Batista is one of the most successful wrestlers-turned-actors in the world. While today he’s known for playing Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and Rabban in Dune, before he became a Hollywood celebrity, Batista was a powerhouse in wrestling.
He was a huge name in WWE back in the 2000s when he was still working as The Animal. Batista’s WWE career saw him win multiple world titles, two Royal Rumbles, and main event WrestleMania matches.
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Batista Says He Was Broke Until First World Championship Win
WWE employs a plethora of wrestlers at any given moment. A majority of them don’t achieve main event success in the company, and for them, their wrestling journey involves continuously working hard and proving themselves.
Even someone like Batista, who had a great career in WWE, wasn’t making bank until he got his first big break with a World Heavyweight Title win in 2005.
He spoke to W.O.L.F. Gyms recently, where he compared his acting journey with wrestling. Batista said that while there’s a lot of grind in filming, it’s nothing compared to what he was doing during his first few years in WWE.
“I can’t speak for how it is now, but when I was there you’re just grinding. You’re pulling your own weight and most of the time it’s not only like physically very difficult and mentally very difficult, it’s also expensive. Cause when I was wrestling, they pretty much provided you with airfare. And that was it, man. Not food, not cars, not hotels, none of that.”
He goes on to say that until he became a world champion in 2005, he would borrow money from other people week after week.
“So, my first few years of wrestling, I was broke. Until 2005 when I became world champion and started to make some money, I was still borrowing money from people. I was living in a tiny apartment when I was world champion, cause I had just become world champion, hadn’t started making money yet. So I was still borrowing money. I used to go to those check cashing places and get like a $300 loan. And then you’d come back, pay it and borrow another 300 and do that week after week and it was like that. Around 2005 is when I didn’t have to do that anymore and I started to make money. But until then I was grinding.”
The pay scale in WWE has been a hot topic for the past few months. Stars such as Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Sheamus have departed WWE after the company asked them to restructure their original deals.
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For more on Batista and pro wrestling (WWE, AEW, etc.), you can check out this page. If you’re new to watching wrestling, check out our WWE streaming guide, which is updated for 2026.
Main image credit: IMAGO / WENN
Wrestling news reporter.
