Dave Bautista 'Couldn't Do' What John Cena Is Doing

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 11, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 11, 2024 |

Hollywood always has its “types.” You’ve got your scream queens: actors (mostly female, but occasionally male) who are especially good when belting at homicidal monsters. There are chameleons: people who can disappear into any role with just a wiggle of their nose. We can’t forget the superstars: performers who often play versions of themselves, but you don’t mind because they’re so charming! Fitting into any of these categories can be a blessing and a curse.

Some actors are perfectly content with (essentially) playing the same role over and over. They do a job they’re happy to have and will do it as many times as they are asked. Some doing the same will begin to feel a sense of stagnation. It is not enough to merely have a job. Each one must be new and exciting and offer them a chance to hone their craft (and stay relevant). Dave Bautista is one such actor.

In a short amount of time, Bautista has cobbled together an impressive filmography. He has worked with interesting, exciting directors. With each new role, you can see him begin to disappear more and more into his work. He has spoken (often) about wanting to challenge himself as an actor and continue growing. He has made good on that and is arguably the best actor-turned-wrestler in the biz. However, he is not without competition!

I probably couldn’t have said this with certainty fifteen years ago, but I can now: You know John Cena. Coincidentally, there’s a chance you know him as an actor first and a 13-time former World Heavyweight Champion second. Like Bautista, Cena has become a force to be reckoned with in La-La Land. Still, he hasn’t given up wrestling entirely (yet). John Cena will be wrestling in a farewell tour next year, set to retire when he is finished. Dave Bautista could never.

Bautista retired from in-ring activity in 2019 after a final match at Wrestlemania 35. He didn’t turn it into a whole thing, but he doesn’t knock Cena for doing so. Speaking on the show Insight, the actor noted, “I get along with John. I respect John a lot, [and] a lot more than people think I do for some reason. I think the internet and fans have built this rivalry between us, which there really isn’t.” He explained that he “couldn’t do” a retirement tour like Cena. “This is how we’re different: I would never do this. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t,” Bautista said. “I feel it would feel disingenuous to me to go around, but I see his point, where he wants to go around and he wants to personally thank all the fans. There’s just something in me where I couldn’t do it. I would feel uncomfortable.”

Ever a modest human being, Bautista goes on to explain that he doesn’t want his “flowers,” as the children say. “To me, accolades feel uncomfortable,” Bautista told Insight. “I could never be the type of babyface who was saying good stuff because I wanted to get the crowd to cheer for me. I couldn’t be that guy. I love and respect what he’s doing with his whole tour, but we’re just different that way.”

At the end of the day, Bautista is satisfied with the way his career came to an end. “I went out the way I wanted. I retired the way I wanted. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” he explained. “I announced my retirement on Instagram, and I knew I was going to do it. I just didn’t want to tell anybody I was going to do it because I didn’t want anybody to say, ‘No, no, you got to come in. You have to give a speech to the fans.’ I don’t know, just something about it would have felt false to me. I couldn’t do it.”

Dave Bautista will never return to the squared circle (at least, not as a wrestler) and didn’t have a big send-off. He’s okay with that.