7 Wrestlers Who Became Too Big For WWE
5. Batista
In 2010, the 41-year-old Dave Batista was getting tired of WWE - especially what he saw as the sanitation of the product. A couple of years earlier, Batista had been fined over $100,000 for blading, and his dissatisfaction with the so-called "PG era" reached a peak. Losing a WWE Films role to Triple H was the addition of insult to injury and, after a feud with John Cena, he left the company.
Many expected that Batista would be back soon, given that Big Dave is known as a big spender and that WWE was his only realistic route to riches. Instead, Batista used the time away from the company to check a few items off his bucket list - he started acting in movies, and he even had (and won) an MMA fight.
Batista's film roles became more and more prominent, and he was eventually cast as Drax the Destroyer in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. He did return to WWE in 2014, but his comeback was poorly handled. After less than six months with the company, he left once again in frustration.
Again, people assumed The Animal would be back soon, but something happened. Guardians of the Galaxy was an immense success, and Batista, in particular, was praised for his work. The film roles started pouring in - Spectre, Kickboxer: Vengeance, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, to name a few.
Today, Batista doesn't need WWE one bit... but they could sure use him.