Batista Confirms He Retired The Way He Wanted From WWE Without Fanfare

WWE has seen a number of legends wrap up their careers, and each one is handled differently. Batista seems very happy about how he ended his in-ring legacy, even if John Cena is getting a lot more fanfare on his way out.

John Cena is about to embark on a retirement tour, one that will include over 30 dates, and it will wrap up in 2025. Needless to say, 2025 will likely see a number of record-breaking gates for those The Final Time Is Now tour, and Batista has paid a lot of attention to that send-off.

While promoting his upcoming movie Killer’s Game, Batista sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss his thoughts on John Cena’s current retirement tour. Despite fans’ assumptions about a rivalry between the two, Big Dave dispelled those rumors, stating that he and Cena get along and share mutual respect. However, Bautista also took the opportunity to explain why he handled his retirement differently and why a farewell tour was never in the cards for him.

“I get along with John. I respect John a lot. A lot more than people think I do for some reason. I think the internet and fans have built this rivalry between us, which, there really isn’t, but this is how we’re different. I would never do this. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t feel it would feel disingenuous to me to go around, but where I see his point, where he wants to go around and he wants to personally thank all the fans, but there’s just something in me where I couldn’t do it. I would feel uncomfortable to me, like accolades feel uncomfortable to me, like I could never be the type of babyface who was saying good stuff because I wanted to get the crowd to cheer for me.”

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Batista further elaborated on his discomfort with public accolades and emotional goodbyes. For him, announcing his retirement in a quiet and personal way felt more genuine than embarking on a public farewell tour. He acknowledged that while Cena’s approach makes sense for his personality, Bautista simply couldn’t imagine doing the same.

“I love and respect what he’s doing with his whole tour, to say, you know, thank you to the fans, but we’re just different that way, like I couldn’t do it. I went out the way I wanted. I retired the way I wanted. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. I announced my retirement on Instagram, you know, and I knew I was going to do it. I just didn’t want to tell anybody I was going to do it because I didn’t want anybody to say, no, no, you got to come in. You have to give a speech, you know, to the fans, and I don’t know, just something about it would have felt false to me. And I couldn’t do it.”

In the end, Dave Bautista’s WWE retirement was a personal decision, handled in the way he felt most comfortable—on his own terms and without fanfare. Batista’s final match took place on April 7, 2019, at WWE WrestleMania 35, where he faced Triple H in a No Holds Barred match. Triple H emerged victorious in this bout, which marked the conclusion of Batista’s in-ring career. The match was held at the MetLife Stadium, which was a fitting send-off for The Animal.

Batista’s retirement is a testament to his desire to remain true to himself, even in his final moments as a professional wrestler. Unlike John Cena, who is embracing the chance to say goodbye to fans on a grand scale, Dave Bautista preferred to quietly step away from the ring after he got what he wanted in a WrestleMania match against Triple H.

Batista was set to receive a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2020, but the pandemic cancelled the ceremony. He hasn’t been able to make things work since then, but you can never count out Triple H giving that honor to his old friend when they can make it work out with his busy schedule.

What’s your take on Batista’s transition into Hollywood? Do you believe that he will get into the WWE Hall of Fame in the next couple of years? Let us know what you think in the comments section!