Batista Reveals John Laurinaitis Wanted To Fire Him From WWE

Former WWE star Batista recently opened up about his struggles while stationed in the company's Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory prior to his main roster call-up. 

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet for Insight, the multi-time world champion revealed that John Laurinaitis wanted to fire him during his time in Louisville, Kentucky, saying: 

"I was an athletic person, I was enormous and I thought, you know, I'd give wrestling a shot and I failed in my first attempt and then I paid someone to teach me how to wrestle. Afa, The Wild Samoan, God rest his soul. It's so heartbreaking that he's passed away, and that was kind of it. That's when my journey started but then even after that, it was a long, long road. A lot of people didn't believe in me. Even when I was in developmental camp down in OVW, there was people with the WWE, John Laurinaitis, who wanted to fire me (he laughed). But I just kept digging in and digging in and digging in and digging in until I got my first real opportunity with Evolution and I had access to Triple H and Ric Flair. Two of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. I wasn't gonna blow my shot, so I had blinders on. I put everything else on the backburner and focused on my wrestling career".

The Animal went on to have an exceptional career in sports entertainment and will one day be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, after being set to be inducted last year (and originally announced for the 2021 class). 

While the 55-year-old admits to missing WWE, he is not planning on coming out of retirement and tarnishing his 'storybook' ending. 

H/T POST Wrestling