After sound defeat, Guardians of the Galaxy star retires from wrestling for good

INSTAGRAM / DAVE BAUTISTA

Former wrestling champion Dave Autista is helped out of the arena after losing his first return match.

(UPDATED July 11 to include reaction quote from Dave Bautista.)

I'm not sure what drove Dave Bautista to return to the ring after a five year absence, at the age of 50. Whatever it was, I'm sure Drax of Guardians of the Galaxy regrets it.

In a WrestleMania match Sunday (April 7), Bautista had his nose ring ripped out by his opponent Triple H in an anything-goes match. That was not the results the six-time (World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWEChampionship twice.) wrestling champ had hoped for.

Or, maybe it was.

The following day, Monday, the Filipino American professional wrestler-turned-actor announced his retirement (permanently, we hope) from wrestling so he could concentrate on his blossoming movie career.

Bautista, who wrestled under the name Batista, posted on Instagram:

“To all the WWE fans across the world that gave me the opportunity to suspend your disbelief, thank you. From the biggest part of my heart thank you for letting me entertain you. Tonight was my story book ending and I wanted to leave you with all I had to give. I’ll miss this theater of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from Sports Entertainment. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, I leave in great health, and without a doubt the show will go on. I had a hell of a run. Thank you for the journey.”

Months after the event, as a guest of late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Wednesday (July 10) night, Bautista said, "I always wanted to go out in my own terms ... flat on my back."

Watch the final minutes of Bautista's wrestling match (Warning: its violent.):

Bautista’s retirement will leave him free to concentrate on his blossoming career in Hollywood. His upcoming projects include Avengers: Endgame (Apr 24) and Stuber (Jul 11). Bautista's My Spy, with Ken Jeong, will be released later this year.

Deadline reported that Bautista will star in the  zombie film, Army Of The Dead. He will also reprise his signature role of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. and just inked a deal to star in the upcoming remake of Dune.

All that beats having your nose ring ripped out.

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Wrestler Roman Reign's next match -- leukemia

SCREEN CAPTURE /  YOUTUBE

In an emotional speech, Roman Reigns became Joe Anoa'l.

REALITY came crashing down on wresting champ Roman Reigns as he relinquished his title to fight the biggest foe of his life - leukemia.

Reigns got into the wrestling ring Monday (Oct. 22) with his championship belt on his shoulders. He took the microphone and said, “My real name is Joe, and I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years.” 

Reigns said because of the diagnosis, he's unable to fulfill his duties as champion and must relinquish the WWE Universal Title. Reigns added that it's best for him to go home and be with family, to focus on his health for now.

Reigns -- or Joe Anoa'i, his real name -- left his belt in the ring giving up his championship.

He was 22 years old when he received the diagnosis. Anoa’i began wrestling with WWE two years later, in 2010, and tonight he thanked the wrestling promotion for giving him a chance when he was at a low point following a battle to get his leukemia into remission.

Reigns was born Leati Joseph Anoa’i into the legendary Samoan American wrestling family of the same last name. His dad is Sika of the Wild Samoans tag team (with Afa), which collected NWA and WWF championships throughout the 1970s and 80s. His cousin is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Current WWE tag team champions, The Usos, consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso, are also family.

 “I want to make one thing clear,” Reigns said in the ring. “By no means is this a retirement speech, because after I’m done whupping leukemia’s ass, I’m coming back home.” 

"I want to show the world, show ... the world, my family, my friends, my children and my wife, that when life throws a curve ball  at me, that I'm the type of man who will stand in that batter's box, I will crowd the plate, I will choke up and I will swing for the fences every single time."

As he left the ring, the crowd cheered and chanted, "Ro-man, Ro-man, Ro-man ..."

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FilAm actor will star in new project

TOUGH GUY Dave Bautista, Drax of Guardians of The Galaxy, will get to play another tough guy in Dogtown, a film based on the long running comic book series "Body Bags."

The Filipino/American actor will play Mack Delgado, a professional bounty hunter who is tought enough to be called a "body bagger." When a teenage daughter he never knew existed, shows up at his door, his life of chasing bad guys gets a bit more complicated and presents plenty of material for the action-comedy.

Take a look at the tattoo on his upper arm. That's the Philippine flag! Bautista has a big following in the Philippines, which surprised him when he visited that country during a promotional tour last year.

"They really accepted me as one of their own, even if I was born in the United States," he shared. Bautista's father is a Filipino American.

"And they said, 'It's not often that the Filipino people get to be inspired by one of their own.' And from then on, I never took it for granted. It is still so humbling to hear that."

Pointing to the tattoo he has on his shoulder, he added: "I love it and I wear the Filipino flag on my shoulder all the time with pride." The other flag is the Greek flag, which honors his mother.

Before turning to acting, Bautista had a successful career in the WWE, becoming heavyweight wrestling champion for four years and won tag team championships with Rick Hurd and John Cena.

Production for Dogtown will hopefully begin this fall. In the meantime, you can catch Bautista playing Drax in Avengers: Infinity War that is currently in the theaters and Hotel Artemis, which will be released on June 8.

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Bold Films has set Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Dave Bautista to star and John Wick 2 scribe Kyle Ward to write Dogtown, a film based on the long running comic book series Body Bags. The comic was created by Jason Pearson (Deadpool, X-Men) and it is a stylized, irreverent action-comedy. Bautista will play Mack Delgado, a professional bounty hunter tough enough to be called a “body bagger.” Things take a turn for him when the teenage daughter he never knew he had turns up on his doorstep, hoping to reconnect with the father she lost long ago. The hope is to start production this fall.

He only began to understand the fanfare surrounding him when he visited the Philippines. "They really accepted me as one of their own, even if I was born in the United States," he shared. 

"And they said, 'It's not often that the Filipino people get to be inspired by one of their own.' And from then on, I never took it for granted. It is still so humbling to hear that."

Pointing to the tattoo he has on his shoulder, he added: "I love it and I wear the Filipino flag on my shoulder all the time with pride."