Batista Pokes Fun at Pro Wrestling Retirements

Shortly after Paul Wight (The Big Show) arrived on AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night, a fan reached out to Dave Bautista on Twitter to ask if he was the "hall of fame worthy" signing that Wight was teasing for Sunday's Revolution pay-per-view. Surprisingly, "The Animal" didn't shoot down the idea. He instead poked fun at the concept of retired wrestlers by writing, "They're going to have to come up with another word that's 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."

In fairness, retirements have always been flimsy in the world of pro wrestling. With the notable exception of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, most major wrestlers have stepped back inside the squared circle at least once after they've claimed to be retired.

Batista announced his retirement following WrestleMania 35 after losing a match against Triple H.

"To all the @wwe fans across the world that gave me the opportunity to suspend your disbelief, thank you," he wrote in his announcement at the time. "From the biggest part of my heart thank you for letting me entertain you. Tonight was my story book ending and I wanted to leave you with all I had to give. I'll miss this theater of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from Sports Entertainment. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, I leave in great health, and without a doubt the show will go on. I had a hell of a run. Thank you for the journey.

The former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion was supposed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has left the latest induction class suspending indefinitely.

It's quite the long shot, but do you think the Guardians of the Galaxy star could be the signing Wight was talking about? Let's hear your thoughts down in the comments!

Here's the card for Sunday's Revolution event:

• 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
• 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 title match)
• Hangman Page vs. Matt Hardy (Big Money Match)
• Miro & Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor
• Casino Tag Team Royale (Bear Country vs. Silver & Reynolds vs. Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Santana & Ortiz vs. The Butcher & The Blade vs. Private Party vs. Top Flight
• (Buy-In) Thunder Rosa & Riho vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Rebel.