like, ‘S***, I gotta give a speech.’ And that is what I’ve been stressing about since.”
Now that The Animal has officially cemented his place in WWE history, let's take a look at the five potential reasons why the company decided to induct him into the Hall of Fame this year.
#5 He officially retired after WrestleMania 35
After "quitting" the company in 2010, Batista made his not-so-successful return in 2014, which saw him win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania 30 amidst the boos of the WWE Universe.
Earlier this year, the Animal came back for his final run with the company and took on Triple H at WrestleMania 35. In what he termed as a storybook ending to his career, he was defeated and officially retired from in-ring competition by the Cerebral Assassin.
With Batista hanging up his wrestling boots immediately thereafter, it was only fitting for WWE to honor him with the Hall of Fame induction, and so they did.
“For me, it was a storybook ending. It was as good as it gets. I got to close out my career the way I wanted to.”