From one of the top stars in WWE to one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, Dave Bautista has undoubtedly evolved throughout his career & Josh.O is here to tell you all about it
Less informed readers will now try to defend other wrestlers-turned-actors with only a weak memory of their on-screen performances. What about John Cena? He was just in Trainwreck! The Miz? He was in one those Marine sequels! Big Show? He was in MacGruber! Hulk Hogan? He’s been in a bunch of stuff!
First of all, direct-to-video releases don’t count, so Miz is out. Big Show was in Macgruber for less than 3 minutes before he was blown up. And even Hulk Hogan would rather forget Suburban Commando than use it as proof of his acting prowess!
As for John Cena, the last film in which he was the main character was 12 Rounds in 2009. It would go on to gross a little more than $18 million worldwide and somehow spawn two awful sequels.
In contrast, Bautista’s last major starring role came in 2014’s Guardian of the Galaxy, which has grossed more than $774 million. You could combine the domestic gross of every other movie starring a professional wrestler and still not equal the success of Guardians.
Just for perspective, Cena isn’t even second on this list. Kevin Nash appeared in Magic Mike and it’s incredibly successful sequel, Magic Mike XXL which made over $66 million earlier this year. So there’s that.
Now, Bautista will appear in another blockbuster with his role as Mr. Hinx in the 24th James Bond film, Spectre, which opens in the U.S. on November 6th but is already breaking box office records overseas. He’s big. He’s strong. But he’s far from silent. Looking ahead, Bautista is trying hard to avoid being typecast as simply a musclebound henchman. His upcoming roles include the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel as well as playing the titular villains in remakes of both the Highlander and Kickboxer films.
He also seems extremely nice and personable, which was evident during a recent interview with entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet. Bautista wasn’t shy about discussing his past (and possible future) with the WWE, both good and bad. One of the more interesting parts to this interview came when he discussed his return as a babyface in the new Evolution and how the fans reacted:
“Because I really, for one, I didn’t want to go back as a babyface. I said, it’s not gonna work, man. They don’t want to see me as a babyface. They’re gonna be ahhh [gag gesture]. Nobody wants to see Bautista as a babyface. I’m the worst babyface EVER. But I’m a good heel. I know how to be a heel. I’m comfortable being a heel, and the fans want me to be a heel. But they tried to shove me down everybody’s throats. They [fans] rebel. They know what you’re trying to do. You’re being shoved down their throats. They’re not idiots. And they don’t like it, they don’t want it. So it just makes them rebel more and it just became a state of confusion where they didn’t know what to do with me, so they just sent me out every week regurgitating the same crap. And it was just horrible.”
I find this interesting for several reasons. First, any fan of professional wrestling knows exactly what he’s talking about. Yes, I bash the WWE creative department frequently but never without reason. I believe they should be applauded for great storylines and admonished for bad ones. One only has to look at Roman Reigns‘ failed title run last year to see a perfect example of fans loudly rejecting a character push so much that his fate was altered for fear of fan backlash (i.e. lost revenue).
Second, Bautista’s comments not only speak to the power of the fans but also how blind and lazy the WWE can be when it doesn’t have any good ideas. Keeping Bautista as a face was an awful move that soured his return and left him feeling dejected when it came time to leave WWE and film Guardians of the Galaxy. Ignoring input from a seasoned veteran is unfortunately par for the course in the WWE creative department and so is the resulting disappointment. When will they learn? When will they evolve?
Other juicy tidbits provided by Bautista include, but are not limited to, the following phrases:
“It’s quicksand, man. Don’t get caught in the quicksand.”
“A ring, wrestlers, audience…that’s my favorite thing.”
“I was just constantly butting heads with them creative – creatively”
“And I would love to go back, it’s just that they’re really hard to deal with…”
Bautista’s stock is on the rise and if he ever sets foot into a WWE ring again it will be because he’s satisfied with the terms. Like The Rock before him, Bautista has found success outside of the WWE and can use that success to his advantage. The WWE likes to remind people that these men are former employees, thus linking their success with the WWE brand. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this because it could be reasonably argued that without their pro wrestling careers these men wouldn’t be in Hollywood today.
But the WWE needs to remember that the current success being enjoyed by The Rock and Bautista is a result of their own hard work and dedication, and as such they deserve all of the credit and respect they have earned. If Vince wants to keep associating himself with them, he would be wise to keep in mind that they don’t need the WWE anymore. They have moved on. They have evolved.
You can watch the full interview here:
