Dave Bautista, known by fans as Batista, is currently on a public relations circuit to promote his newest movie, My Spy: The Eternal City, which debuted on Amazon Prime on July 18.
Bautista’s journey to success was not without its obstacles. He recently reflected on a challenging audition process at the WCW Power Plant in a conversation with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.”
“I would just focus on bodybuilding and lifting weights,” recallled Batista. “Fast forward 13 years, I had nothing to show for it. I was just physically large and muscular, but financially broke. So I thought, ‘What’s my next move?’ That’s when professional wrestling entered the picture….But, I actually failed at my first shot. It was absolutely miserable. They asked me to leave and told me I would never succeed as a pro wrestler.”
Continuing his recollection, he added, “This unforgiving ordeal occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Power Plant, which was the WCW venue at the time. They straight up told me to leave, proclaiming, ‘You’re not gonna make it.'”
The last time Batista served in a wrestling match was at WrestleMania 35, where he was defeated by Triple H in a no-holds-barred battle.
[embedded content of Dave Bautista discussion on ‘The Tonight Show’]