Dave Bautista announces retirement from pro wrestling
Early Monday morning after WrestleMania, former WWE champion and Guardians of The Galaxy star Dave Bautista announced his retirement on Twitter.
@WWEUniverse Thank you for letting me entertain you. I love this business and whether you cheered me or jeered me, I’m grateful for being a small part of your life. I am officially retired from sports entertainment and I am grateful for every second of my amazing journey
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) April 8, 2019
The 50-year-old was part of Sunday’s show, losing a long no holds barred match to Triple H, one that received mixed reviews on social media. Given his success in acting and the five year gap between appearances, it’s no surprise that he’s calling it quits.
He began training back in 1999 and was signed to a WWE developmental deal in 2000, getting the call-up in 2003 to be an enforcer for the Reverend D’Von character. He was moved to the new Evolution stable with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton and his career took off from there.
He would remain in WWE until 2014 when he decided to leave over creative differences and didn’t return until SmackDown’s 1000th episode in 2018 where he teased a match against Triple H. He then shot an angle in February at Ric Flair’s 70th birthday celebration to set up the match.
Over the course of his career, he won six world titles and four tag team titles. He also won the Royal Rumble.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.