WWE: Batista Throws Cold Water On Idea Of Match With The Rock At ‘WrestleMania 33’
With the new year approaching, there is excitement among WWE fans about what lies ahead for 2017. And some fans have been speculating about possible star matches for the year while others have been talking about matches they would like to see on WrestleMania 33 in April.
As fans indulged in fantasy and speculation about long shot matches, an idea that cropped up repeatedly amid the ceaseless chatter on social media was a wrestling ring conclusion of the alleged set feud between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel during the filming of The Fate of the Furious (Fast and Furious 8) last summer.
Rumors emerged about a set feud between the two after The Rock sent out a video in which he strongly criticized unnamed male co-stars, calling them unprofessional “candy a**es,” as reported by Movie Web.
It was later claimed that the target of The Rock’s social media rant was Vin Diesel and that a set feud was being contrived to lead to a match between the two at WWE WrestleMania pay-per-view.
“They are playing a huge prank, and it’s all for publicity,” an insider told Life and Style Magazine.
“The Rock convinced Vin to amp up the drama between them so they could turn it into a WWE match to help promote the April 2017 release of Fast 8.”
The Life and Style Magazine story sparked speculation about the prospects of Vin Diesel vs. The Rock match at WrestleMania, but some fans argued that the match was unlikely to happen due to the challenge of knocking Diesel back into shape to climb into a wrestling ring with The Rock.
Joseph Osei, a WWE fan on Twitter, proposed an alternative arrangement to side-step the problem of out-of-shape Diesel. He suggested that Diesel could be a special guest referee at a match between Triple Crown Champion The Rock and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Batista (real name: Dave Bautista).
“The Rock vs. Dave Bautista at WWE Wrestlemania33. What are the chances of that? “One-on-one special guest ref Vin Diesel.”
@TheRock vs @DaveBautista at @WWE #Wrestlemania33 what are the chances of that?! One on one special guest ref #VinDiesel @TripleH possible??
— Joshua Osei (@JoshuaOsei) December 24, 2016
The idea gained traction quickly for obvious reasons. Both men were former WWE champions-turned Hollywood movie stars. The Rock had transitioned smoothly from the “greatest professional wrestlers of all time” to a major Hollywood action movie star after securing his first leading film role in The Scorpion King (2002). He later starred as Luke Hobbs in the Fast and Furious franchise.
And Dave Bautista appears set to follow in the trail blazed by Johnson, after having played a major role as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy. He also got a key supporting role as Mr. Hinx in the James Bond movie, Spectre.
Some also argued that The Rock vs. Batista on WrestleMania was brilliant from a promotional perspective because featuring Hollywood stars on WrestleMania would help to recruit more fans for WWE.
“[WrestleMania] is the Super Bowl of pro wrestling. As such, having action stars who are former champions in action would fit right in.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4u0dRRwa5Q
Osei probably thought that suggesting Vin Diesel as the guest referee in a match with The Rock would make Batista consider the proposal favorably. But no sooner had the idea appeared on Twitter than Batista rushed in to throw cold water on it, dismissing it as “cheesy.”
“The cheese factor in that would be way to strong! Along the lines of Limburger. Awful scent of sulfur and Fast n Furious!”
The cheese factor in that would be way to strong! Along the lines of Limberger. Awful scent of sulphur and Fast n Furious! https://t.co/iOsFh3sZN9
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) December 25, 2016
Fans speculated about what Batista meant by the “awful scent of sulfur and Fast n Furious.” Many argued that it was unlikely that Batista’s beef with the idea was due simply to an aversion to the idea of returning to WWE. The former Evolution member had returned to 2014 Royal Rumble and progressed to the main event of WrestleMania 30 to feature in a triple threat match with Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan.
But some tried to explain why the idea might have struck Batista as “cheesy” in the light of the critical comments he made about WWE in an interview with the entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet (see YouTube below) following his 2014 WWE appearance.
He had begun the interview by talking about how professional wrestling prepared him to play the role of a Bond villain henchman in Spectre before going on to complain generally about the system in place at WWE and specifically about how Vince McMahon’s creative team was difficult to work with.
He revealed that he got advice from The Rock which helped him to deal with WWE while pursuing his goal of a Hollywood career.
He said he thought it was amazing that The Rock was able to go from film to wrestling because WWE was “controlling.”
“They (WWE) are not the easiest company to deal with.”
According to Batista, The Rock described WWE as “quicksand.”
“It’s quicksand, man. Don’t get caught in the quicksand,” he claimed The Rock told him.
“You have to stand your ground and if this [acting] is what you want to do, you have to make it known that this is what you’re gonna do and you’re not gonna deviate from that plan.”
Batista said that when he returned to WWE, he told the officials firmly that he wouldn’t stay long because he had other obligations.
He also talked about how he clashed with the WWE management.
“I didn’t want to go back as a babyface. I said, ‘I’m a good heel… the fans want me to be a heel. But they tried to shove me down everybody’s throats.”
He criticized the WWE creative team, saying he disliked dealing with the writers. He concluded that he would prefer that they deal with him more flexibly if the opportunity to work with them in the future comes up.
[Featured Image by WWE]
