Batista Opens Up About Toxic Years In WWE

WWE has seen many Superstars break into over areas of entertainment. Dave Bautista certainly took the world by storm and he left WWE as well. It turns out those early years weren’t the greatest for Batista.

Dave Bautista revealed he was constantly living in fear of a potential release during his first years at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), saying the atmosphere was “very toxic.”

“Wrestling is very competitive. It’s very cutthroat. You’re put in a position where you have to posture up all the time, and it’s exhausting. It’s just exhausting,” the 52-year-old told Men’s Health in an interview.

Bautista said he did not feel comfortable during his early years with the multi-billion-dollar corporation, adding that the thought of not winning the support of people within and outside the WWE plagued his mind.

“I couldn’t get comfortable, people didn’t like me, I was doing something wrong, the company wasn’t going to do anything with me, they didn’t know what to do with me, they didn’t know where I fit in.”

Bautista joined the WWE (then WWF) in the early 2000s. He worked for the promotion’s OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) development territory prior to making his main roster debut in 2002.

He later joined “Evolution”, a hell stable that also included fellow OVW alumnus Randy Orton, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Triple H. Following his two-year stint with the group, Bautista went on to become a major singles competitor, winning multiple singles and tag titles during his first stint with the WWE.

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