Batista Unleashed by Batista

Most wrestling fans know Batista from his days in the stable Evolution on RAW, and now as World Heavyweight Champion on SMACKDOWN!, but what they don't know is who he was growing up. Batista, whose real name is David Michael Bautista, was born in 1969 and grew up in Washington D.C. not to far away from the White House. His family lived in a poor section of D.C. and sometimes didn't eat at all. His mom would stock up when there were sales, and he and his sister would eat from what was there. Times were rough and as Batista got into middle school and high school he started ditching classes and sometimes the whole school day. He also got into a lot of fights, which helped him get a job as a bouncer at nightclubs after high school. He was also into bodybuilding, which made him even more intimidating. It wasn't until the age of 30 that he decided that he would become a professional wrestler. He had watched pro-wrestling growing up, but never really thought of it as a career. He first tried out for WCW in 1999 and thought it was over for him because of the way he was treated. A few days later he called WWE and met with Jim Cornette, the head of talent realtions for WWE. Batista then went to Afa's Wild Samoan Training Center to train to be a wrestler. After several months and recovery from an injury, Batista was given a tryout match and then offered a contract. He went to OVW, WWE's training facility, and was there for two years before he was called up to the SMACKDOWN! roster in 2002. On SMACKDOWN! he was Deacon Batista, the bodyguard for the Reverand D-Von. After that storyline played out he went over to RAW and became part of Evolution along with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton. Evolution was together for about a year and 1/2 and then turned on Randy Orton when he won the title in August of 2004. From there the writers built a storyline around Triple H and Batista, which would lead to Wrestlemanina 21, in 2005, with Batista facing Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title, which Batista won. Then in January of 2006 Batista was injured at a house show, and was forced to relinquish the title. He was out for 7 months and and regained the title shortly after he came back, which would lead to a showdown at Wrestlemainia 23 with the Undertaker for the title. He talks about how his wrestling and travel schedule ended his marriage, and how it has affected his relationship with his two daughters. One of whom he hasn't talked to in a while. He also gives some insight into what goes on backstage at RAW, SMACKDOWN! and Pay-Per-Views. He's also included some stories of traveling on the road, which can be embarrassing at the time, but funny when you look back at them.

This is one wrestling biography to read. Batista is honest and doesn't hold anything back. If you want to know everything there is to know about the wrestler Batista you should read this book.
T.B. 11/14/07