“I was just happy to have a job”: Dave Bautista Makes Harrowing Job Instability Revelations in WWE Career
Dave Bautista gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of Drax the Destroyer in DC Films co-CEO James Gunn’s Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movie series Guardians of the Galaxy. However, before he started his acting career, he had gained recognition as a wrestler having started his professional wrestling career in 1999.
Although Dave Bautista is now one of the greatest WWE superstars, his journey to achieving that feat has not exactly been a bed of roses. The retired wrestler joined WWE in 2000 but was under training for two years at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Later, he went on to become a World Champion several times, but at one point in time, all that mattered to him was having a job.
Dave Bautista Revealed His Insecurity about His Job During His WWE Career
As a part of WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental, Dave Bautista had trained alongside future wrestling stars like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton. Bautista, who was known as Batista or The Animal during his tenure at WWE, worked hard to establish himself as a professional wrestler and he certainly succeeded in doing so.
The Man with the Iron Fists actor has had his own fair share of struggles while he was establishing his career. Even so, the actor has nothing but gratitude in himself for the life that he got to build just because WWE gave him the opportunity to prove himself.
On November 23, Bautista posted a video on his official X (formerly Twitter) account in which he revealed how he was constantly scared about losing his job at WWE, saying:
“When I was wrestling I was just happy to have a job and always thinking I’m going to lose my job any day. And so becoming a world champion was something I just never imagined. You know, it’s weird, they continuously say ‘Why do you want to be there if you don’t want to be champion?’ It’s just because I was content having a job. I just really wanted to make a living, be able to support my family.”
Grateful for the journey, grateful for a job, grateful to support my loved ones. Not one day taken for granted #payitforward #dreamchaser #happythanksgiving #wwe pic.twitter.com/klJr2lePyU
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) November 23, 2023
Bautista had never thought of becoming a World Champion, it was just something that came along the way as he kept working on himself. He also said that he sacrificed some things to achieve all he has, but it also made him what he is today.
Dave Bautista is Relieved About His Retirement as Drax the Destroyer
Dave Bautista starred as Drax the Destroyer in six major Marvel projects, namely the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Additionally, he also appeared in a holiday special. The actor is grateful for having been cast as the intergalactic criminal, but at the same time, he is relieved.
During an interview with GQ earlier this year, Bautista expressed his feelings about his retirement from the character, saying:
“I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there’s a relief [that it’s over]. It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy—it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”
This is not going to be the first time an actor is going to be famous for a character they are not very proud of playing; for instance, Robert Pattinson who is known for his portrayal of Edward Cullen despite his resentment towards it.
