Batista returned to WWE in 2014 for a 5-month run, where he won the Royal Rumble match and main evented WrestleMania 30.
He then “quit” the WWE on an episode of RAW in June and left to promote his then upcoming movie, Guardians of the Galaxy.
During an interview with Daily Dead, The Animal revealed that he wanted to return again and have a match at SummerSlam 2014, but Triple H and Stephanie McMahon laughed at the idea.
Here’s what the 6-time World Champion said:
“I said to them, because I wanted to come back for SummerSlam, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I came back right when I’m also in the biggest film in the world?’
Literally, it was Hunter and Stephanie who laughed at me, and Hunter goes, ‘We don’t even know if it’s going to be any good’. I swear to God.
I wanted to go back for SummerSlam, and they didn’t want me to come back. I think because they thought it was such a failure, that run, and it wasn’t a failure because of me.
I also think a lot of people thought that I really quit, that I really walked out, when in reality, I really stayed an extra month more than I was obligated to do just because I really wanted to be there.
I felt like I finally hit my stride and I was so happy to be there again.”
Guardians of the Galaxy ended up being the 3rd highest grossing movie of 2014.
After this run, Batista only returned for one more match in 2019, where he lost to Triple H in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 35. Batista announced his in-ring retirement after this match.
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