Dave Bautista Reveals Why He Missed Out On WWE Hall Of Fame 2023 Induction

Dave Bautista's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame has been a long time coming, even though it's still yet to happen. The multi-time WWE Champion-turned-actor was initially announced for the Hall of Fame Class of 2020, only for that to be delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Set to be part of the 2021 class instead, Bautista was later removed due to being unable to attend the ceremony and has since been left out of the 2022 and 2023 classes as well for similar reasons. While shopping for sneakers with "CoolKicks" recently, Bautista discussed why this year's ceremony in Los Angeles just wasn't in the cards.  

"I was in South Africa," Bautista said. "I was supposed to go into the Hall Of Fame, but I was on this film I was committed to. I couldn't get out of it".

While "The Animal" has a seemingly endless amount of projects in development right now, Bautista has been open about the fact that the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony coincided with Bautista filming "My Spy: The Eternal City." The sequel to "My Spy" began production in South Africa in the early months of 2023, and later saw Bautista and company in Italy. Filming finally wrapped in May.

As a result, Bautista and WWE will now look toward the weekend of WrestleMania 40 to finally put Bautista into the Hall of Fame — if his busy schedule allows.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "CoolKicks" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription