WWE news: Batista sheds more light on why his 2014 WWE return didn't work out

Batista worked babyface on his return

What’s the story?

PWInsider posted highlights of a recent interview that former WWE Superstar Batista had with The Daily Dead while he was attending the Sundance Film Festival for the release of his new film, Bushwick.

Regarding his 2014 run in the WWE, Batista said the following:

"It was the company, man. They really just screwed me over. I was banging my head against the wall every day. It’s one of those things, I wish people knew how hard I fought to be there and how hard I fought to just give them the best matches and performances that I could. But it was an everyday struggle dealing with the company. It was such a f***ing nightmare."

In case you didn’t know...

With Guardians of the Galaxy pulling in over $330 million worldwide in theatres, Batista has become a sought-after movie star now. He plays the lead actor in the new movie Bushwick, where he is a war veteran in an alternative United States, where Texas is trying to secede from the nation.  

The heart of the matter...

Vince McMahon thought it was best for the 48-year-old to work babyface upon his return, yet Batista knew it was a bad idea. He’d go on to win the 2014 Royal Rumble to a chorus of boos. However, he wanted to right the wrong at SummerSlam later that year, but his pitch was blown off by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. He details that below:

"I said to them, because I wanted to come back for SummerSlam, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I came back right when I’m also in the biggest film in the world?’ Literally, it was Hunter [Triple H] and Stephanie [McMahon] who laughed at me, and Hunter goes, ‘We don’t even know if it’s going to be any good.’ I swear to God.  But I wanted to go back for SummerSlam, and they didn’t want me to come back. I think because they thought it was such a failure, that run, and it wasn’t a failure because of me.

What’s next?

Batista’s new movie Bushwick will attempt to gain distribution and make a Hollywood release sometime this year. As for the WWE, there seems to be no indication that the 48-year-old will be returning to the squared circle anytime soon.

Sportskeeda’s Take

We were so excited for the 2014 return of “The Animal”. He left the company on a high note, portraying the heel who wanted the spotlight on him all the time. Having him slide into the Royal Rumble and win it as a babyface was a terrible idea, and Batista knew it.

Even later, Vince insisted on him appearing as a babyface, but it didn’t work. Finally, they decided to turn him heel and reform Evolution, who went on to have a good feud with The Shield, before Batista departed to promote Guardians Of The Galaxy.