"Hunter asked me to do it" - Major star gives an update on potential WWE Hall of Fame induction
Veterans like Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Thunderbolt Patterson, and others were officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024 under Triple H's leadership. Meanwhile, Dave Batista, a close friend and former stablemate of The Game, expressed his hope to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future.
Initially, the former WWE Champion was announced for the 2020 class, but the ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequent delays have been attributed to The Animal's commitments to film projects.
During a sit-down interview with Chris Van Vliet in Los Angeles to discuss the new action film "The Killer's Game," the 55-year-old legend was asked if he would still be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Batista revealed that he had agreed to the induction a few years ago at the request of Triple H. However, due to scheduling conflicts with a film shoot in South Africa, the induction couldn't take place. Despite this, The Animal remains open to the idea and hopes to be inducted someday:
"Eventually, I will. I want to, and there was a good opportunity for me to go in a couple years ago, and I agreed to do it. Hunter asked me to do it, and I said, 'Yeah, of course.' But it was here in LA, and I thought it was perfect, it was storybook because I won my first title here in LA, and we couldn’t figure it out because I was working on a film. I was in South Africa, so logistically, we just couldn’t make it happen, but yeah, I’m still open to it, and one day, I would like to," said Batista. [From 04:34 to 05:01]
You can check out the full video below:
WWE legend Batista addresses insane body transformation
The Animal officially retired from in-ring competition in 2019. He suffered a defeat at the hands of Triple H at WrestleMania 35 in a No Holds Barred Match.
After his stint with WWE, Batista has noticeably slimmed down. During the same conversation with Chris Van Vliet, the multi-time World Champion disclosed that he is currently at his lowest weight since he was 19 years old:
"This is probably the lightest I've been since I was 19 years old," Batista stated. [Addressing his body transformation]
Fans will have to wait and see if Triple H and the company decide to induct Batista into the 2025 class of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Please credit Chris Van Vliet and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.