Batista (real name Dave Bautista) found himself in the headlines earlier this week when a fan asked him if he was the “hall-of-fame-worthy” star that Paul Wight announced would be arriving at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view this Sunday. “The Animal” hasn’t competed on a regular basis in years thanks in large part to his acting career blowing up, and he declared he was retired following his match with Triple H back at WrestleMania 35.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The Guardians of the Galaxy star wrote, “They’re going to have to come up with another word thats used specifically for professional wrestlers who actually mean it when they say they’re retired. Currently the word “retired” has zero credibility by professional wrestling standards.”
So while it doesn’t sound likely, that’s wasn’t necessarily a “no.” Dave Meltzer brought up the topic on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, adding that discussions were had between Batista and AEW over him possibly signing with the company. Whether or not those talks actually got anywhere remains to be seen, and Meltzer added that he doubts Batista is who will show up in Jacksonville.
Batista was announced for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020 over a year ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the induction ceremony indefinitely. As of now, it’s still unclear if the event will take place during WrestleMania 37 weekend.
Do you think the former WWE Champion is jumping to AEW? Let us know in the comments below!
Check out the full card for tonight’s Revolution event below:
- AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley (Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch)
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho & MJF
- Sting & Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks
- Paul Wight Introduces New AEW Star
- Cody Rhodes vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix vs. Max Caster vs. TBA (Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, Winner Gets a TNT Championship match)
- Hangman Page vs. Matt Hardy (Big Money Match)
- Miro & Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor
- Casino Tag Team Royale
- (Buy-In) Thunder Rosa & Riho vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Rebel