"Vince will be a surprise headliner" - Wrestling world reacts to reports that a Former WWE Champion will be inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame

With WrestleMania 39 right around the corner, another special event in the WWE calendar that is soon set to take place is the annual Hall of Fame ceremony. According to reports, Batista will be this year's headline inductee.

The Animal was originally meant to be inducted in 2020, but due to COVID restrictions as well as his schedule, the 54-year-old chose to move his induction date to a time when he could celebrate it with the fans.

Earlier today, a report by WrestlingNews.co's Patreon account announced that the former World Heavyweight Champion would be inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2023.

Following the news, the WWE Universe immediately took to social media to voice their opinions on the wrestler turned Hollywood star's potential induction.

Batisita's final match in the company was a storybook ending as he faced off against his mentor and longtime rival Triple H at WrestleMania 35 in 2019.

Batsita reflects on a major milestone in his WWE career

In 2005, after years of attempts to make it as the company's top guy, the Washington DC native was booked to win the World Heavyweight title in the main event of WrestleMania against Triple H.

Batista recently took to Instagram to post a video looking back on his career-altering win against his former Evolution teammate.

“I can’t believe this is happening at this point. This happened so fast, where I went from being a guy in the background that they never had any big plans to being the top guy in the company, to now I’m the flagship. I’m out here holding the belt now, a lot of responsibility comes with that, and I just was so unprepared,” Bautista said.

After leaving WWE as a full-time performer in 2010, Batista began working in Hollywood, where he would go on to feature in major movies such as Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the James Bond franchise's Spectre, Dune, and Knives Out 2.

Where does Batista rank amongst the greats in WWE? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.