David Michael "Dave" Bautista, Jr. is an American mixed martial artist, bodybuilder, actor, and former professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment competing under the ring name Batista. In WWE, he became a six-time world champion, winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times, and the WWE Championship two times. He is the longest-reigning World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. In addition to these championships, Batista has won the World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena) and the WWE Tag Team Championship once (with Rey Mysterio). Batista was also the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble match and went on to headline WrestleMania 21, one of the top five highest-grossing pay-per-view events in pro wrestling history. After trying out at World Championship Wrestling's Power Plant, Batista signed a contract with the WWF in 2000 and was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship. In August 2012, Bautista signed a contract with Classic Entertainment & Sports to fight in mixed martial arts. He won his MMA debut on October 6, 2012, defeating Vince Lucero via TKO in the first round. As an actor, Bautista made his feature film debut in The Man with the Iron Fists in 2012, after starring in various directs-to-video since 2009. He is set to star in two upcoming films: David Twohy's Riddick, the third installment of The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, and James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
