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Dave Bautista Retires From Wrestling After Loss to Triple H

“I’ll miss this theater of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from Sports Entertainment.”

Dan Gartland

Dave Bautista Retires From Wrestling After Loss to Triple H
Dave Bautista Retires From Wrestling After Loss to Triple H /

Wrestler-turned-movie star Dave Bautista’s return to the ring was shortlived. 

The man known to the WWE Universe as Batista fought Triple H in a No Holds Barred match Sunday night at WrestleMania and announced Monday morning that he was retiring from professional wrestling. 

“I’ll miss this theater of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from Sports Entertainment,” Bautista wrote on Instagram. 

Bautista came late to wrestling, joining WWE’s developmental system in 2000 at age 31, but quickly moved his way up the card after making his television debut in 2002. He captured the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 and held the title for 282 days, the longest reign in the belt’s history. 

Bautista began taking small TV acting roles in 2006 and made his feature film debut in 2012’s The Man with the Iron Fists. He rose to stardom as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. His first major starring role will come in the movie Stuber, set to be released in July, in which he plays a lead role alongside Kumail Nanjiani. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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