Meltzer covers MMA for both The Wrestling Oberver and Yahoo Sports. Last night, he attended the Strikeforce event that was also attended by Batista, Goldberg, and Ernest "The Cat" Miller. Of course, Meltzer seized the opportunity to get what would be an interesting interview with Batista, who had just left the company. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer asked Batista why he left WWE. Batista said he was sick and tired of WWE's direction and had to get out. He said that it wasn't the kind of wrestling he grew up watching and wasn't the product that he had always enjoyed. Batista didn't rule out a return to WWE but did not seem in a hurry to work with the company again. Batista, who has lost some weight since leaving WWE, said he was out in Los Angeles looking for work. He was seen talking with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker but The Animal entering the MMA world to fight seems highly unlikely. First off, I find it real interesting that Batista left due to the WWE's direction. Sure, he might not have agreed with the more family-friendly approach, but he was a unique and very interesting/entertaining character on his way out. If it's one thing the Raw writers had right over the last few months, it was how great Batista was in both his character and on the mic. These comments seem very out of left field, especially where he seemed like he was having fun as a heel too. He was having the best run of his career before leaving. It also begs the question as to whether or not we're going to see more guys (who are financially well-off) leaving the company in the future. Chris Jericho really has no reason to continue to be there, and I'm sure he might be considering leaving the company again, especially where he's taking on a game show project with ABC. I think as the months go on, we're going to see more veterans let their contracts expire, as they may not see eye to eye with what the WWE's mission is right now, and if they've already made a lot of money, and feel like they're financially secure, there's no reason to continue to bust your ass for a grueling job like professional wrestling. As far as Batista considering to attempt MMA goes, that's a very laughable endeavor for him. Sure, he seems like a huge fan of the sport, but what kind of formal training has he had? What kind of background does he have that makes him credible? Actually... that topic is probably better suited for the MMA/Boxing forum.
As much as we want to speculate, we'll probably never know the full reason. But yea the timing of him departing does is pretty odd. If I had to guess I'd probably say it was a combination of things. His age and being on the road 300 days a year. I'm sure he's financially set so I doubt money is an issue. And from a lot of reports throughout the months he was said to be wanting to get involved in acting so maybe those things were enough for him to want to call it quits. I never really cared much for the guy and he seems to have a huge ego, but I did enjoy his recent run in the WWE.
I liked Batista in Evolution. Since then, I sorta lost interest. I think his character was kinda stale as a singles wrestler.
