David Michael "Dave" Bautista, Jr.[6] (born January 18, 1969), is a American mixed martial artist, bodybuilder, actor, and former professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment competing under the ring name Batista. In WWE, he became a six-time world champion, winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times, and the WWE Championship two times. He is the longest-reigning World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. In addition to these championships, Batista has won the World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena) and the WWE Tag Team Championship once (with Rey Mysterio). Batista was also the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble match and went on to headline WrestleMania 21, one of the top five highest-grossing pay-per-view events in pro wrestling history.

After trying out at World Championship Wrestling's Power Plant, Batista signed a contract with the WWF in 2000 and was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship.

In August 2012, Bautista signed a contract with Classic Entertainment & Sports to fight in mixed martial arts. He won his MMA debut on October 6, 2012, defeating Vince Lucero via TKO in the first round.

Early life

Bautista was born in Washington, D.C. His mother, Donna Raye (née Mullins), has Greek ancestry, and his father, David Michael Bautista, is the son of Filipino immigrants to America. His parents separated and eventually divorced. His paternal grandfather served in the military, worked as a taxicab driver, barber, and held other jobs to feed the family. Bautista has said that he is not ashamed to admit he lived in poverty. He has admitted to having a hard life; before he had reached the age of nine, three murders had occurred on his front lawn. As young as age 13, he was stealing automobiles.

By age 17, Bautista was considered estranged from his parents and on his own, despite admitting later: "I am proud of my parents. They are good, honest, hard-working folks. They taught me the values of working hard." He became a regular bouncer for clubs until he was arrested after a fight that left two patrons injured, one of which was rendered unconscious. After a trial, he was sentenced to one year of probation. He also worked as a lifeguard before pursuing a career in bodybuilding. He credits bodybuilding with potentially saving his life.

Professional wrestling career

Batista tried out at the WCW Power Plant, but was told he would never make it in the wrestling business by Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. He then went to the World Wrestling Federation, who sent him to train with Afa Anoa'i's school in the Wild Samoan Training Centre. Today however he's training with Cesar Gracie and is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He made his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000 under the ring name Leviathan, where he immediately joined forces with Synn. As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable, he went undefeated until being beaten at Christmas Chaos by Kane with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin. He later won the OVW Heavyweight Championship from "The Machine" Doug Basham before losing the belt to The Prototype. A few months later, Bautista left OVW after he was promoted to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Personal life

Batista was married to a woman named Glenda in the early 1990s and had two daughters with her, Keilani (born in 1990) and Athena (born in 1992) before divorcing. Batista married his second wife Angie on 13 October 1998, yet they divorced in 2006. Before the age of 40, Batista had already become a grandfather of two grandsons: Jacob and Aiden by Keilani, his first daughter.

Batista revealed that he and Angie were separated in the August 2006 edition of WWE Magazine. He later revealed, in his autobiography, a relationship with WWE Diva Melina Perez after the divorce from his wife in 2006, which led to a brief angle on SmackDown! during a feud with MNM. Batista previously dated WWE Diva Kelly Kelly briefly. In an interview on 2 September 2009, Batista said that he had previously dated WWE Diva Rosa Mendes.

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