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One of the key highlights of the Ruthless Aggression Era of WWE was the dominant run of Dave Batista in the main event scene of the company. He had a 282-day record as World Heavyweight Champion between 2005 and 2006.
His acting career began after leaving the Stamford-based promotion and being broke for a little while before gradually finding success in Hollywood. Today, many viewers believe he is the best out of the wrestlers-turned-actors lot of WWE Superstars.
Maven and Chris Van Vliet recently discussed Batista on INSIGHT. According to the Attitude Era star, he was awestruck at The Animal's physical appearance when he first met him in 2002, when the latter was paired alongside D-Von Dudley on WWE television.
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Furthermore, he praised Batista for his work on the silver screen before recalling at one point when the actor asked Stacy Keibler's ex-boyfriend, actor Geoff Stults, for acting tips in the mid-aughts:
"I think he's [Batista] the best character actor, and here's what's amazing about that. In 2005, Stacy Keibler started dating this actor named Geoff Stults [...] Geoff was at a show backstage, and Dave came up to Geoff, and I was standing right there, and asked him for acting tips," Maven recalled. [26:30-27:00]
Maven had high praise for Batista's contribution as an actor. The Animal last competed in a WWE ring in 2019 in a losing effort to arguably the biggest rival of his career, Triple H.
Former WWE Champion urges Batista to return to the ring for a big-time money match
Bobby Lashley admitted not long ago that one of the names he would love to work with is Batista. The two superstars have wrestled a few times in 2006 when they were on the SmackDown roster in a regular schedule.
Speaking on the PERFORM Podcast, Lashley called a potential match against The Animal one that could be a massive box office success:
"I love where Dave is and I never try to drum up any controversy or any kind of friction. Dave is definitely somebody I would love to have a match with. It would be something that would do some huge box office numbers," Lashley said.
Some of Batista's best-known works as an actor include the Guardians of the Galaxy series, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and most recently, Knock at the Cabin. He has disclosed in the past that he would rather go broke than wrestle again. But in the world of pro wrestling, never say never.
Were you a fan of Batista's work in WWE during the Ruthless Aggression Era's heyday? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use the quote, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription and credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet.
