All language subtitles for WWE Rivals - Season 4 - EP-03 - John Cena VS. Batista

[crowd cheers]

- It's Cena versus Batista

in the match the world is
waiting for.

- That's when it was a Batista
John Cena, WWE.

[crowd chants "Batista"]

- We started together.

- We had the same trajectory.

- The time is indeed now.

- That rivalry was just
inevitable.

- John Cena can't beat me.

- This is a dream match up.

- And that's where the magic
started to happen.

- Batista Bomb.

- It's Cena.

Whoa.

- Cena first Batista in the
2000's,

was kind of a battle to see

who the face of the company
would be.

- You want to be the face of the
company?

Step up and let's do this
tonight.

- Their rivalry was actually not
the stuff in the ring.

It was behind the scenes.

- We were counterparts and very
competitive at the same time.

- There was a pulse to it.

This is the part where you ask
me some [bleep] questions.

- It's like you should be happy
for your success.

You're a main eventer.

Be happy with where you are.

And I think he saw that as a
slap in the face.

- I should be the name and face
of the WWE.

Both guys are highly
competitive.

It becomes really personal
in a hurry.

- You push forward.

You move on.

You overcome.

That is what I believe.

It was crazy from there on out.

- You're outta line.

- So much animosity

in this awesome rivalry.

- When two legends collide,

their rivalry stays pinned
in our minds forever.

This is where we break down
the legendary stories behind

the greatest rivalries
of all time.

I'm Gabriel Iglesias

and this is

WWE rivals.

- The Champ is here.

[crowd chants "Cena"]

- John Cena and Batista,

two of the most incredible
superstars in the WWE,

have both been on this
amazing journey where it's like

they're almost mirroring each
other,

similar trajectories and uh,
ultimately having this rivalry.

- He's just like all of you.

He's a common loser.

- You know, they really brought
the best out in each other.

- Yeah.

If you are at the top of any
industry,

you want to be the best at
anything.

You need somebody to push you.

- Between you and me,
who's better?

- For Cena and Batista to be
able to hold that rivalry and

hold the interest of the-the
audience the way that they did

is just they're-just they're
remarkable.

- And these guys had these
expectations on them.

They exceeded it.

They had the expectations
on the matches.

And they exceeded them.

- Look out.

- Boom, powerslam

- Well, this is a hell of a run.

- Hello, Kentucky and a welcome
to Ohio Valley Wrestling

right here on WBKI.

- In OVW, it was crazy.

All these stud athletes, man.

And they just kept coming
and coming.

- And that's where we see John
Cena and Batista

in the same class.

John Cena was the Prototype.

- The Prototype, I'll tell you
what.

He's got a brilliant future
in this profession.

- And Batista was Leviathan.

- Leviathan is the new OVW
Heavyweight Champion.

- What is my first impression of
Dave Batista?

Larger than life.

And seeing guys like Dave
motivated me.

- Oh my God.

- What are you gonna do?

[bleep]

- It was like, competitive,
but in a good way.

- Oh, it's like that, huh?

I think we pushed the hell
out of each other.

Prototype,

you may be the perfect man,

but no man can slay a Demon.

- You have two guys competing
for the same space.

- Prototype went for the kick.

The demon catches him,

clotheslines him out
of his boots.

- And having Dave,

in that same trajectory-

- Prototype now belly to back
and again on the Demon.

- -that's how that motivated me.

- Prototype is the new
Ohio Valley Wrestling

Heavyweight Champion.

- At the time, WWE was changing
completely.

The Attitude ERA was over,

and then losing The Rock
to Hollywood,

that was a big hit.

And then it quickly became
what's next?

What do we do now?

- In 2002, when there's no Rock
it was like we need new,

we need young, we need fresh,
and we need it now.

And I remember a lot of
consternation going back and

forth in the production meeting.

John and Dave-

Are they ready?

Are they not ready?

- You know, the trigger
was just pulled,

whether they're ready or not,
guess what,

we're putting them on TV and
hopefully they become successes.

- Well Tazz I know this kid,
this is John Cena,

one of the many young talents
who couldn't be looking to knock

on the door of opportunity.

- When you come from

your developmental programs

and you get to the show,

you're starting completely over.

- John Cena was somebody that we
didn't know what to do with.

- You gotta admit,
this is a little boring.

- Boring, boring, boring.

- He was boring.

- He had these shorts where he
would wear

different colors that matched

the sports teams in each city.

- John Cena wearing
the Carolina blue.

I'd like to point that out.

- But he needed something else
that-that wasn't going to do it.

- Meanwhile, Batista,

he was put with D-Von Dudley as
Deacon Batista

and was D-Von's enforcer.

- What the-

- Who is that to?

What is that?

What's he holding?

- He was a big son of a bitch.

[laughing]

- Thank you.

- But the gimmick
didn't go well.

- I hated it.

I thought it was the dumbest
thing I ever seen.

[laughing]

- The reason that the-the Deacon
Batista character didn't work

is it wasn't Dave.

It wasn't authentically, Dave.

- Not only that, but backstage,

I didn't say all the right
things.

I barely said anything at all
because I just, you know,

I wasn't that guy.

I wasn't-

It was hard for me to go up and
shake someone's hand.

And um a lot of guys took it the
wrong way.

They thought I was an arrogant
person, a standoffish person,

and I wasn't at all.

I was just very introverted.

- Everybody backstage had their
reservations about me.

Nobody liked me.

Everyone was like, "Hey, don't
work with John.

He has no respect for this
business.

I don't think he's going to be
anything."

And I would do nothing but prove
them right in the first phase of

my attempt at connection and
development in WWE.

- I wasn't progressing.

I wasn't becoming the guy
that they needed me to be.

There was more than a few
occasions where I thought

I was going to lose my job.

- The WWE used to make a series
of cuts around late November

called Christmas Cuts.

I was told that I would be
getting my release

at Christmas cuts.

- Frustration by John Cena.

- It's crazy to think about now

these superstars who
would ultimately define an era-

were on the verge
of not making it.

- In WWE, we travel as a
community,

so we're all on the same bus.

So I heard a bunch of guys
sitting in the back of the bus

and they were all freestyling,
you know, like rapping.

And I remember just being like,

"Let's go try this."

- When he started to rap.

Everybody's clapping and oh,
everybody's popping

on every little thing.

Well, if he can entertain the
most cynical group

you could ever ask for,

he can entertain
in the masses.

- Word life.

This is basic Thuganomics.

I excel beyond sports.

He rocks the horn on his head.

I rock a horn in my shorts.

- He was able to turn around and
connect with our audience.

- It's time to make John Cena a
household name.

- John Cena pumping it up.

- Bang.

- Connecting.

- It was unbelievable
when he came out.

- Everybody got on their feet.

Everybody in the arena,
it changed.

- Meanwhile, you have Triple H,

who is at an incredibly
high point of his career.

He has his eyes on a young
Batista and sees something

there and chooses Batista
to round out

this incredible faction,

Evolution.

- Dave Batista, 6'5, 325 pounds

of genetic stopping power.

- Dave had gone from the big guy
that just stood in the corner

with no sleeves to a guy that
was having great matches.

- The Beast has been unleashed.

- By joining this faction,

Batista kind of becomes
a made man.

- Around the same time,
WWE was in the middle

of a brand split where the
roster of SmackDown and the

roster of Raw were completely
separated,

and on each show,
Batista on Raw-

- Batista Bomb.

- -and John Cena on SmackDown-

- Smackdown's fastest
rising star, John Cena.

- -were rising to the
top at the exact same time,

and while they never touched,

they were clearly on a
collision course.

- To see Dave with Evolution
and the success of that-

- Yes.

- -it made me want to work
harder over on the other side.

- Undertaker up on John Cena's
shoulders.

- Wow, oof.

- You know, you had
these two stars

from a creative standpoint,

you're just too tempted to leave
money on the table

by not having these guys
face each other.

- At some point,
it's inevitable.

[fireworks]

- Welcome, to the
18th Annual Royal Rumble.

- 2005, in the Royal Rumble,

one by one, competitors
getting thrown over the top rope

and eliminated from the match

until we get to what we've
been waiting for.

- Well, we're down to
one man from Raw,

one man from SmackDown,

John Cena, Batista
the final two.

- Three years removed from
a really slow start.

Here are these two superstars
are face to face together.

What's going to happen next?

- This is a dream match up.

- This is awesome.

- It was crazy from there on
out.

- Well, we're down to one
man from Raw.

one man from SmackDown,

- John Cena, Dave Batista,

2005 Royal Rumble.

Everybody's like, "Okay, who's
going to get this?

Who's going to get this?"

And it comes down to the last
two.

- Going in we have a plan.

We at least know that Batista
is is going to win

the Royal Rumble.

- I think it's Batista.

I got to believe it's going to
be Batista.

- Dave is supposed
to win the Rumble.

It was a great plan on paper,

but, uh, it didn't go
according to plan.

- Again, the rules of the
matchup,

once you go over the top rope,
you are eliminated.

- To our shock, Cena and
Batista go over the top rope

at the same time.

It wasn't written in the script,
they'd go over at the same time.

If you wanted to write it in the
script, you couldn't do it any

better than the way
they both landed.

Every replay was inconclusive.

- Who went-
who touched first?

- It was funny because I think

when I picked him up for the
bomb,

he came up with so much
force,

that he literally just
flung me over the ropes

and we both went over.

- Whoa whoa, look out.

- oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Get him.

Oh geez-

- My God, they both went out.

- As a fan watching this,
you could tell this-

I don't think this was supposed
to happen.

- You could see the look in
everybody's eyes that they were

trying to figure out what
to do on the fly.

- Backstage,

we're listening in on headset.

- What happened?

- Nobody knows what to do.

- Camera four.

- Five's good, oh [bleep]

- Three.

- What the hell just happened?

- We got back in the ring and,

didn't know what was going on.

- Batista to wins it.

- No, no, no.

- And we got some.

- No Cena won.

- We got two winners of the
Royal Rumble.

- It was crazy.

- Per order of the chairman,

he has ordered that this match
be restarted.

- This is unprecedented.

This never happens.

- Oh no, no, watch out.

- Batista

Oh Batista from Raw
overpowering John Cena.

- No, no.

- With the spinebuster.

- No.

- Batista beats Cena.

Batista, the exclamation point.

- The winner of the Royal Rumble
match,

Batista.

- It was not without
controversy.

- Yeah, that was absolute
pure chaos,

but it became historic.

It was-it's one of the most
memorable

Rumble moments in history.

- I thought it actually worked
out better

because here we are still
talking about it.

- Batista will be in the main
event at WrestleMania 21.

We are live in Hollywood,

and this is WrestleMania.

- Wrestlemania 21,

we had two guys who were
passing on the baton.

- Oh, here it comes.

He's got it.

The cover, hook of the leg.

- One, two, three

- John Cena is the champion

- Batista.

Batista Bomb.

- Triple H and I to Cena

and Batista, because those are
the guys

that are going to carry the
company forward.

- You know it's coming.

The-the young ones are going to
try and push the old ones out.

I mean, that's just-
that's nature.

- Can Batista pin him?

Yes.

Batista has won
the world title.

- You know the two old guys
telling the young guys,

here's the titles.

It's your show now.

They were expected to carry the
WWE forward.

That-that's expectations that
are beyond belief.

- That's when,

really it became

a Batista John Cena, WWE.

And I think with us coming up
through OVW kinda

kinda neck and neck.

We're mirror images of each
other.

Our careers,
where they were going,

where they were at at that time.

[crowd chants "Batista"]

- But at the same time,

we're so different.

With Evolution,

I was usually always in the
background,

but I went from being the guy
in the background.

I went from being the muscle
to being the star.

- You love Batista?

[crowd cheers]

- It was overwhelming at first.

[crowd chants "Batista"]

- I didn't know
how to deal with that.

I had no idea.

It has its repercussions because
I think when you're

an introverted person who
is constantly

bombarded with attention.

You just want to crawl under
a rock, hide.

A lot of times I would just
separate myself from the locker

room and just be somewhere by
myself, and not because

I felt like I was too good for
everybody,

just didn't want to be around
anybody.

I just wanted to be alone.

- An introvert was considered
a dirty word

in the WWE at the time.

In some respects,
he's the exact opposite of John.

- Gotta get back,
gotta get back,

gotta get through.

- John is an extrovert.

- John Cena's in the house.

- John Cena was
on all the marquees.

He was the one
on all the commercials.

- Is that fresh toasted?

The Champ loves fresh toasted.

What if I come to your next
birthday party?

- That's when things shifted.

WWE had decided that John Cena
was going

to be the new face of the
company.

- Diamonds are a girl's best
friend.

It looks great on you.

[laughing]

- Okay.

- Dave loved that the company
considered John

to be the number one.

He was just like, "Absolutely.

If the company sees John
as the top guy, I'm all for it.

I'll be here in catering."

Um.

I think Dave considered himself
just as equally talented and

just as equally money
making as John Cena was.

That was a point
of contention for Dave.

- I didn't feel like I was
getting fair opportunities.

I felt like I was on the level
of anyone in that company

as far as drawing a crowd,
drawing money.

- It's like, Dave, you should be
happy for your success.

You're a main eventer.

Be happy with where you are.

And I don't think Dave was
satisfied with that.

And I think he saw
that as a slap in the face.

So what's going to happen next?

- Every year in WWE,
there was a draft.

- This is THE night.

This is THE night.

- Raw and SmackDown would
mix up their rosters to see what

superstars were wrestling
on what show.

- A SmackDown superstar is going
to be coming into this ring

to make their Raw debut tonight.

- No matter how much, you know
the company line was Raw and

SmackDown are two equal shows,
which I believe they are now,

but back then, Raw was
considered the A show.

So okay, now it's time for the
number one star to be on the

number one show was, you know,
a company decision.

- The very first pick,
come on down.

[John Cena's music]

[crowd cheers]

- What's up?

- John Cena.

This is biggest acquistion in
Raw history.

- The company considered John
the top star,

and it was just
time to make the switch.

- Meanwhile, Batista went
from Raw to SmackDown.

Smackdown is a huge show,
but Monday Night Raw was

simply where the top stars went.

- When he came over took the
helm at Raw,

I thought he was-
he deserved it.

But, um,

now I'm on SmackDown.

You know, I just-it was just
part of the business.

- Beyond that,

by this time, the company had
formed WWE films and started

producing Hollywood movies.

- Action.

- They cast John Cena in the
title role of the movie

The Marine.

- Highway patrol this is John
Triton.

They have a hostage.

It's my wife.

- But on the other hand, Dave
was a top star, but he wasn't

the face of the company.

He wasn't getting movie
opportunities from WWE.

So looking back on it,
it's very easy to see why

he'd be frustrated.

- Throughout 2007, Cena and
Batista are just continuing

their reign over WWE.

- The Champ is still here.

- It was so cool to kind
of watch their parallels.

- I mean, there's your two guys.

They're the two guys that are
carrying the company forward.

- Take a photo of Batista.

Listen to the crowd, man.

- Now Cena and Batista would
each lose their titles,

gain them back,

but regardless of-of when the
title was on them or not,

these were the two guys.

But they had not touched each
other since the end of that

Royal Rumble match back in 2005.

- You know these guys are on a
crash course to each other.

And, you know, at some point
this is going to come to a head.

- As General Manager,

I am proud to announce that at
SummerSlam,

it will be

John Cena,

versus "The Animal"
Dave Batista.

- Dave and John are
at the height

of their powers right now.

As money drawing stars.

- Our resumes are both
impressive.

- We've answered a lot of
questions.

But we've never answered
this one.

- And if John versus Dave is a
money drawing match,

then the need to do it is now.

- Between me and you, who's
better?

[fireworks]

- It is indeed the biggest
blockbuster of the summer.

No hype needed.

Nearly 16,000 strong

to see Cena and Batista
butt heads

for the first time in a one on
one match up.

The SummerSlam match.

There was a pulse to it.

- John Cena, the bigger star
of these two men.

You gotta wonder if that's uh
eating at Batista a little bit.

[bell rings]

- And then the pulse began
to be strong.

- This match up really
to prove he's better than who.

- The personal stakes of what
was going on-

- Ooh

- Look out.

- Spinebuster

- -as far as Dave feeling
resentment for, you know,

the company essentially
picking John.

- Ooh

- There was definitely

an undercurrent of tension
and reality.

- Cena hits it.

The cover.

He got him.

He got- no a kick out at
two and a half.

Can you believe it?

- That night, the two of them
brought out the very best

in each other.

- Uh oh, look at Batista is
in another gear here.

- Batista Bomb.

The vicious assault.

And Batista picks up the win.

[crowd cheers]

- Here is your winner,
Batista.

- It was special.

It was very special.

- To watch Dave have that all,
you know happen for him,

and everything else,
it was awesome.

- John Cena at that time may
have been the face of the

company, but Batista scores the
big win in the big moment.

And you're sort of left as a fan
wondering,

"What's going to happen here?"

And not only that,

the WWE landscape was about
to change in general.

- In the late 2000's,

WWE wanted to kind of go
back to their roots,

family entertainment,

and that meant toning down
language,

toning down storylines,

and so in what's known as the PG
Era, there were handcuffs.

That was the era that Batista
and John Cena had to exist in.

- Slowly, the people who were
watching changed.

I saw it happen.

I didn't need a sheet of
analytics.

I can see it.

So I said, "This is it.
We're changing up, right now."

- I don't think John had any
issue changing with the times.

- I'm talking to those people
who still believe.

- He became much more of a
babyface

fighting champion type guy.

- You never give up,
you pick yourself up,

you brush yourself off,
you push forward,

you move on, you adapt,
you overcome.

That is what I believe.

- Now, it's a PG Era.

He was filling arenas with his
PG message.

- Again, working with
limitations,

and he made it work
every single night.

- Why fight it?

He was like, "Hey, as long as
they're reacting,

that's all that matters.

What are we doing tomorrow?"

[crowd chants "Cena"]

- But on the other hand,
Batista the character,

and I suppose the human being
as well,

is not a TV-PG kind of guy.

Like he's an adult character on
a kid's show.

- This is not about you.

This is about me being in the
spotlight where I deserve to be.

- At that time,

I wish I was somebody
who was a little more exciting.

I wish I could have been a
little more charming,

but I think,uh, John Cena was
the type of wrestler

that I never wanted to be.

It was flashy.

It was very entertaining.

Um, but I didn't want
to be that guy.

- At that time,

You have these two guys who have
been the faces of WWE.

Even though they're these
dominant forces,

you just don't see them
together.

- WWE started using their
imaginations about just

how good this rivalry could be.

- By the time we get to
Elimination Chamber 2010,

Triple H is champion.

- Triple H in an unbelievable
amount of pain.

He tapped out.

John Cena is the WWE champion.

- But, now a bigger story
is unfolding.

- Congratulations Mr. Cena.

You're going to WrestleMania.

Just as long as you can defend
your championship

right now against

this man.

[Batista's music]

- Oh my God,
you got to be kidding me.

- Look out.

- Spear.

- This Cold War that had sort of
existed behind the scenes-

is now back in the ring.

- Oh no.

- Look out.

- Batista Bomb.

Bone rattling.

You got to be kidding me.

Batista is the new
WWE champion.

And Batista will headline
WrestleMania

as the WWE champion.

- I gotta quit this
winning and losing

in the same night [bleep].

Is this the part where you ask
me some [bleep] question?

I'm through that one, and, uh,

I thought it did good,
but it didn't work out that way.

Can't dwell on it.

I'm-I'm halfway healthy.

We'll see what the [bleep]
happens tomorrow.

That's just it.

That's the way it goes.

- In 2010, and the build up to
that WrestleMania

storyline and real life kind
of collided.

- John Cena is the face of
World Wrestling Entertainment

and that is what eats at
Batista.

- This company has decided to
label you-

as the man.

- I think the best rivalries are
ones that are based in reality

that could bleed into the camera
and on screen.

It always enhances it.

- John Cena.

- The name and face
of the WWE.

- Dave's beef with Cena,
I thought was like something

that people could relate to.

He was like really mad that Cena
was the chosen one.

- Right.

- You know?

- Right.

- I mean, I should be the chosen
one.

- Commercials.

- Perception in this, in this
case, was reality.

- Movies.

- Some of those feelings might
have been festering,

but now he could do it as a
full blown heel,

bitter, angry character.

- I should be the name
and face of the WWE.

I'm the biggest star
in this company.

- And it just worked out
perfectly.

The timing was now right to main
event WrestleMania.

[door knocking]

- My man,
how are you, buddy?

- How's everything going,
all right?

- Good to see you, man.

- Good to see you too.

- Thanksfor coming back,
I love it.

- Wrestlemania is this Sunday.

This is a big deal.

It's going to be fun.

I mean, uh Batista.

Dude's bad.

He's a badass.

But I think, uh, my main man,
John Cena, is going to come

through and just kick some ass.

He's going to come
out of this victorious.

- As much as John Cena and
Batista

started on this parallel
footing,

and as their time in
WWE went on,

they only got bigger and bigger
and bigger.

- Now you see the John Cena
Batista rivalry

on the late night shows.

- You're up against a Batista.

- Yes, you know.

- Look at this guy, this is-

- So we finally got to this
place

where WrestleMania became
the spot,

where these two stars
who had become superstars

had to settle it on the grandest
stage.

[fireworks]

- John Cena and Batista finally
facing off at WrestleMania 26.

What do you guys
remember about that?

- I think they had built it up
so perfectly that it was

everything that the crowd
had wanted and more.

[Batista's music]

[crowd cheers]

- Batista has been craving the
spotlight in recent weeks.

And here tonight he comes
out

in a lone spotlight.

- If you say at WrestleMania 21,

"We're hoping that they're
going to carry the company.

Five years later, WrestleMania
26, they're going to be

headlining it after being
champion all these years,

half a decade."

That's a win.

- Solid investment.

- You can feel it here tonight a
big fight feel.

- These guys who started
together,

who came up together,

who were both trying to find
themselves at one point,

and they both found
themselves.

- Ooh Batista,

with a great counter.

- Batista, back to the neck,
with a neck breaker.

- And now here they are
at WrestleMania

in front of everybody.

- And here comes Cena.

[crowd cheers]

- Cena saying,
"You can't see me."

- Batista down.

Look at Cena.

- Cena delivers the Five Knuckle
Shuffle

- Huge crowd, so again, huge
numbers.

We bet on you and we know that
you were going to draw people

into the biggest show of them
all and you're going to bring-

And that's what they did.

- Oh no, look at this.

Cena's in trouble.

Batista connecting.

Here's the cover,
hook of the leg,

Cena kicked out.

- The noise is an indicator and
there's noise out there.

- I think Cena's got it.

- Cena's got it.

- Attitude Adjustment

- The biggest I've ever seen.

- The cover.

New champion, no Batista
kicked out.

- What?

- And it was that, you know, big
match feel that we got finally

on the grandest stage
of them all.

- Will we see a new champion?

Batista's in trouble.

Cena's got the STF locked in.

[bell rings]

- It's over.

[John Cena's music]

[crowd cheers]

- John Cena has done it.

- The winner of this match
by submission,

and new

WWE Champion

John Cena.

- I got news for you,
I won't have this forever.

I'm gonna lose it again.

But-

To lose the belief of all those
that-

that give two damns about me,

and think when the chips are
down,

I'm the guy that-that can't
happen.

Tonight it didn't happen.

I'm very, very happy about that.

After all that talk about how
you wanted to take my spot and

called yourself the face of the
company.

You can write a chapter in
The Dynasty of "The Animal"

Batista.

You can regain
the WWE Championship.

How can he do it, folks?

Rematch.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

this is the Last Man Standing
match.

The only way to win this match

is to incapacitate your
opponent to the point,

that he is unable to answer
the referee's count of ten.

- Let's go do it again.

Time to make magic again.

- There's the shoulder
knock down by Cena.

John Cena building momentum.

Wild missed by Batista.

And John Cena's rolling.

- I think with the history, they
really, really clicked.

- The arena has exploded.

- This is unbelievable.

- Spinebuster
through the table.

- Part of that is trying to
outdo each other,

trying to bring out the best
in each other.

- Here comes Cena.

Here comes Cena.

- A count of eight.

Batista count of nine.

Will Batista make the ten
count?

And he made it up.

- He's up.

How is he up?

- For John Cena and Batista,

we love the matches because
of how creative they got.

- Cena with duct tape.

- We get the
Last Man Standing.

- Cena's hog tying Batista.

- Where you're going,

"How are they going to continue

this sort of creative role
that they're on?"

And they do.

- Batista is not getting out of
this.

"You can't see me"

- Cena-

- What can see is the WWE
Champion.

And that would be still John
Cena

- The winner of this match
and still WWE champion,

John Cena.

- At that point, as
as great as Dave Batista was,

he really wasn't getting to show
his true self.

The PG Era was not really
conducive to his sensibility

and Cena usually got
the better of him.

And so, I would guess that he
felt left behind.

- At the time, I had, uh,

issues with WWE creative
because of storylines,

but it's only because that's how
much value I put into it.

Like that's what it is.

It's an art form to me.

Whether it's a physical story,

or a story you're telling
through performance, uh,

it's a storyline.

And that's what
draws me to it.

It's an art form to me.

It's physical performance,

physical art.

- I was much more business
than creative.

I think Dave was much more
creative than business.

Like, he's-he's very artistic,
and I think Dave

wanted more to satisfy that
creative urge, you know.

- I don't know how much more
there was for him to do in WWE.

Yeah, it was a ballsy decision
because Dave decided to bet on

himself having no acting credits
of merit that people truly

remembered decided,
unbeknownst to us,

that in a matter of weeks,

he would leave a top spot in
WWE and become an actor.

It was really, you know, hit or
miss as far as whether this

thing would work out.

- Two weeks with the WWE
Championship on the line,

I will face Dave Batista

in an "I quit" match.

[crowd cheers]

[Dave Batista's music]

- That night, there was a lot
of mixed emotions that were

going through my mind.

[bell rings]

- The following is an
"I quit" match.

The only way to win this match
is to make your opponent

say the words "I quit."

- At that time,
Dave is leaving WWE.

It just speaks to his
professionalism

because if I knew I was already
one foot out the door-

- Oh.

- -and I knew I was going to go
on to transition my skills,

talents and strengths
somewhere else.

- No.

- Look out.

- Boom, powerslam

- I may want to be protective of
myself while I do that.

- You gotta be kidding me.

Cena going for the
Attitude Adjustment.

- But that wasn't Dave,

and that's that's a feather in
his professional cap

wanting to put on the best show
possible.

- Do you want to quit?

- I do, I want to quit.

I quit.

- He said it.

- He said "I quit"

- He said it,
it's over.

[bell rings]

- Cena retains the WWE title.

- But putting his body in
jeopardy-

- And he still did it.

- Wow.

- My God.

- -to still give th WWE Universe
what they want to see.

- And there's no dispute tonight
over who the best is.

John Cena, the WWE champion.

- I mean, it speaks to the
respect that

they had for each other.

You know, even though there was
this rivalry of them coming up

from the mud together and trying
to be on the top, you know.

You know what I mean?

We've been to war together.

But I'm going off this way,

and I want you to keep this
thing going.

Let me do this for you.

- Right.

- Like he's supposed to be your
enemy, right?

But you're doing it-
you're doing it.

- Yeah,
it says a lot about Dave.

It's what everybody has done
in the history

of this business
that's worthwhile.

- Right

- And Dave Batista
did the right thing.

And it's a great button on
a rivalry.

- Yeah.

- That's what's great about
Dave.

Just his ability to keep
everything professional.

There's resentment when I'm
given some opportunities and-

and Dave is struggling to find
those opportunities.

But I will tell you personally,

never once did Dave
treat me any different.

Uh, not just cordial,

friendly.

Like empathetically friendly.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome Batista.

- You know, I'm always a
proponent of if you know,

you're leaving to make a big
splash and big scene of it

and go out with a bang.

- Give me my spotlight.

Give me my spotlight.

- Make it be as memorable
as possible.

- You're nothing without me.

This place is nothing
without me.

- One could say that that was

A lot of the beginnings of
us seeing Dave as he is now.

The ability to envelop a
different personality.

- You think I'm kidding?

- You think I won't do it?

You think I won't quit?

I quit.

- That's the beginning
of what we have now.

- You'll miss me when I'm gone.

You all miss me
when I'm gone.

- Little did we know that this
was only the start.

- Come on push.

- I think that was Dave
basically saying,

"You guys have no idea what is

leaving your company right now
and what's yet to come."

- After moving to Hollywood,
to everyone's surprise,

except probably his,

Batista becomes a legit,
bona fide Hollywood star.

While all of this stuff is
happening for Batista, though,

Cena's acting career

would actually start to take off
as well.

- They're doing gigantic box
office performances

in these giant movies,

and I don't know if they're
looking at each other's movies

and going, "Uh, this was a
better year for me,

or that my film was better than
this one," or whatever it is.

- Yes, coach.

- So I think there's certain
levels to that rivalry that

could still continue in
Hollywood, even though both of

them have amassed great success.

[laughing]

- Wow

- When you think about John Cena
and Batista,

you wonder if either of them
would have been able to get as

far as they got to had it not
been for the other.

- Yeah, I think they both have
just had such incredible

careers, but they also helped
elevate each other.

- John Cena.

Batista.

This is a dream match up.

- Now we do have to take
a serious look at that rivalry

as like a pillar of WWE.

And I don't think it was like
"You won".

You know what I'm saying?

I think it's more of a
"We won."

- I'm happy for John

He was given an opportunity.

He just took it and ran.

I mean, how can you hate
a guy for that?

And also, he was never
unkind to me.

He was never unfair to me.

I treated him with respect,

and he treated me with respect.

- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Yeah

- I got to see him and I was
able to hug him in person,

and tell him that I'm so proud
of him.

Dave had his struggles
and he persevered.

So I'm, uh, I'm very I'm very
proud of what he's done.