Profile of Dave Batista on Famous Like Me

David Bautista
Statistics
Stage names	Kahn Leviathan Demon of the Deep Deacon Batista David Batista Batista
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	317 lb (144 kg)
Born	January 18, 1966 / 69
Hometown	Washington, D.C.
Trained by	Afa Anoai
Debut	1997

David Michael (Dave) Bautista, better known simply as Batista (born January 18, 1966 or 1969 in Arlington County, Virginia), is an American professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand, where he is the current World Heavyweight Champion.

Early career

Before getting into professional wrestling, Batista worked as a bouncer in various clubs, and was once arrested for brawling with a man even though his actions were taken in self-defense.

Batista's wrestling career began when he met Curt Hennig and Joseph Laurinaitis (Road Warrior Animal) at a bodybuilding meeting. He tried out at the WCW Power Plant but was told he'd never make it in the wrestling business. He then went to the WWF who sent him to work with Afa Anoai. He wrestled in Anoai's WXW promotion under the name Kahn.

He made his TV debut in Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2000, joining forces with Synn. During his tenure in OVW he used the name Leviathan. As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship from 'The Machine' Doug Basham. After losing the belt to The Prototype, Synn felt Batista was getting too independent and "sold" him to Reverend D-Von to begin his WWE career.

Batista began his WWE career as Deacon Batista a heel enforcer for Reverend D-Von on the SmackDown! brand. Batista made his WWE match debut in a tag match teaming with D-Von against Randy Orton & Faarooq with Batista pinning Orton. After splitting with D-Von (and defeating D-Von after a Batista Bomb), he went to RAW and was rebranded as Dave Batista, or simply Batista.

After establishing himself as a monster through a series of squash matches, including one where he maliciously spinebusted Tajiri twice, then did his dreaded Batista Bomb to him, then viciously choked Tajiri until green goo came from his mouth, sending him to the hospital for a long recovery, he aligned himself with Ric Flair and feuded with Kane, getting a couple of wins over Kane. First, at the November 25, 2002 episode of RAW, with Batista capitalizing after Kane had been whacked with a steel chair by Ric Flair and again at Armageddon 2002, with the help of Ric Flair and his dreaded Batista Bomb.

Evolution

In January 2003 he joined Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton to become part of Evolution. But his career went to halt when he experienced a tore bicep at a house show event. Then he tore his right tricep running with his wife and had surgery under Dr. James Andrews, a surgeon who has operated on numerous WWE wrestlers.

Batista made his return at the October 20, 2003, episode of RAW, interfering in the Goldberg vs. Shawn Michaels match and "shattering" Goldberg's ankle by putting it in a chair and jumping off the second rope onto the chair. In his first match since his return, Batista defeated Maven. On the November 10, 2003, episode of RAW, Goldberg faced Batista and won by disqualification when Triple H interfered and attempted to hit Goldberg with the infamous sledgehammer.

The next week, November 24 episode of RAW, Batista and Ric Flair paired up as a team but lost to Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels in a tag team match. Batista got his revenge, by choking Michaels until he (Michaels) bled from the mouth.

At Armageddon 2003, Batista took part in two matches, first he faced Shawn Michaels in a singles match but lost after a superkick. The dismayed Batista then won the World Tag Team titles after Ric Flair entered himself and Batista in a tag team turmoil match later in the night. The pair won after defeating The Dudley Boyz last in the match after D-Von got planted with a Batista Bomb. On the February 16, 2004, edition of RAW, Batista and Ric Flair lost the World Tag titles to Booker T and Rob Van Dam.

Batista went on to win the World Tag-Team Championship a second time with Flair and even held it during a stretch when all the men's championship belts on RAW, the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Intercontinental Championship and World Tag Team Championship - were all held by members of Evolution, one belt for each of its four members.

In late 2004, things began to change in Evolution. After Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H kicked him out of the group, because he believed the title Orton held was his. Batista stayed with Evolution, but remained wary of Triple H's backstabbing ways. At Survivor Series 2004, Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky, and Edge were defeated by Maven, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Orton in a match that decided who would control RAW for one month. This only added to the unrest within Evolution.

WrestleMania

At New Year's Revolution in January 2005, Orton warned him that "Triple H doesn't give a damn about you." Later that night, Batista, along with Orton, Benoit, Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Edge competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant World Championship. Near the end of the match, Benoit, Jericho, and Edge were eliminated. Batista and Triple H double-teamed Orton, but Orton gained the upper hand and nailed Batista with a lowblow and the RKO, but Triple H did nothing to stop his partner in Evolution from getting pinned, although he could've. This helped to prove Orton's statement earlier that night. Triple H won the match, but this would only be the first step to something bigger.

His Royal Rumble victory on January 30, 2005 earned him the right to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the champion of his choice; on Monday Night Raw, February 22, 2005, Batista turned on Triple H and Ric Flair after overhearing them discuss Triple H's plan to get Batista to leave for SmackDown! – (a plan which included staging WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield running him over with his limo). He turned his back on them by signing a new contract with the RAW brand to face World Heavyweight Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 21, officially leaving the Evolution stable. And in case Triple H didn't get the message, Batista powerbombed HHH through a table.

Prior to Wrestlemania, Batista admitted that at first he didn't mind playing second fiddle to Triple H, "but things changed." He declared that when Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship, when Batista won the Royal Rumble, among other things, it was all about Triple H. That's why he decided to stay on RAW and face his former mentor.

Batista won his first World Heavyweight Championship on April 3, 2005 at Wrestlemania 21 after defeating Triple H with a Batista Bomb.

World Heavyweight Champion

At Backlash, on May 1, 2005, Batista once again faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista retained the title, thanks to the Batista Bomb, but continued to feud with Triple H.

On May 23, 2005 Batista also successfully defeated Edge to retain his title. Edge had won the Gold Rush Tournament on Monday Night Raw with help from his heel girlfriend Lita, who turned on her husband Kane. During the match Ric Flair appeared to come out into the ring to help Batista, and Batista defeated Edge with a Batista Bomb; in actuality it was just a set-up. Ric Flair disabled Batista with a low blow so Triple H could beat him with his trademark sledgehammer. The show closed with Batista a bloody mess after Triple H pedigreed his head onto the World Heavyweight Championship. During the brutal attack, Triple H said to Batista, "Hell-in-a-Cell" setting up a match at Vengeance

On May 30, Batista faced Muhammad Hassan. Angered by his humiliation at the hands of Triple H, Batista took out his frustrations on Hassan and his manager, Daivari. Batista was disqualified for not releasing Hassan from a turnbuckle choke before the count of five, but appeared not to care whether he won or lost. After the match, Batista avoided an attempt at retribution by Hassan, repeatedly driving his head into the concrete before leveling him with a steel chair shot to the head. He then finished off Hassan and Daivari each with a Batista Bomb, sending a message to Triple H. As a result of the beating, Hassan and Daivari threatened to file a lawsuit against RAW, and Eric Bischoff compromised by granting them a shot at the Intercontinental Championship against Shelton Benjamin in a handicap match.

At Vengeance 2005 in Las Vegas on June 26, Batista survived the pedigree and won the Hell in a Cell match following a spinebuster onto the steel steps and a Batista Bomb.

On June 30, John Bradshaw Layfield was celebrating his victory in a 6 man elimination match to win the new Smackdown World Championship, when SmackDown! manager Theodore Long informed the former WWE Champ that there was no need for the new belt, because Smackdown already had a World Champion, Batista's music hit, and the shocked crowd popped as the World Champion made his way to the ring.

SmackDown!

Batista defeated Christian on July 7, 2005. Before the match, he interfered in a match between JBL and The Blue Meanie, giving JBL a spinebuster to help seal Meanie's victory.

Batista lost by disqualification to JBL in a title defense at The Great American Bash, after Batista used a chair brought to the ring by Orlando Jordan to attack Jordan and JBL. Despite the fact that he did not lose the title, Batista was angered at the loss and continued to attack both Jordan and JBL. It was highly speculated that Muhammad Hassan would be the challenger for Batista's title, however, due to the controversy surrounding the Hassan character, WWE was forced to remove him off of SmackDown and therefore, the match could not materialize. At SummerSlam 2005, Batista instead defeated JBL in a No Holds Barred rematch for the title.

On the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Batista defeated JBL to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a close Texas Bullrope Match.

On the September 16, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, a new number one contender, Eddie Guerrero, was named for Batista's World Heavyweight Championship. Despite his status as a contender, Guerrero claimed he wanted to be friends with Batista. The team would win a match against MNM the next week, despite Guerrero claiming to have food poisoning and only coming to the ring to get the pinfall only after Batista had the match won.

The next week, Batista and Eddie faced The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich) for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Batista and Eddie lost by disqualification after interference by MNM, then Eddie "accidentally" hit Batista with a chair.

At WWE Homecoming, Batista was supposed to team up with Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit to take on JBL, Christian, and Eddie Guerrero. But, Eric Bischoff, RAW's General Manager cancelled the match. Batista and the SmackDown! Superstars stormed the ring at SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long's request. Batista was about to perform the Batista Bomb to Bischoff but more RAW Superstars arrived before he could perform it. The match was rescheduled to October 7 where Eddie Guerrero betrayed his team to let Batista get the pin on Christian. After the match, Christian and JBL attacked Eddie for screwing them over but Batista made the save.

Batista retained his World Championship at WWE No Mercy and Guerrero did not turn on him after their match up, but Guerrero did give a devious smile.

Finishing and signature moves

• Batista Bomb / Demon Bomb (sit-out powerbomb)
• Spinebuster
• Knock-out clothesline
• Running powerslam
• Spear

Championships and accomplishments

Ohio Valley Wrestling

• 1-time OVW Heavyweight Champion

World Wrestling Entertainment

• 1-time World Heavyweight Champion (current)
• 2-time World Tag Team Champion (with Ric Flair)
• Royal Rumble 2005 winner

Title lineage

Trivia

• Batista's entrance music was remixed and had lyrics added to it in May 2005. The new song is called "Unleashed" and is performed by the band Saliva.
• Batista's pay-per-view debut was at Armageddon 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he defeated Kane.
• Batista became the first wrestler to pin Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance 2005. Triple H had never previously been pinned in a Cell match; although he lost in a Cell match at Armageddon 2000, he was not involved in the decision.
• During his time on RAW, commentators would often mistakenly refered to his spinebuster move as a Batista Bomb.
• Batista's catchphrase, "You talkin' to me?", was made famous by Robert DeNiro's character Travis Bickle in the 1976 film Taxi Driver, which was parodied by WWE as part of the promotion for WrestleMania 21: WrestleMania Goes Hollywood.
• Batista's "thumbs up, thumbs down" gesture (which he often makes prior to the Batista Bomb) has been used in professional wrestling for several years to signify ruthlessness. After the gesture was used by Triple H when he kicked Randy Orton out of Evolution, Batista later used it at the WrestleMania 21 contract signing to taunt Triple H, leading his erstwhile mentor to believe that he would opt to face WWE Champion JBL at WrestleMania 21 ("thumbs up") before revealing that he had in fact chosen to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship ("thumbs down").

Personal information

Of Filipino and Greek heritage, Bautista is married with three daughters: a 12-year-old and 14-year-old from a previous marriage, and a 19-year-old step-daughter. His wife Angie is a survivor of ovarian cancer.

Batista's year of birth is disputed. His website (currently inactive) listed him as being born in 1969, while several contradictory news reports , as well as the IMDb, have claimed he was actually born in 1966. In addition, Obsessed with Wrestling has claimed that, when Batista re-signed with WWE in January 2005, he revealed that he had been working under a fake age (a common practice in the entertainment field), and admitted that he was actually 39 years old (and would therefore have been born in 1966).

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Dave Batista