Black Widow
05-06-2009, 11:38 AM
DAVE BATISTA is a man who knows all about knockouts — but even he was impressed with Manny Pacquiao’s destruction of Ricky Hatton on Saturday night.
The WWE superstar, who shares Filipino heritage with Pacquiao, accompanied the multi-time world champion to the ring in Las Vegas and could not believe what he saw.
He said: "Pacquiao was unbelievable. I barely reached my seat after walking him to the ring and it was already over!
"I knew it would be a knockout fight but I didn’t know it would be that fast.
"Haton’s such a great guy. It was a hard one and I’m a big fan of his.
"I was really rooting for him to beat Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2007 but Pacquiao’s almost blood, you know?"
Batista was talking during an exclusive chat with SunSport in Las Vegas.
And while he was really excited about watching his compatriot cement his reputation as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, he was also anxious to talk about his own PPV exploits.
The Animal described the glitz and glamour of a major boxing event such as Hatton-Pacquiao as comparable to WrestleMania, a show he was desperate to return for.
He added: "I was originally slated to come back at WrestleMania.
"I rushed to come back, really pushing to be back.
"They couldn’t find a spot for me on WrestleMania so I was a little disappointed, but I returned the night after."
Batista appeared on WWE Raw, in Houston, the night after Mania to confront Randy Orton and his Legacy group.
And now he is back, he is not prepared to give anything less than 100 per cent.
He said: "Originally I was slated to just be on light duty throughout May, which of course is not the case.
"You get back and you hear the crowd roar — WWE said 'we need you in there wrestling, the crowd really missed you'.
"So I’m back on full duty.
“I was just going to be on television until the end of May, but I’m back full-time.”
When Batista’s music pierced the air in the Toyota Centre, the pop was immense.
And Batista admits he enjoyed the return just as much as the fans.
He said: "I always tell people it’s a feeling you can’t describe, it’s just such an adrenaline rush, a total natural high — especially after being out for so long like that.
"It’s always incredible to hear the fans roar but after you’ve been away from it for a long time it’s overwhelming.
"I’m petrified every night before I walk through the curtain."
The return itself was extra special because it was a bolt from the blue, a total surprise rare in the modern wrestling world, and a novelty not lost on the big man from Washington DC.
He revealed: "A couple of the wrestlers knew because I saw them earlier but most people on the roster didn’t know I was coming back.
"The WWE really kept it hush-hush.
"They didn’t even bring me to the arena until almost 9pm and then they hid me in a little room. It was really cool."
After Orton took the WWE championship from Triple H at Backlash, the Animal is now poised to challenge the master of the RKO for the gold at Judgment Day. He is understandably excited about the prospect.
Batista said: "I’m really looking forward to it. Orton and I had a really good thing going before I got injured.
"Orton's really come into his own. I think he is definitely going to be the future of sports entertainment.
"To watch him mature in ring and to watch him become the entertainer that he is has been amazing to me.
"When you’ve been in the business for a while — I’ve been in it almost 10 years — you start to run out of those ‘dream matches’ and ‘dream feuds’. Working a programme with Orton is like a dream for me."
Both Batista and Orton started their climb towards major WWE stardom as part of Triple H and Ric Flair’s Evolution stable.
And Batista insists that without that launch pad neither he or Orton would be where they are today.
He added: "It just shows you what a visionary Triple H was. It was all his concept and he chose us.
"It’s such a good feeling that they had faith in us and we are able to pay them back by succeeding as much as we have."
Batista is happy to credit both Triple H and The Nature Boy with teaching him so much on the road. However, he fears the culture of the veterans educating the new blood is disappearing.
He said: "I always say that it is absolutely the best way, and I don’t know any old timers who disagree. I think a lot of that tradition, sadly, is being lost.
"You learn the most after the show. Driving down the highway with the guy who has been in the business ten, fifteen, twenty years — it’s sad but you just don't see a lot of that anymore.
"You see these kids coming in out of developmental camps, all they do is hang around each other, they don’t hook up with the guy who has been in the business a long time and try to pick his brains. To me it’s heartbreaking.
"The tradition of storytelling in the ring is being lost. The psychological part of sports entertainment is being lost."
Despite fearing for the future, Batista did have encouraging words for Randy Orton’s proteges Cody Rhodes and, particularly, Ted DiBiase Jnr.
He said: "I don’t know Rhodes as well as I know DiBiase but I watched him come through developmental camp and he really stuck out.
"DiBiase was really hungry to learn, not just the physical part but also the psychological part.
"I think we will see huge things out of them both. DiBiase will break out on his own soon."
While Rhodes and DiBiase may have big futures, there has been much talk about how much longer Batista will grace a WWE ring for.
We asked him to clear this up, although the waters may still be a little muddy regarding this issue.
He revealed: "I have just under a year on my contract. I’ve just come off this injury and I turned 40 while I was out.
"I realise that I am closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning. It's something I’m really going to have to take a look at.
"I don’t want to hang around past my welcome. I also don’t want to hang around to the point where I’m so beat up that it’s hard for me to get out of bed.
"I don’t want to be that guy."
In closing, we asked that before he hangs up his boots, who he would like to step into the ring once again with. No prizes for guessing the two names he conjured up.
He said: "I wouldn’t mind ending my career with John Cena.
"He’s an icon already in this industry and he really hasn’t been around all that long. He’s going to be around for years, long after I’m gone.
"He’s someone I’ve not had a long, drawn-out programme with, so I think that’s definitely there for both of us.
"And also definitely Triple H. I believe he’s the best wrestler who's ever lived.
"I’ve improved so much since we had our last programme together. I think we’d be magic in the ring. I think it’d bring a lot more viewers into wrestling."
You can see Batista wrestle Randy Orton at WWE Judgment Day live on Sky Box Office at 1am (Monday morning) on Sunday May 17.
The Sun
The WWE superstar, who shares Filipino heritage with Pacquiao, accompanied the multi-time world champion to the ring in Las Vegas and could not believe what he saw.
He said: "Pacquiao was unbelievable. I barely reached my seat after walking him to the ring and it was already over!
"I knew it would be a knockout fight but I didn’t know it would be that fast.
"Haton’s such a great guy. It was a hard one and I’m a big fan of his.
"I was really rooting for him to beat Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2007 but Pacquiao’s almost blood, you know?"
Batista was talking during an exclusive chat with SunSport in Las Vegas.
And while he was really excited about watching his compatriot cement his reputation as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, he was also anxious to talk about his own PPV exploits.
The Animal described the glitz and glamour of a major boxing event such as Hatton-Pacquiao as comparable to WrestleMania, a show he was desperate to return for.
He added: "I was originally slated to come back at WrestleMania.
"I rushed to come back, really pushing to be back.
"They couldn’t find a spot for me on WrestleMania so I was a little disappointed, but I returned the night after."
Batista appeared on WWE Raw, in Houston, the night after Mania to confront Randy Orton and his Legacy group.
And now he is back, he is not prepared to give anything less than 100 per cent.
He said: "Originally I was slated to just be on light duty throughout May, which of course is not the case.
"You get back and you hear the crowd roar — WWE said 'we need you in there wrestling, the crowd really missed you'.
"So I’m back on full duty.
“I was just going to be on television until the end of May, but I’m back full-time.”
When Batista’s music pierced the air in the Toyota Centre, the pop was immense.
And Batista admits he enjoyed the return just as much as the fans.
He said: "I always tell people it’s a feeling you can’t describe, it’s just such an adrenaline rush, a total natural high — especially after being out for so long like that.
"It’s always incredible to hear the fans roar but after you’ve been away from it for a long time it’s overwhelming.
"I’m petrified every night before I walk through the curtain."
The return itself was extra special because it was a bolt from the blue, a total surprise rare in the modern wrestling world, and a novelty not lost on the big man from Washington DC.
He revealed: "A couple of the wrestlers knew because I saw them earlier but most people on the roster didn’t know I was coming back.
"The WWE really kept it hush-hush.
"They didn’t even bring me to the arena until almost 9pm and then they hid me in a little room. It was really cool."
After Orton took the WWE championship from Triple H at Backlash, the Animal is now poised to challenge the master of the RKO for the gold at Judgment Day. He is understandably excited about the prospect.
Batista said: "I’m really looking forward to it. Orton and I had a really good thing going before I got injured.
"Orton's really come into his own. I think he is definitely going to be the future of sports entertainment.
"To watch him mature in ring and to watch him become the entertainer that he is has been amazing to me.
"When you’ve been in the business for a while — I’ve been in it almost 10 years — you start to run out of those ‘dream matches’ and ‘dream feuds’. Working a programme with Orton is like a dream for me."
Both Batista and Orton started their climb towards major WWE stardom as part of Triple H and Ric Flair’s Evolution stable.
And Batista insists that without that launch pad neither he or Orton would be where they are today.
He added: "It just shows you what a visionary Triple H was. It was all his concept and he chose us.
"It’s such a good feeling that they had faith in us and we are able to pay them back by succeeding as much as we have."
Batista is happy to credit both Triple H and The Nature Boy with teaching him so much on the road. However, he fears the culture of the veterans educating the new blood is disappearing.
He said: "I always say that it is absolutely the best way, and I don’t know any old timers who disagree. I think a lot of that tradition, sadly, is being lost.
"You learn the most after the show. Driving down the highway with the guy who has been in the business ten, fifteen, twenty years — it’s sad but you just don't see a lot of that anymore.
"You see these kids coming in out of developmental camps, all they do is hang around each other, they don’t hook up with the guy who has been in the business a long time and try to pick his brains. To me it’s heartbreaking.
"The tradition of storytelling in the ring is being lost. The psychological part of sports entertainment is being lost."
Despite fearing for the future, Batista did have encouraging words for Randy Orton’s proteges Cody Rhodes and, particularly, Ted DiBiase Jnr.
He said: "I don’t know Rhodes as well as I know DiBiase but I watched him come through developmental camp and he really stuck out.
"DiBiase was really hungry to learn, not just the physical part but also the psychological part.
"I think we will see huge things out of them both. DiBiase will break out on his own soon."
While Rhodes and DiBiase may have big futures, there has been much talk about how much longer Batista will grace a WWE ring for.
We asked him to clear this up, although the waters may still be a little muddy regarding this issue.
He revealed: "I have just under a year on my contract. I’ve just come off this injury and I turned 40 while I was out.
"I realise that I am closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning. It's something I’m really going to have to take a look at.
"I don’t want to hang around past my welcome. I also don’t want to hang around to the point where I’m so beat up that it’s hard for me to get out of bed.
"I don’t want to be that guy."
In closing, we asked that before he hangs up his boots, who he would like to step into the ring once again with. No prizes for guessing the two names he conjured up.
He said: "I wouldn’t mind ending my career with John Cena.
"He’s an icon already in this industry and he really hasn’t been around all that long. He’s going to be around for years, long after I’m gone.
"He’s someone I’ve not had a long, drawn-out programme with, so I think that’s definitely there for both of us.
"And also definitely Triple H. I believe he’s the best wrestler who's ever lived.
"I’ve improved so much since we had our last programme together. I think we’d be magic in the ring. I think it’d bring a lot more viewers into wrestling."
You can see Batista wrestle Randy Orton at WWE Judgment Day live on Sky Box Office at 1am (Monday morning) on Sunday May 17.
The Sun