Making the transition from WWE to Hollywood is not an easy one. Aside from Dwayne Johnson, John Cena and a handful of others, it usually doesn’t work out – just ask a major star like Hulk Hogan, who found success on reality TV but we can’t say the same for the big-screen.

Batista stated in the past that he’d rather go broke than return to wrestling – he was fully committed to making it in Hollywood, despite the fact that he knew he’d be labeled from the get-go;

“I’ve been stereotyped for a couple different reasons – one for my ethnicity and also because of the way I look. I look like a gorilla, I get that. I get that I’m excluded from some parts, but sometimes it really sucks to be labeled like that. So, I love that we touch on it [in this movie] and we actually even, we poke at it a little bit because there’s times where you do label people sometimes and you don’t even realize you’re doing it.”

Despite the label and track record, Dave Bautista landed a huge role as Drax on Guardians Of The Galaxy. He ripped the label off and heck, he might’ve also surprised his former employer WWE, the company doesn’t give his outside success as much coverage, especially in comparison to DJ and Cena.

Batista isn’t losing any sleep over it and in fact, he took some shots at both individuals in the past.

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He Might’ve Ripped DJ, Indirectly

Let’s give it to Dave, he was brutally honest when speaking about The Rock, he does see him as a major star but not a talented one;

“Rock was, in a way, a movie star before he was even a movie star. There is something about him that’s really special. I’d never take that away from him. Would I consider him a great actor? No.”

Batista clarified his statement, retweeting an article, claiming his bashing of DJ was misleading. However, when clarifying, it seemed as though he was just as harsh;

"Do not compare me to The Rock or John Cena. Everyone does it... Those guys are wrestlers who became movie stars. I’m ... something else. I was a wrestler. Now, I’m an actor.”

He would further the on-slot, making mention that he wanted no part in anything DJ related and that includes a popular franchise.

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What He Said

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Again, we appreciate the honesty as Batista explained his point of view. He wants to be featured in serious films and that excludes The Fast And Furious franchise;

“I want good roles. I don’t care about Fast and Furious or Bumblebee. ... That’s not the kind of stardom I want. ... I want to be in Dune. I want to work with Denis Villeneuve. I want to work with Sam Mendes and Jodie Foster. I want to work with Academy Award winners. I’m proud to be a character actor. I want that respect and credibility and education."

Safe to say Batista is trying to get in with some major productions, it was recently revealed that he auditioned for Batman, under the iconic role of Bane. The former WWE star is hungrier than ever to appear in a major film.

Surprisingly, he took down another one of his former co-workers, John Cena included. The two were major parts of WWE together in the 2000s, which makes his statements that much more surprising. Not only did he bash Cena’s Hollywood career, but he also took a shot at Cena’s WWE legacy.

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He Took John Cena Down As Well

Batista clearly wasn’t given the same chance as John Cena and he let everyone know about it. Dave wanted Hollywood stardom – but WWE didn’t want to listen;

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“I noticed that everything more and more was going to Cena, but at the same time, he’s main eventing one series of shows [and] I’m main eventing the others, but he’s getting all these opportunities that I’m not getting… So I simply asked a question, ‘is there any opportunity for me to do films?’ and there wasn’t. They had no interest in me doing that, so I said, ‘well, if I’m not afforded the opportunity here, then I should be afforded the opportunity to go outside the company and audition.’ And the answer was, ‘you’re our property — get dressed for the house shows and get to work’. I just thought it was unfair, so I thought it’s just really unfair. It’s unfair career wise and it’s unfair to me financially.”

Dave left WWE shortly after – kudos as he landed the huge Drax role.

NEXT –What Is John Cena Doing Now?

Sources – Cinema Blend, E Wrestling, USA Today & Inquisitr