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Dave Bautista Wants WWE Hall Of Fame Class Induction To Be This Year

By John Canton • Published 3rd February 2023
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Dave Bautista has made it clear that he would really like to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

During the WWE Ruthless Aggression Era in the mid-2000s, Dave Bautista competed in WWE as Batista leading to a very successful career for the man known as “The Animal.” Batista was one of the most popular superstars in WWE during most of his run which saw him become a six-time World Champion in WWE. Batista was also part of the stable Evolution with Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton.

The first of Batista’s WWE career lasted from 2002 to 2010 when he decided to pursue other things including acting. After a comeback in 2014 that included a Royal Rumble win and main event loss at WrestleMania 30, Bautista’s acting career really took off thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy film in which he portrayed Drax.

While promoting his new movie Knock at the Cabin, which WWE promoted heavily this past Monday on Raw, Batista told ComicBook.com that he hopes his WWE Hall of Fame induction is this year while adding that he is trying to make it happen.

“I hope so, but I can’t say for sure. I can say that I’m trying. I am trying.”

The 2023 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on Friday, March 31st at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles following Friday Night Smackdown. It takes place one night before the first night of WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Dave Bautista was announced for the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic really hit in March of that year and events with fans, including WWE, were shut down.

There was no WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in 2020. In 2021, WWE decided to do the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame classes in the same year. They did speeches in an empty building in the ThunderDome with no fans in attendance.

In March 2021, Dave Bautista announced that he requested to do it another time so that he can properly thanks the fans.

“To the @WWEUniverse Unfortunately due to previous obligations I am unable to be a part of the @WWE #HOF this year. By my request they have agreed to induct me at a future ceremony where I’ll be able to properly thank the fans and people who made my career possible #DreamChaser”

The Hall of Fame ceremony returned in front of the fans in 2022 with The Undertaker as the headline act. Perhaps this year it will be Batista’s turn as the headline act in the WWE Hall of Fame. Give him what he wants.

In Batista’s final match in WWE at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, he lost to Triple H in a matchup that came 14 years after their first WrestleMania matchup at WrestleMania 21 when Dave Bautista became the WWE World Champion for the first time.

As for WWE’s future, Dave Bautista believes that Triple H running the company is the best thing for WWE.