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credit detnews.com
In 11 days, Batista will headline his second WrestleMania when he defends his WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt against the Undertaker.
"My first big match at WrestleMania was in 2005 with HHH, so it's one of those things where, like, where do you go from there?" says Batista, his belt resting squarely on his shoulder. "The only place to go is the Undertaker."
Before he climbs in the ring with the Dead Man, here's what else Batista told The Detroit News last month in San Diego, Calif.
When did you know you wanted to become a professional wrestler? It was late '90s, maybe '98, I was up in Minneapolis doing some training up there, and I noticed on TV that WCW was having open tryouts. I was a big fan of Goldberg, so I watched WCW all the time, and I just thought I'd give it a try. That was my first inclination that I wanted to be a pro wrestler. It was a long time after that that I realized I might actually make it (laughs).
So what happened? I'll give you an abbreviated version of the story: After that, I spent some time trimming down because I was very heavy. I was about 370 pounds. So I trimmed down and I went for my tryout at WCW, and they kicked me right out the door said, "You'll never make it. You don't have what it takes, get out of here!" So I called the WWE, and they didn't have open tryouts, so they suggested a private school. It was the Wild Samoan Training Center, and I went there for a year and they hooked up a tryout for me. I went for a tryout with the WWE and the next day they called me and offered me a contract.
Was the back tattoo before, after or during all this? The tattoos came along with the years and training. I had a small tattoo on my back, and the big tattoo I have now on my back is what I had on my back before, it was just very small. I said I want it bigger, so they blew it up and now it's huge.
Outside of the ring, what do you like to do? When I am outside of the ring I am actually the most boring person on the face of the earth. I'm one of those guys who just sits at home and doesn't really do anything. I have a 14-year-old daughter, I spend time with her. I do stuff everybody else does: I go to the grocery store, I go to the gym, I go to the movies.
Seen any good movies lately? I saw "The Departed." It was an awesome movie.
Do you have any routines you go through before a big match? I try to get warmed up, I pop a couple of Red Bulls in me, I try and get a little energy going and just try to focus and stay relaxed.
What's the best part about being a pro wrestler? Traveling the world, and the worst part about being a wrestler is traveling the world. It's just one of those things where if I wasn't in this business I don't know what I'd be doing, I'd probably bouncing somewhere. I've experienced so much in a short period of time -- I've gotten police escorts around Thailand, I've gotten to eat with 4-star generals at the Pentagon. But I'm on the road so much that I'm missing a lot of my family life. I'm sacrificing a lot, I'm missing time watching my daughter grow up.
Does your daughter ever come on the road with you? She actually does, she comes with me a lot.
Will she be with you at WrestleMania? Definitely.
Talk about WrestleMania. What does it mean to you to be headlining the biggest event in the business? There's an energy and a feel about WrestleMania -- it's such a special event, and I can't really explain why. But there's definitely an electricity about it. Main-eventing WrestleMania -- this will be my second main event in five years with the company -- I can't even put into words how good it feels. It's like a dream come true.
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