Batista reveals 62-year-old wanted him gone from WWE

Dave Batista recently reflected on his professional wrestling career and time in WWE. He seemed happy to oblige when questions were asked about his past life, showing love to fans and his days as an in-ring performer.

Batista rose to fame when he joined Evolution in the early aughts, after the company switched from WWF to WWE, marking the dawn of the Ruthless Aggression Era. He admitted that his addition to the faction changed his career trajectory but noted that John Laurinaitis wanted him gone when he was still competing in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

While conversing with Chris Van Vliet recently, Batista took a moment after mentioning former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis. The former World Heavyweight Champion realized that the opportunity to become part of Evolution was too big, so he did his best to be in top form for it:

"A lot of people didn't believe in me. Even when I was in developmental camp down in OVW, there was people with the WWE—John Laurinaitis—who wanted to fire me," Batista laughs. "But I just kept digging in and digging in and digging in, until I finally got my real first opportunity with Evolution. And I had access to Triple H and Ric Flair, I mean, two of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. And I wasn't going to blow my shot, man. So I just put everything else on the backburner and focused on my wrestling career," he said.

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Batista wants to work with WWE Superstar CM Punk, but not in the ring

Batista and CM Punk have locked horns in the past when The Straight Edge Superstar was still a rising star in the Stamford-based promotion, notably for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Speaking to BuzzFeed Celeb while promoting his new movie, The Killer's Game, The Animal was asked about which current wrestler had "acting chops." He named Drew McIntyre's bitter WWE rival, CM Punk. Batista admitted that he also wishes to work with Punk in a feature down the line:

"Oh, you know who I think was really overlooked as an actor, I don't know if he hasn't pursued it as much as he'd like to because he's still heavily pursuing professional wrestling, but is CM Punk, Phil Brooks. His potential in acting is pretty unlimited. So, I really wanna see more from him in acting. And I'd really love to work with him, cause I think he has a passion for acting," Batista said.

Batista also called CM Punk a "great actor" and added that the latter would have to let go of wrestling, at least to some degree, in order to give space for acting. As for Punk, his passion for sports entertainment appears to be stronger than ever. The Straight Edge Superstar will step inside Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood on October 5. The likely main event bout will be against Drew McIntyre.

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If you use the first quote, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.