8 Times Wrestlers Who Wanted To Quit Were Given Championships

It took just over half a minute for Batista to knock John Cena off his perch at Elimination Chamber 2010, but in reality, he had spent over a year fighting to take his place behind the cameras.

Despite the pair being presented on a level footing on their respective brands, The Animal was left frequently disgruntled when every promotional opportunity outside the ring fell to the company's golden boy. Adverts and acting roles all passed Big Dave by, until he eventually stuck his considerable neck out and outright asked if he could be considered for such extracurricular activities.

The answer was a firm "no". In that case, would he be allowed to moonlight under he own steam? Again, it was a big fat "nope" - he was their property, and that was that.

Batista couldn't cope being told what he could, or rather, could not, do, so handed management his notice in May 2009. WWE decided to maximise the musclehead whilst they still had him; he won his first WWE Title just a month later, and claimed a second at the following February's aforementioned squash.

He left under a cloud in mid-2010, forging a fresh and fretless new career as a Hollywood star. Ironically, after literally branching out playing the role of a tree, WWE begged for his return for 2014's Royal Rumble.