Batista Speaks on Being Champ, Hell in a Cell + More
    Submitted by Carl Walsh on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at 12:44 PM EST



    Show: The Interactive Interview (courtesy of www.WrestlingEpicenter.com)
    Guest: The WWE World Heavyweight Champion "The Animal" Dave Batista
    Date: June 22, 2005
    Your Hosts: Chuck D & James Walsh
    Recap By: James Walsh

    In just a few short days, he will step in the infamous Hell in a Cell with the man he defeated at Wrestlemania 21 as he became the World Heavyweight Champion. Incidentally, the man he defeated at Wrestlemania has never been defeated inside the confines of that Hell in a Cell. But before he gets ready to rumble in Las Vegas, he stopped by The Interactive Interview and spent a good 20 minutes discussing everything from his great new theme song to the above mentioned battle on Sunday, June 26 at Vengeance. He's none other than the current World Heavyweight Champion. He's none other than the Animal. He's none other than Dave Batista. And, he's the latest guest on the hottest wrestling talk show in the business, The Interactive Interview!

    Were you one of the thousands that caught us on Tuesday? Well, be one of the millions that can download this show right now that features the full 20 minute Batista interview!

    To listen to this show, visit www.WrestlingEpicenter.com.

    BATISTA

    -- Chuck introduces Batista as our biggest guest ever. That guest list includes everybody from Sting to Ric Flair to DDP to Randy Savage and beyond. Batista laughs and thanks us for the great introduction.

    -- Chuck asks what goes through Batista's mind when he hears an introduction like ours introducing him as the World Heavyweight Champion. Batista says, "Man, I'm still really on cloud 9. Every time I hear that, walking out, strapping that belt on... You know, I always watch myself on video tape and just seeing that just doesn't seem real!"

    -- Chuck then asks for a little insight on what Batista did in his early years. Batista says, "I used to be a bouncer, no big surprise there. *laughs* I also did some body building."

    -- Batista says there is a reason you don't see many tall body builders. Because, regardless how muscular you get, you seem lanky next to a guy that might be only 5 foot something but has the same mass.

    -- Batista said he was attracted to wrestling by being at the right place at the right time and was attracted to the potential big pay check. But, it wasn't exactly easy. "I went for a try out and failed miserably," said Batista when asked how he ended up in the WWE. He then said, "Then it became a challenge. Before then, everything athletically pretty much came easy to me." He goes on to say, "It became an obsession. It was something I had to do. I had to make it. Then, I just fell in love with it."

    -- "I think characters are very 80-ish and kind of played out," says Batista when asked about his prior characters of Kahn and Leviathan. "I think you'll do much better if you use your name and throw on a pair of tights rather than using any other name. Just learn how to wrestle. Learn the psychology of the business."

    -- Batista, still on gimmicks, comes across one he thinks has stood the test of time and that's The Undertaker. "There's a reason he's made it as big as he has," says Batista. James says on the surface and if explained to a casual fan, the Undertaker character sounds ridiculous. Batista agrees and says, "But, he makes it believable and comes out of the character and goes over the top with it. He's amazing! He transformed it and made himself larger than life."

    -- Batista talks about his tricep injury and how it sometimes still gives him trouble. "I still tape it up from time to time more for safety than anything else. But, it's never been 100% since the injury. It actually took 3 surgeries to repair it." Chuck mentions that it had almost healed and it was injured again. Batista says that's true. He then adds, "It was a nightmare, this injury."

    -- One of the most asked questions from our fans, believe it or not, was about the health of Batista's wife. Batista says his wife is still struggling with her health issues. She has cancer and has gone through chemo therapy 3 times.

    -- "I have never met anybody who in some way, shape, or form wasn't effected by cancer. What an awful disease. She's a stronger person than I'll ever be." Batista then says it takes a strong person to go through and see someone go through chemo. James mentions that his former fiancé went through it and it was tough to see.

    -- Who has Batista learned the most from? "Without question, it's Triple H," says Batista. "I've learned a lot from Ric Flair too but Triple H really took me under his wing and constantly talked to me, worked with me in the ring, and just taught me every aspect of the business."

    -- When asked about the dangers of the Hell in the Cell, Batista laughs and says, "You know, Mick's really famous for that match. He was famous before it but it was after that match that people started holding up the signs that say "Foley is God." If it were something like that where I fell off the cage... You'd better believe, I'm just not getting up." Batista, James, and Chuck all laugh while Chuck says it'd be nap time.

    -- Still on the above topic, Batista says, "I consider myself a pretty tough guy but I just can't see myself hopping up off a stretcher and getting back in the arena like that."

    -- About this coming Hell in a Cell at Vengeance, Batista says, "In a funny way, it's something I'm looking forward to because it's something I've never experienced. At the same time, you know you're going to get hurt. You know you're going to lose a lot of blood. *laughs* And you just pray that you come out healthy."

    -- About Batista's recent change in character from all out monster to kind of a sarcastic funny monster, Batista says, "It is who I am. I don't want to give away too much of what goes on and talk about writers but they tried to give me a character and fit me into a mold that just wasn't me. I'm not this growly lunatic that just loves beating people up. That's so not me. The fans couldn't relate to it... it didn't click because it wasn't natural." Batista feels what he does now is him and says him being himself works well because, "I'm not an actor, you can probably tell." He then admits that if he was over before now, it was only because he was in Evolution.

    -- We then discuss the impact Evolution had on himself and Randy Orton. "It totally launched us. It made us," says Batista adding, "It was a mirror image of the IV Horsemen which was awesome if you're a big wrestling fan. I was getting over with the crowd because I was involved in that. " Batista then goes on to say that the most successful times in wrestling had factions that allowed characters to expand from citing the Horsemen, Degeneration X, and now Evolution.

    -- "I think there's only one world champion. At this time, it's me," says Batista when asked about having two champions not only in the WWE but on the same brand.

    -- Batista would like to work with Cena down the road, perhaps Champion VS Champion. James asks if Batista would be the heel or the face, Batista says, "The heel!" He then explains that he doesn't feel he is a face based on much other than who he faces as he feels he works the same style as both heel and face so fans might see that, if in there with Cena, as heelish.

    -- James asks if he sees himself getting drafted to Smackdown after Vengeance. "I don't foresee that," says Batista. He thinks it is possible because a lot of the top level guys have exchanged but he thinks he's best suited staying on RAW.

    -- Another guy Batista wants to work with is Kurt Angle. He feels Kurt is a one of a kind performer and would like to have a program with him. But, perhaps the guy he wants to work with most is The Undertaker. He says he thinks they'd have great matches. He goes on to say he hopes The Undertaker keeps wrestling for a long time to come so it will happen. Batista jokingly says, "He'll probably outlast all of us."

    -- Batista thinks his new theme is "100 times better than the old one." The band that performs it is Saliva. James mentions liking Saliva (except for Click Click Boom) and asks what Batista's CD collection holds. Batista says he likes a lot of rock, he has some of "the rap," and a little bit of everything else. "The only thing I can't get into, though, is country."

    -- In word associations, we discuss many hot topics. Names include Jim Ross, Vince McMahon, Ric Flair, Triple H, Randy Orton, D-Von Dudley, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and more! As a teaser, here's an example of the Brock association. For the rest, you'll just have to listen!

    -- "I love Brock. Me and Brock were friends before we even got in the business. I trained with him in OVW. He was just such a stand out. He was ready for WWE even back then. I don't see how they could've done him any other way. As for me, I wasn't even close to being ready." But, Batista both does and doesn't think Brock understands just how much he threw away when he left the WWE and the way he did leave "leaves a bitter taste in my mouth," says Batista.

    -- Chuck asks if Batista caught the ECW One Night Stand pay per view. Batista says he is embarrassed to say he's only seen a little bit of it and says, "I'm not a fan of that style of wrestling." He goes on to say, "I don't want our business going in that direction." Shocking!

    -- The show covers Smackdown, a special chat about the draft, a RAW recap (first segment) as we were in attendance as special guests of the WWE, and then close out with One Step Away by Ratt. Stay tuned to The Interactive Interview to win tickets to see the singer of this song, Stephen Pearcy, as part of the American Metal Blast this summer with Stephen Pearcy, LA Guns, and WASP. Don't ever say we never gave you anything!

    ***** We at The Interactive Interview would like to thank World Wrestling Entertainment for their wonderful hospitality in granting us this fantastic interview and wonderful comp tickets to RAW this past Monday. It was a fantastic experience for us and we could not be more appreciative of these wonderful experiences.

    Be sure to tune in next Tuesday at 10 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. MST at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com and on "The Blaze" 1260 AM as we welcome yet another WWE superstar. Who? We'll announce it this weekend! But, it's another good one!

    Did you like the above report? Then CLICK HERE for the BIGGEST show results archive on the entire web! Plus, if you have a question, WE HAVE THE ANSWER at Powerwrestling.com!




    *NEW GALLERY* Very HOT and Revealing Gail Kim Photos! WOW!!!

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