WWE has never been shy about pulling the trigger on their soon-to-be top guys. The company’s eagerness to catapult its next generation to the top has been made especially evident in the 21st century. Before he was the villainous Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns was fast-tracked to a WWE WrestleMania 31 main event less than one year into his singles run. This past summer, Austin Theory got in the good graces of Vince McMahon, resulting in the 25-year-old capturing the Money in the Bank briefcase months after re-debuting on the main roster.
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Rushing new talent to the main event scene can be dated back to the early 2000s, as both John Cena and Batista were christened with world championships at WWE WrestleMania 21. While those two titans’ ascent came a good three years into their main roster run, it would take years for both Cena and Batista to truly find their footing in WWE.
Batista emphasized this sentiment recently, as he reflected on his first world title victory on his 54th birthday.
“I can’t believe this is happening at this point, because this happened so fast,” Batista noted. “Where I went from being a guy in the background who they never had any big plans for, to being the top guy in the company. Now, I’m the flagship. Now I’m out here holding the belt and there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with that. I was just so unprepared. I was not prepared for what was coming my way.”
The Animal was no stranger to WWE’s main event scene at the time, as he was a key member of Evolution alongside Triple H, Randy Orton and Ric Flair. That stable headlined episodes of Monday Night Raw and pay-per-views together, but WWE WrestleMania 21 was the first time Batista was in that marquee spotlight alone.
Today, Batista is a full-time actor, as his professional wrestling days were put in the rear view at WWE WrestleMania 35. He was scheduled to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020, but that ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE has honored Batista’s request to be inducted at a future ceremony.
Batista’s latest acting endeavor, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is currently streaming on Netflix.
