Batista was recently a guest on “Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia”. During the interview, which was recorded prior to Wrestlemania 35, he touched upon how he hasn’t loved the build to his match against Triple H as well as how important the WWE Hall of Fame is to him. Here are the highlights:
On The Final Match Of His Career:
The type of the match we’re having is risky. It’s very stunt driven, and I hope that the fans see that, and they remember first and foremost that we are going to beat the hell out of ourselves to entertain them. I really hope, if nothing else, that they appreciate that fact because it is a scary thing. Neither of us have been in the ring in a long time and we’re going to go out and have this type of match on the biggest stage of all. It’s a little bit unsettling. I hope if all goes well, when all is said and done, I hope that they are entertained, that they actually have fun and suspend their disbelief for the thirty minutes that we’re out there. That’s what I always wanted from wrestling, just to give people entertainment, like thirty minutes of entertainment where they can get lost in it.
On Not Loving The Build But Still Being Excited For The Match:
This is it. In the whole run, I know what the match is, I know the outcome, I know what we’ve done leading up to this. Could it have been better? Yes. Could it have been more thought out? Yes. But am I content with it? Yes. I think it’s been fun. There’s been some fun moments, but I’ve also gotten so much positive feedback from it and I love that. The fans—I think they know that I don’t need to be there, I just want to be there because I love it. I think they really know that and that means a lot to me. That is closure, whether our match is great or not, that remains to be seen. I hope it is. Will it be the best match of my career? No way in hell it is! Not a chance in hell, but I hope the story we tell is great, and I hope the outcome is something that the fans will get excited about. I think that as long as we’re both healthy leaving that stadium that I will feel the closure that I wanted, and hopefully I’ll go into the Hall Of Fame shortly after.
On Why He Didn’t Accept A Prior Hall Of Fame Induction:
I’ve already asked someone to induct me. I will go into the Hall Of Fame; I don’t know if it will be next year or the year after, but eventually I will. Vince has talked to me about it years back. The reason I said—and I was public about this—the reason I said that I wouldn’t be interested in [a prior Hall Of Fame induction] is because I didn’t have closure on my career. I’m not ready for the Hall Of Fame. When I have closure on my career, when I’m ready to hang up my boots is when I’ll go into the Hall Of Fame.
On What The Hall Of Fame Would Mean To Him:
I don’t know. I’ve thought about it, I don’t know what it’ll mean. I guess it’s just an acknowledgement of the success you’ve had in your career. To be honest with you, that formal night of people acknowledging it doesn’t mean more to me than the fans around the world, in the arenas and stadiums acknowledging it right there on the spot. To me, right there that’s what that’s all about. You’re entertaining these people for 30-40 minutes of their lives, and it’s them losing their minds. That’s the acknowledgement that I love.
You can listen to the podcast below:
Credit: Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia. H/T Wrestlezone.
