Dave Bautista is working hard to shed the "former wrestler" tag often attached to his name. It hasn't happened yet, and may not ever completely disappear. However, you can't exactly blame Bautista for trying.
The former WWE superstar was one of the biggest names in the wrestling promotion for the better part of the past two decades. However, since landing a role in the MCU as Drax the Destroyer in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, Bautista has gradually stepped away from his former livelihood.
Bautista last wrestled on April 7, 2019, when he lost to Triple H at Wrestlemania 35. One day later, he officially announced his retirement from the WWE.
With an intensified focus on his movie career, Bautista has worked with pretty much everybody big (both literally and figuratively). He's even set to pair up with Jason Momoa in a buddy cop movie that all stemmed from a single tweet.
But, while Bautista's open to working with all sorts of popular figures, it appears that the MCU star doesn't want to be in the same movie as other former WWE superstars, John Cena and The Rock.
Why doesn't Bautista want to work with Cena and The Rock?
I figured a visual reference might help. I’d just prefer not to be lumped in. Nothing personal. 🤷🏻♂️ #DreamChaser https://t.co/JFHAaw053F pic.twitter.com/djKZBylIuT
— Vaxxed AF! #TeamPfizer Poor Kid Chasing Dreams. (@DaveBautista) June 26, 2021
Earlier this week, Bautista responded with "Nah I'm good" on Twitter, in response to an earlier tweet that suggested Bautista join a potential film with Cena and The Rock in it.
In a later statement (linked above), the Army of the Dead actor clarified that he preferred "not to be lumped in". Naturally, Esquire brought this up in an exclusive interview with John Cena.
Here is what Cena had to say about it:
Dave is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and one of the most generous guys you'll ever meet. I don't have any beef with Dave and I really genuinely think Dave doesn't have any beef with me. He really just wants to be identified and recognized for his work. And I cannot fault him for that. I applaud him for it. To be brave enough to say something like that kind of allows him to go forth on his own and I appreciate that.
So, there you have it. There's no feud between Cena and Bautista. Cena's classy response also shows how much these actors respect each other. Cena gets that Bautista is trying to do his own thing, and honestly, this attitude is something that more of us should try to emulate.
