10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Were Bodybuilders

5. Batista

Batista WWE
WWE

If there's anyone out there who thinks they're "too old" to start training or get in shape, take a look at 50-year old Batista on WWE TV in 2019. He remains in amazing physical condition, and he owes it all to a high-intensity, low-weight workout style that lets his body recover as he ages. That's what he told Bodybuilding.com this past January anyway.

That wasn't all.

Batista used bodybuilding as a way to keep himself on the straight and narrow. It was a means to keep him out of trouble during a difficult upbringing, but it was never something he felt comfortable doing professionally. In his own words, Batista said he "didn't have the build for it". Someone needs to replace the mirrors in his house.

Instead of entering competitions, 'The Animal' focused on launching a pro wrestling career and using bodybuilding techniques to sculpt his frame. He gave up any fleeting thoughts of comp work aged 30 and decided wrestling was the way to go.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.