Batista On Upsetting Vince McMahon, Vince Wanting To Slap Him, Talking To The Rock, Brock Lesnar
Recently on The Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross welcomed Dave Bautista, also known as WWE's Batista, to the program. Among other things, Batista talked about his relationship with Vince McMahon. Batista shared advice he has for aspiring professional wrestlers. Batista touched on his experience in WWE's developmental system. Additionally, Batista discussed whether he has been in touch with The Rock since setting out on his own acting career.
According to Batista, he would often find himself upsetting McMahon, but McMahon always knew that Batista was ultimately a company guy.
"I pissed him off a lot. I pissed him off to the point where he actually said to me one day, he said, 'do you know what I want to do to you right now? I want to slap the s–t out of you!' I couldn't believe he was saying this to me! I was like, 'man.' All I could do was laugh and that made him more pissed. But I think it got to the point where I think Vince knew that I was in it for the right reasons. I think he knew that I wanted to be there and that I was good for the company."
While Batista said it is important for WWE Superstars to develop a relationship with McMahon, WWE's Chairman can sense when people are seeking him out for the wrong reasons.
"It is important to develop that relationship, but, at the same time, Vince can smell a bulls–tter. He knows if you're just trying to kiss his ass. All those guys know. They knew. But it is [important]. [Ross] put it perfectly: don't give them a reason to not want to do business with you."
With respect to advice for up-and-coming pro wrestlers, Batista said WWE is looking for a strong work ethic, so people coming in should work hard and ditch the ego.
"I usually just tell them to shut up, listen, pay attention, and work your ass off because I think that's what they're looking for right off the bat, it's just a work ethic. Unless you grow up and you're a legacy and you've been around it you're whole life, it's something that's a little unnatural. But I think it's also, you've got to walk in there without a big ego. You've got to check your ego at the door and just be willing to listen and just work your ass off, man, which is much easier said than done. It's a hard business, man. It's physical and those first couple months of training, they're a nightmare."
Batista continued, "and you're not calling in sick. If you're calling in sick, pack your bag and go home. You're coming into work, you're beat up, you're hurting, you're in pain, but so is everybody else, so it's just one of those things you just do and you suck it up."
On the subject of Batista's OVW experience, 'The Animal' said current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was the first person to get on people if they missed drills.
"Oh my God! Especially, if you were that guy [to not make the drills] too, the first guy calling you was Lesnar. 'Hey superstar, where are you? Where are you at?' It was weird, man, because we were all close, but at the same time, very competitive. And with me being a quiet-natured person, I had to let my physicality speak for me and I'm not that guy. I don't have an aggressive personality. I'm pretty much a passive person, but physically, I'm just competitive. If you put me in [the ring] and ask me to run ropes, I'll hit them as hard as I can till I fall down. It's the only thing I know, just to work hard. It's how I grew up. I have no other psychology."
Apparently, Batista has stayed in touch with The Rock and has reached out to 'The Great One' for advice. Batista shared that The Rock has always treated him well, probably on account of being trained by The Rock's uncle, Afa Anoa'i.
"I talked to him a while back because there was some mention of me joining one of The Fast and The Furious films. I called him and I wanted to get his opinion on it because I always think of it along the lines of professional wrestling. Like, I always thought he and I in a film would be smart booking. I thought it's an easy sell. And I wondered if we did for our first film together a franchise that was already established, if it would take away from that, and I wanted his opinion on that and he didn't seem to think so. He has always been very good to me, even from day one, even early in my career."
Batista said, "he was always that cool to me, that gracious, and I think a lot of it had to do with because I had broken in with his family, but he was always good to me and it was the same when I brought up that film thing, just very gracious. And he said he would love to do it. He would love to do a film with me. We're just waiting, I guess, for the right opportunity. Of course, he's 10-times busier than I am, but hopefully something will come around. But yeah, I have kept in touch with him and I have picked his brain for advice and he has given me some really, really solid advice."
Click here to check out the interview. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit The Ross Report with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: The Ross Report