The Truth About Dave Bautista's Wrestling Career

You may know Dave Bautista best for his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy film series, or perhaps you've seen him in "Escape Plan 2," "My Spy," "Stuber," or one of his numerous other movie appearances. Before the big man turned to acting, however, he made good use of his impressive stature (he's 6-foot-6 and weights in at 290 pounds, according to WWE) in the squared circle.

Bautista, by all accounts, didn't have an easy go of it in his early years, growing up on the mean streets of ... somewhere in the Washington metropolitan area. (While WWE claims his birthplace as the nation's capitol, Sportskeeda says he was actually born in the 'burbs and Arlington Magazine claims him as a hometown hero.) Geographical imprecision notwithstanding, the young Bautista had a rough upbringing, finding himself in violent scenarios from time to time, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He soon put his criminal ways behind him, however, and turned towards other pursuits better suited to someone of his size including being a club bouncer and a bodybuilder. Eventually he hit upon an idea that would finally see him going places –- good ones, the kind without armed guards and barbed wire -– when he decided to train as a wrestler.

After learning the ropes (and the turnbuckles, aprons, and canvas) from Afa Anoa'i, Dave Bautista was ready to make his 1997 debut on the indie circuit with Ohio Valley Wrestling (via Pro Wrestling Fandom). OVW, which is actually based out of Louisville, Kentucky, rather than anywhere in Ohio, is one of the more prominent regionals, one that Sportskeeda says has sent more than a few future stars up to the WWE.

It was in OVW that Bautista got pegged as a villain for the first (but hardly the last) time. While he debuted under the name Leviathan, he would also wrestle in demonic drag complete with fangs under names such as "Demon of the Deep" and "Guardian of the Gates of Hell." (Interesting how that latter moniker foreshadows a future movie role of his ... mysterious are the ways of sports entertainment.) Bautista did fairly well for himself over the three years with this promo, even winning the OVW Heavyweight Championship a few months before receiving his call-up to the big leagues.

Dave Bautista's 2005 defeat of Triple H was the first of his six World Heavyweight Championships, and WWE reports that the 282 days he held the title set a record for the longest single World Heavyweight Champion reign. Later in 2005, Bautista became the first-ever wrestler to defeat Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match, then teamed up with new partner Rey Mysterio to win the WWE Tag Team Championship once again.

Over the next few years, Bautista's successes would continue to mount up, with him defeating such notable opponents as The Undertaker, John Cena, and rival-turned-ally-turned-rival once more Randy Orton. By 2010, however, Bautista had evidently grown unhappy with the direction WWE was heading, although he wasn't too specific about exactly what it was he didn't like. Nevertheless, as Pro Wrestling Fandom reports, Bautista announced that he would be leaving the company in May of that year shortly after losing his championship to Cena. Although he didn't admit the real reason for that first retirement until nearly a decade later, it turns out that Bautista's abrupt departure may have had less to do with what went on in the ring than the fact that he wanted to focus more on his acting career.