"I thought he was gonna come after me" - When Daniel Craig broke 2-time WWE Champion's nose
For 15 years, Hollywood star Daniel Craig played James Bond. In 2015, he starred in the film Spectre alongside several actors, including WWE legend Batista (aka Dave Bautista). The British actor and former WWE Champion had a famous fight in the movie that saw them both suffer significant injuries in real life.
In an interview with The Graham Norton Show in September 2021, Craig disclosed that he suffered a knee injury while filming the scene.
"We were doing this scene as a fight sequence on a train in Spectre. And we learned this for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and you basically spend a week shooting it and the whole thing in there. And Dave was being really great with me but he's a big big guy and I forget how big he is. And he was sort of throwing me against this wall. He was being gentle because, you know, so he should. It's pretend. And I just said, 'Dave, Dave, mate, go on, it's all right, come on, you can chuck me a bit don't worry about it, I'm fine. So, he did. I ended up on the wall but my knee was sort over here somewhere [pointing away]. And I went, 'Oh God!' And I knew it's horrible," he said. [0:44 - 1:31]
While Craig later had to film the scene while wearing a brace, Batista also suffered an injury at the hands of the 54-year-old actor. The Hollywood star revealed that he broke the former WWE Champion's nose.
"I broke his nose. I didn't do it deliberately. Clearly it was like it was a mistake. And it was so like, I mean, like I said, he's a big guy, he's a professional wrestler, you really wouldn't mess with him. And I threw this punch. I hit him on the nose and I heard this crack and I went, 'oh God no' and ran away. I thought he was gonna come after me. And he was so sweet. He literally did something like this [adjusting his nose], he went, 'ugh, it's fine,'" he added. [1:45 - 2:14]
Over the past few years, Batista has become a major star in Hollywood. Last year, he and Craig worked together again in the movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Titus O'Neil sent Batista a heartfelt message on his 54th birthday. Check it out here.
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Batista retired from WWE in 2019
In 2000, Batista signed with the Stamford-based company. He spent about a decade as an active competitor, during which he won the WWE Championship twice and the World Heavyweight Title four times. However, he left in 2010. Four years later, The Animal returned for a brief run before departing again a few months later.
In 2019, the former World Heavyweight Champion returned to WWE again to have a final match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35. After losing to The Game, The Animal announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
A current WWE RAW star once unintentionally defeated Batista with a 'stupid' move. Check out the story here.