Why WrestleMania 35 Is Batista's Last Chance For WWE Return

Batista says he will retire from in-ring competition if he is unable to agree to a match at WrestleMania 35 next year.

The Avengers star told radio show Chad Dukes vs. The World that he was left frustrated after talks over a possible appearance at this year's Show of Shows led to nothing.

Despite being approached by WWE to partner Ronda Rousey in her maiden match on 8 April - something he agreed to on the condition that they laid the groundwork for a 2019 bout between him and Triple H - discussions ultimately broke down.

"I said that I would be willing to do it only if we teased something for me and Hunter to go to 'Mania next year, and they said, ‘yeah, that would be great'," Batista explained. “I sent a text to Hunter. I was like, ‘hey man, I don’t know if you put any more thought into what’s going on, I’m really excited about the possibilities.' And I literally never heard back from them. They just stopped talking to me about it."

The 49-year-old insists he remains "faithful and loyal" to his ex-employers, and is keen to end his wrestling career "in the right way", but that "they just don’t make it easy".

In what appeared to be a direct message to the company, he went on, "next year will be the last opportunity, so if we can’t make something happen by next year, then I’m just gonna officially hang it up."