After winning the 2005 “Royal Rumble,” Batista won over fans when he sent Triple H through a table with the Batista Bomb during a contract-signing session where Triple H dumbly believed Batista would jump ship to “SmackDown!” to challenge JBL for the WWE Championship. With that one Batista Bomb Batista’s future was forever changed, and during “WrestleMania 21” Batista found himself fighting his one-time mentor and friend Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Just as Batista was being crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion, Orton was finding himself on the injured list because of a shoulder injury during his “WrestleMania” match with the Undertaker. Suddenly, the tables were turned and it was Evolution’s biggest member stealing the spotlight in 2005–not its youngest.

From beating Triple H in three consecutive Pay-Per-View matches–including “Vengeance’s” Hell in a Cell–to being “SmackDown!’s” biggest draft pick, Batista was making news with each and every move. “SmackDown!” Superstars were falling victim to the Batista Bomb just like “RAW” Superstars had, and it seemed like nothing could stop the Animal inside of the ring.

Nothing, that is, except an injured back.

In early November, news broke that the World Heavyweight Champion had injured his back during a “SmackDown!” television taping in Indianapolis. The injury was serious, and if Batista decided to go in for surgery, he could be out of action for as long as three months. Rumors began to swirl about who Batista would drop the belt to so he could go in for surgery, with many WWE fans guessing the belt would go to Batista’s good friend and former WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. With a three-way match announced for the title belt against Batista, Guerrero and Orton, it looked like Latino Heat would once again reign.

Then, the unthinkable happened. The morning of the match, Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room. After a week-long tribute to the WWE Superstar, Batista returned to the ring–championship belt in tow–on the next “SmackDown!” to defend his title against Randy Orton. The match was cut short when “RAW” Superstars interfered, and since then Batista has yet to drop his Heavyweight belt. In fact, he was recently crowned WWE Tag Team Champion with one of Guerrero’s real life best friends, Rey Mysterio. So is the champ cured?

“It’s still torn,” Batista answers with a chuckle when asked about his back. “I’m okay, but I worry about it every time I get in the ring. It’s still fresh, and I’m very limited. But I’m tryin’ to work through it.”

As any WWE “SmackDown!” fan knows, Batista hasn’t stepped away from the ring since the injury, causing many Animal lovers to wonder if getting in the ring week after week is a wise decision. Rising Superstar Ken Kennedy chose to undergo surgery for his ripped tendon in December, and those with Batista’s best interests at heart are wondering if he should do the same. But right now, the World Heavyweight Champion says he will do anything in his power to stay away from the operating room.

“If there’s any way to avoid it, I will,” Batista states. “If I went in for the surgery, what needs to be done is basically like sewing spaghetti together. I would be spending three to four months with my arm tied to my side, and when I’d get back in that ring there would be no guarantee that the surgery would hold. Plus I’m very infectious prone, so I try to avoid surgery at all costs. There’s a chance if I let it heal it would build up enough scar tissue…but I’m pretty much screwed either way. Originally I was going to take time off to rehabilitate, but I’ve decided to work around the injury. Right now ‘SmackDown!’ just doesn’t have that power-packed line-up it needs and I’m the guy leading the company. I don’t want to abandon the WWE when it needs me.”

Despite being limited in the ring, Batista says his workout routine hasn’t changed much at all.

“There are certain things I don’t do just in case, but pretty much it’s still the same. I can’t throw punches well, though, and if I were thrown from the ring and had to grab on to the top rope and pull myself up, I’d be in trouble.”

Even storyline-wise Batista says things are pretty much the way they were meant to be, although there is one major difference.

“The only spin is that Eddie should have been where Rey is,” Batista states. “But I completely welcome the change. It’s been a lot of fun, and we have a common bond.”

That common bond is obviously the loss of one of the WWE’s most respected Superstars, Eddie Guerrero. Batista admits he still gets a little choked up when talking about his friend, and recently dedicated the homepage of his official Web site (www.demon-wrestling.com) to one of the only people he grew especially close to since moving into the “SmackDown!” locker room.

“When I left ‘RAW’ I left a lot of friends behind,” he states. “They were my family. When I came to ‘SmackDown!’ I had to build new friendships, and Eddie was always there to help me through my tough, personal problems. He never pointed a finger. He always had advice cause he taught from his mistakes. He would quote things from the Bible that would fit each situation. He was like a father figure to me.”

Batista admits that he and Rey have grown close since Eddie’s passing, as has he and one of Guerrero’s other best friends, Chris Benoit. However, “Chris is hard to get close to,” Batista states, and there are several other “SmackDown!” Superstars who are still working up the courage to trust the Animal after some negative comments he made in the past about the “SmackDown!” roster. But time heals all wounds, and Batista is working hard to prove that he’s a changed man.

“I don’t see any difference between the ‘RAW’ and ‘SmackDown!’ locker rooms anymore,” he says. “I know in the past I made some comments about certain wrestlers, but I think there’s been a big transition with the draft. When people like Chris (Benoit) and Randy (Orton) were drafted to ‘SmackDown!,’ they really added some top talent to the locker room. In a way I think the draft sort of backfired on ‘RAW’ because it isn’t as exciting as when Hunter and I were the top draw.”

Of course, “RAW” also doesn’t have the newest WWE Superstar making waves in the wrestling industry, the Boogeyman. The worm-eating Superstar has definitely been creating a name for himself in the sports entertainment world, and so far his ridiculous gimmick seems to be working. But as someone who once had a stupid gimmick himself when first breaking into the WWE (Deacon Batista, anyone?), does Batista ever see the man behind the red and black paint making a name for himself?

“I think the character suits Marty (Wright) very well,” Batista replies with a laugh. “He’s an awesome guy, very hard-working and committed, but he’s different. He definitely brings something spooky to the table. So if anyone can pull the Boogeyman off he can. I know some people think it’s hokey, but don’t take it so seriously. It’s fun, and I find him entertaining.”

And if there’s anyone who knows anything about entertaining people, it’s the World Heavyweight Champion. Batista’s commitment to making “SmackDown!” the WWE’s top-rated show is hard to ignore–heck, even an injured back can’t stop him. But with a year as unbelievable as 2005 to his credit, how can Batista top himself in 2006? Easy.

“There’s one direction I would like to see my character go in, and that’s as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. I have no long-term predictions on if that will ever happen, but I’ve made it clear to (John) Cena that that’s my ultimate goal.”

While odds are strongly against the WWE ever combining the two major title belts again (unless UPN drops “SmackDown!” from its line-up), if there’s one thing Batista’s proven in 2005 it’s to never say never. After all, who would have guessed that the two biggest Superstars on the WWE roster would be a white rapper and Evolution’s former silent but deadly member? Definitely not the millions of WWE fans who have been glued to their television sets to see what develops next. And for Dave Batista, that’s all he could really ask for in 2006.font

source: http://www.socal.com/articles/1980-5.html

Fans always complain there are not enough big stars, and the WWE should pay whatever it takes to have guys like Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan on the roster. What most don’t consider is that at any moment the next big superstar could break through and start a long run.

Dave Batista was lightly knocking on the door when he joined Evolution more than a year ago — but last Sunday night at the ”Royal Rumble,” Batista kicked in the door and took the whole house down with it. By winning the Rumble match (eliminating John Cena to finish it off), Batista has stamped his ticket to the ”WrestleMania” main event and now must choose what title he wants — HHH’s World Title or JBL’s WWE Championship.

It’s a tough call, but I think Batista will have no choice but to take on HHH at Mania for the ”Raw” title. Hunter says that is what Evolution wants — but don’t think Batista and HHH will meet as friends. Evolution will crumble in the next two weeks, and the HHH- Batista feud will be one for the ages.

02.06.05 Source: Chicago Sun Times

WWE wrestler Dave Batista does a lot of public relations work for his employer.Professional wrestling is pure entertainment with a business bottom line, wrestler Dave Batista told a public relations class at University Park today (Feb. 17, 2005).

Batista will appear as part of WWE Raw presentation at 7:45 p.m. Feb. 21 at The Bryce Jordan Center. But his classroom appearance in Carnegie Theatre for Steve Manuel, senior lecturer in communications, was all about giving students in the Public Relations Media Methods class a peek behind the curtain. "PR is all about staged events and in this case it gives Penn State students an opportunity to see real-life staged events in action," Manuel said. "It brings realism to the classroom."

Manuel’s students had an assignment to analyze Batista’s presentation to identify public-relations principles and methods that the wrestler touched upon.

Batista, who stood at the podium sipping Red Bull and chatting with the students, outlined his last two weeks on the road, emphasizing that his work isn’t all performance; it’s traveling and media appearances for WWE, a company that is involved in video games, books and magazines as well as television. "It’s hard work, but it pays well," he said.

Batista talked about professional wrestling as a business and as a performance. "I don’t want to give away too much of the magic, but you people are not stupid. Our matches are not scripted. It’s entertainment. The outcome is predetermined."

The wrestler said the WWE helped shape and continues to mold his image. Holding up his left hand, he said, "The company asked me to remove my wedding ring. They want me to have a certain image. I don’t mind it."

He also said he was surprised how much of his time was spent talking with the media and doing public relations work for the WWE. Batista observed that he’s had few problems working with the media. "I answer honestly," he said. "I’m fair game. I don’t have anything to hide. Usually the media picks up on this and they don’t needle you."

In reference to his relationship with WWE impresario Vince McMahon, the wrestler characterized McMahon as being totally in control of the operation. "I’m only intimidated by two people — my mother and Vince McMahon," he said. "He’s a very generous man, but the bottom line is if he doesn’t need you, he’s going to cut you loose, even if you’re his best friend."

The students who queried Batista had done their homework on professional wrestling. They questioned him about the success of WWE’s Raw and Smackdown programming, its various performers, storylines and how the television shows were doing in terms of ratings and what the fans wanted. Batista characterized WWE as having a talent shortage. "There’s not too many people that can do this," he said.

He commented on his own progress through the company and where his story lines were taking him. "I’m making a move to being a good guy," he said.

The presentation was briefly interrupted by two scrawny young men dressed in masks and wrestling shorts who entered the auditorium, made a few exaggerated wrestling gestures and left. The auditorium burst into laughter and cheers as Batista, unfazed, asked, "Who were those guys?" and then went on to answer the next student’s question.

02.17.05 source: http://live.psu.edu/index.php?sec=vs&story=10432&pf=1

(CBS) The crowd at a Texas mall is crying out for Batista, one of the Incredible Hulks of professional wrestling. It’s a "Smackdown" event presented in part by the Army National Guard, hoping to pluck a few recruits out of the long line of autograph seekers.

"There’s a desire, a real strong need to get face time with the people that we want to get into the Army National Guard, says Lt. Jacob Humble.

As CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports, the fans are here for face time with Batista, but what some of them get is pull-up time with Humble. Whoever does the most gets free tickets to a World Wrestling Entertainment match.

But every contestant has to fill out a form with name, address and phone number. And you can be sure it won’t be long before they hear from an Army recruiter.

Young adults used to say "no" to recruiters because they didn’t want to give up their personal freedom for military discipline. Now, there’s a much more basic reason: fear of being killed or wounded in combat.

At the San Antonio Rodeo, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker rides in with country music star George Strait to swear in new recruits.

The idea is to showcase the Army at events attended by young adults, and west of the Mississippi that means rodeos. The Army just happens to have the world champion bull rider in its ranks, and he just happens to do his victory dance right in front of the goarmy.com sign.

East of the Mississippi, it’s NASCAR races, which last year produced 40,000 leads to potential recruits. But the Army needs about 150,000 new soldiers every year.

Whether it’s arena football or a high school all-star game, it takes nearly $16,000 worth of promotion just to sign up one new soldier. That will only get more expensive as the Army sends out some 6,000 recruiters to convince young men and women to wear the uniform.

03.16.05 Source: cbsnews.com

Written by Dion McCracken   

Friday, 18 February 2005

Dave Bautista (or Batista as he’s known in the WWE ranks) made an immediate impact on the fans of World Wrestling Entertainment. Like his former Evolution buddy, Randy Orton, it was obvious we were looking at someone special. He wasn’t going to be some flash in the pan "big man experiment gone wrong" that we’d seen in the past. This guy was built like a Mac Truck, had a primal aggression and could really "go" in the ring.

And just a few weeks out from Wrestlemania, it seems quite incredible to state that Dave Bautista is a World Heavyweight Championship challenger at Wrestlemania – and that the fans are eating it up.

Training under the tutelage of Afa The Wild Samoan, Bautista made his pro debut in July 1999 in Afa’s WXW at the promotion’s mega-event, "Sportsfest" defeating Dwayne "Gillberg" Gill. Known as "Kahn", it wasn’t long before the 300+ pounder’s immense power and slick in-ring work caught the eye of talent scouts who quickly signed him to a WWE developmental contract in March 2000.

Bautista, who is of Filipino and Greek descent, joined Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as "Leviathan" where he joined fellow students Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin, John Cena and Orton in setting the WWE breeding ground alight. It was a long and hard road, but as Leviathan, Bautista captured the OVW Heavyweight Championship from "The Machine" (Doug Basham) in late 2001 for a three month reign before dropping the title to "The Prototype" (Cena). "Leviathan" was also caught up in battles with WWE stars during his OVW tenure, competing against Kane, The Undertaker and most famously The Big Show - dropping the 500 pounder with an huge spear to the delight of the OVW faithful.

Honing his skills in OVW, he finally debuted for WWE in May 2002 as "Deacon Batista" to "Reverend D-Von" on Smackdown shortly after the initial roster split. Unfortunately for the Dudley Boy, however, it was the Deacon who garnered more attention from fans.

After that brief and largely uneventful run, a tricep tear saw Batista out of action for a short period of time, returning in November to Raw and the Triple H led "Evolution" – touted as the Four Horsemen of the new Millennium, Batista became The Enforcer 2k4. It was here that Batista would experience the highest of highs – it doesn’t get much better than being aligned with the World Heavyweight Champion on the world’s most popular pro-wrestling show.

In the 18 or so months since, we’ve seen Batista lurking in the background of Evolution. Sure, he’d picked up the tag titles with Ric Flair and dominated opponents with his raw power, but it was Orton and Triple H who were the over achievers of the group.

All the while, Batista was stacking up victories and doing the dirty work. The quiet achiever. The sleeping giant.

Batista found his voice in November and December of 2004, showing hints of dissent towards his leader. Out of the blue, fans raised their heads with great interest at an emerging super-power. It was incredible to think that the big man was becoming a front runner to win the Royal Rumble – a feat he pulled off with great aggression to become perhaps the most unexpected winner since Big John Studd in 1989 (at least, unexpected if you’d polled fans two months earlier). Joining past Rumble winning greats such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Steve Austin etc. is quite the accomplishment, and quite an endorsement from the powers that be.

Who of us could realistically have expected Batista to headline Wrestlemania if we were asked just 2-3 months ago? Probably no one. Literally zero percent.

WWE have done an incredible job in showing us what marks we all are. No matter how many dirt-sheets we read, no matter how many insider terms we know, at the end of the day, the WWE can manipulate us – telling us what we want to see, or at least, knowing what we want to see before we do. Sure – Batista "turning" on Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship would’ve been one of those "that’d be sweet" thoughts running through many fan’s heads, but the WWE have manufactured this so well. It’s at the point where we’re frothing at the mouth and consider Triple Vs Batista a dream match up.

But a World Heavyweight Championship title shot at Wrestlemania doesn’t guarantee a path to pro-wrestling immortality. Much depends on the outcome of the match, which you’d expect to be the final bout of the night. Even though history tells us that Royal Rumble winners more often than not go on to win big at ‘mania, think back to two years earlier when Booker T. finally received a World Title shot against The Game – albeit not through a Rumble victory. An unsuccessful challenge saw the Book-Man drop straight back down to the mid-card (aka random Tag Team combination hell). A potential major push snuffed out in a three count.

Batista could potentially head down the same road. Although, to be fair, the fans appear to be rallying behind Batista in incredible numbers. And in this business, in general, strong pops = strong push.

Of course, there will be those that will scream "politics!" and insist that Batista is only getting a title shot because "he’s Triple H’s buddy!". The only questions I’m worried about are "are we entertained?" And "are we chomping at the bit for Batista to turn his back on Triple H, go out on his own and claim the World Heavyweight Championship?"

Popular opinion appears to be yes – that’s all we should be concerned about.

With the heroes of the late 90’s (Austin, Rocky, Sting, Goldberg) now well out of the picture, Bautista is being groomed as one of the new generation to lead the WWE in the years to come. Granted, at 36, he’s no spring chicken, but this is an industry with a revolving door. The big players generally only spend a handful of years at the top and Batista appears to be very much in the beginning period of his prime. Which makes great news for us.

With the afternoon of April 4 set to see the first ever LIVE Wrestlemania event on New Zealand television, we’ll get the opportunity to see Dave Bautista fulfill a dream as it happens. Will Batista walk out of Wrestlemania and into pro-wrestling immortality as World Heavyweight Champion? Or will The Game snuff the challenge out and with it, Batista’s hopes of leading the new generation of WWE stars?

Brock Lesnar dropped the ball. Let’s hope Dave Bautista picks it up.

02.18.05 source: http://www.nzpwi.co.nz/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=959&Itemid=71

Move over Randy Orton. Sayonara Brock, uh, what was that guy’s last name? Batista is definitely the ”next best thing” in professional wrestling, and most likely the next heavyweight champion in World Wrestling Entertainment.

The fans know it. Triple H knows it. And finally, those guys in the back who write the scripts and create the storylines for WWE shows know it.

And unless Vince McMahon gets a wild hair and decides to reach into his bottomless bag of tricks to produce another one of his timely swerves, we should all see it come true in a few short weeks at Wrestlemania.

A possible swerve came this past Monday night on RAW, one night after Batista won the right to challenge the WWE heavyweight champion at Wrestlemania by winning the Royal Rumble battle royal match. Smackdown! general manager Theodore R. Long suggested that instead of taking on the RAW champion at Wrestlemania, Batista should challenge Smackdown! champion John Bradshaw Layfield.

Obviously, the introduction of such an option was designed to throw off fans who have already figured out that Wrestlemania will be headlined by a Triple H vs. Batista main event. But the move also goes one step further in revealing how central Batista’s character has suddenly become in developing storylines.

That’s not such good news for ”The Legend Killer” Randy Orton, who just months ago had seemingly taken WWE and its fans by storm as the obvious heir to the thrown once occupied by The Rock. Unfortunately, the company made a bad move by pushing the young Orton into the spotlight to fast and giving him the WWE world title before he rightfully deserved it. While Orton, who was champion only about a month, has still been prominently used in the mix through feuding with former Evolution teammates Triple H, Batista and Ric Flair, the spotlight has turned almost full throttle to Batista.

Orton has been included in a series of three-way matches with Triple H and Batista that will take place in various venues over the next few weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. Speculation is that these matches are solely to keep the fans guessing about the competitors at Wrestlemania, while at the same time give Batista as much of a workout as possible leading up to the big show.

02.03.05 source: http://sports.tbo.com/sports/MGBUNZHBR4E.html

You remember the phrase, the ‘Next Big Thing?’ That never fully panned out now, did it?

The guy got a huge push, nearly everyone jobbed to him and the next thing you knew (once he was asked to pay back for those jobs) he had a pair of shoulder pads on and was trying out for a team that plays in a state that some consider part of Canada.

You know the deal. He beat the Rock, Undertaker and just about everyone, then he either really got tired of the travel schedule in the business, did not want to stare at the ceiling too often or really wanted to play football.

Whichever story is true, Brock ruined what could have been a very long career that benefited him and the business.

Now, WWE is faced with another star similar to Brock. He’s also another Ohio Valley Wrestling graduate and is just as big, but there’s something different about this guy.

Of course, I am talking about Batista, and the difference is that this has been a gradual and progressive push where Brock was shot to the moon faster than you can say jump the shark. That’s exactly what he ended up doing. All that was missing was the water skis and the ‘HEEEEY!’

The fans have taken to Batista and traditional fans like myself appreciate the time WWE is taking to build him up. It reminds me of the days when at a certain Wrestlemania, you’d be able to figure out where they were going for next year and it kept you watching because you knew the ride was going to be fun.

The fans also have a big part in Batista’s push because they started cheering him on even before WWE decided to draw a line in the sand between he and Triple H.

Unless something seriously changes, it’s gonna be Batista battling Triple H for the World title at Wrestlemania. The JBL interference is just WWE swerving us… I think. Amazing if you think of it because it seemed certain around the time of Summerslam that the route they were going was Randy Orton. But it seems Triple H took care of that.

Where Randy Orton finally went over Triple H’s head to gain the gold, Batista has gone a different route. He seemed like he had accepted his role as an understudy to Triple H. But then things started to happen.

Fans started to cheer him. They liked his look and style.

The fans really like Batista and he reminds me of past power wrestlers like The Ultimate Warrior, Davey Boy Smith and Lex Luger. I actually think he resembles the guy who played Methos in the Highlander TV series.

So how did Batista get to where he is right now?

He trained at OVW under the name Leviathon, and many first compared him to Goldberg. The two even battled some time back before Goldberg’s contract expired with WWE. I do remember writing a column about how they should not kill Batista’s push by feeding him to Goldberg.

I then remember him growing hair while in OVW and then he eventually became D-Von Dudley’s lackey known as Deacon Batista. That one is pretty much forgotten, but if you remember, the Ultimate Warrior started out as Rock as part of the Bladerunners, then moved on as The Dingo Warrior before finally settling in as The Ultimate Warrior.

So this shows you can start out as a dud and then progress. Hulk Hogan was even called Sterling Golden early in his career and many a future star first donned masks to break into the business.

Batista then moved to RAW and over time became a full member of Evolution. Then Evolution took off where no one thought it would. There was a theory that it was a Four Horsemen rip-off, like other stables since original stable was formed, but Evolution survived and one reason was the great song by Motorhead.

But it really succeeded because of the quality of the four stars. You cannot go wrong with Ric Flair; Triple H is who he is; there was the young-cocky stud in Orton; and Batista sort of assumed the role of enforcer in the same tone as Arn Anderson.

The group then took every major title. But where stables are formed, a plan is nearly worked out in advance where they will break up. But Evolution was different. Only Orton strayed from the group and the rest remained solid.

But now it’s time for Batista to split from the group. Or will he? Maybe it will be a case where he wins the title from Triple H and then Triple H will learn to live with it while also devising a plan to take the title back from his own blood. To me that would be more interesting than turning Batista a full baby face and having some of his heat killed.

It’s tough to turn baby face and keep all your coolness, which is what heat really is when you turn baby face.

Rowdy Roddy Piper was able to keep all his coolness when he turned baby face. He pulled it off because he was so good on the mic and the fans just loved him.

The Ultimate Warrior lost a lot of his edge when he beat Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6. Though he was not a heel to begin with, he still lost a lot of his raw energy by now having to live up to being WWF champion. In his case it was the chase that made the Warrior. When he finally became the chased, he lost his edge as a character with the general audience. But it was really the then-WWF that ruined his character. But I’m a Warrior mark and was never tired of him.

Other heel to baby face success stories includes Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Taz in ECW and the aforementioned, Lesnar.

Time will tell if the patience WWE is taking with the Batista to the top story line will succeed, but I think it has already succeeded because the company has showed us it can still pull off a extended push when it really wants to. What matters most for Batista and WWE business is what happens after Wrestlemania.

2005 Source: news-journalonline.com

Two of the biggest entertainment stars in the world received a rapturous reception Wednesday from hundreds of adoring fans during an "interactive" press conference announcing the WWE Raw Revenge event May 29 at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Chants of "Benoit, Benoit . . ." and "Batista, Batista . . ." almost shook the jammed Legends nightclub to its foundations as the two superstars took the stage to announce the Victoria event.

The Fairfields — dad Chris, mom Ann and children Brian, Christopher and Joshua — were first in line at 7 a.m. for the press conference that began at 4 p.m. The family has been to Vancouver twice over the last couple of years to see their WWE heroes and are now among those Island fans repatriated by the impending opening of Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

"I hope they built the new arena with extra concrete because these fans are going to tear the place down," said Carl DeMarco, president of WWE Canada.

Benoit, noting the last WWE show in Victoria was in 1997, said: "Victoria has been starved for eight years but will be starved no more."

"Big Daddy’s in the house and I’ll have the world title belt (from WrestleMania 21 on April 3) wrapped around my eight pack when I return to Victoria," Batista vowed.

Responding to a request, the strapping Batista ripped his "very expensive" dress shirt off his back to expose his rippled upper body amid a deafening din. "I have no idea what I’m going to wear on the plane back," he chuckled.

"Will you bench press me? asked a man."

"No, but I will bench press her," said Batista, pointing to a woman in the crowd.

Batista will be the central attraction of WrestleMania 21 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which sold out within minutes. The Victoria WWE Raw event will be one of nearly 330 live WWE events around the world which attract 1.8 million spectators annually and generate revenues of $72.2 million US. The 16 yearly pay-per-view WWE events churn out revenues of $91 million while 19.3 million people watch WWE weekly on free TV. The WWE 24/7 specialty cable network is launching soon.

"There’s a capital ‘E’ in WWE and it stands for entertainment," said DeMarco, in explaining the phenomenon.

Tickets are $25, $35, $45 and are expected to go quickly when sales begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at 702 Fort St., www.selectyourtickets.com or 220-7777.

"I’m pumped," said Batista, clearly impressed by the reaction Wednesday.

"If today is just a bit of an indication, the atmosphere and crowd are going to be great on the 29th of May," added Batista, who even signed an autograph on the very pregnant stomach of avid Victoria fan Diane Guraly.

 03.17.05 Source: Victoria Times Colonist

Dave Batista is a man’s man. With muscles on his muscles. Tattoos on his tattoos.

He’s a champion … WWE’s world heavyweight strap holder, a title he’ll defend against 10-time champ and the man he beat at Wrestlemania, Triple H, at tonight’s Backlash pay-per-view.

His battles pale in comparison to the ones fought by his wife, Angie, a real-life warrior.

Angie fought off two bouts of ovarian cancer and another one to her lower intestines.

"It makes you put a lot of things in perspective," says Batista. "There’s a feeling of helplessness. She’s faced death. She’s proven she’s stronger than I’ll ever be.

"She didn’t want me to see her that way … so she’d wait until Mondays, when I was out of town, to have her treatments."

One of his tattoos, on his left arm, means "Angel," a reference to his wife.

"Her mother drew the design on a piece of paper and I had it done as a tattoo," says Batista, who’s come a long way in a short time. Now, 36, he began wrestling in 1999, after a conversation with Mr. Perfect and Animal of The Road Warriors. He quit his job as a bouncer and left behind his dream of being a bodybuilder to train under Wild Samoan Afa.

Says Batista: "My wife and I moved out of Washington to Allentown, Pa. I dropped everything. I was so unnatural at it, it became a challenge."

In his first match, he squashed Gillberg (Duane Gill) with a powerbomb. After a WCW tryout, he landed in Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s training territory. He wrestled as Leviathan and soon got his break in WWE, initially as Deacon Batista, a bodyguard for D-Von Dudley. A long stint in Evolution with Ric Flair, Triple H and, for a while, Randy Orton, ended. Now he’s a champ, although Batista says his three daughters aren’t that impressed.

"One of my 14-year-old daughter’s friends had my picture up and my daughter was really creeped out by that," says Batista. "They’re not impressed. To them I’m just dad."

Yeah, dad at home. But wrecking machine in the ring.

Looking back at Wrestlemania, Batista says: "I’m not the most emotional person, but (after I won the title), I broke down. I cried. I lost it, which is very strange for me. It was the end of a long journey, a storybook tale, beating a 10-time world champion."

Maybe his status — his role in WWE history hasn’t really set in yet.

"We were taking a picture … I was in it with Shawn (Michaels), Ric (Flair) and Triple H. I was thinking out loud: ‘How in the hell did I weasel my way into this picture, it doesn’t seem right?’ "

Sure it does, champ.

05.01.05 source: The Winnipeg Sun