Though Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista has been sounding the Independent Thought Alarm pretty often as of late and seemingly doesn’t care if he loses his gig at Marvel Studios, you’d think his alma mater, the WWE, would greet him with open arms whenever he has some free time, right? I mean, if that organization has been known for giving the royal treatment to even Z-list celebrities, then I see no reason why they should give the cold shoulder to one of their own who went on to star in bona fide blockbusters.
Well, as it turns out, the former World Heavyweight Champion may be sitting out the milestone 1000th episode of SmackDown that’s set to air on October 23rd – and originate from Bautista’s hometown of Washington, D.C., no less. It’s weird, sure, but confirmation actually came from social media of all places.
You see, over on Twitter, one fan reached out to Dave, saying he’d purchased his tickets and hopes to see the local boy walk the aisle, to which the man himself responded:
“Surprise surprise!! I wasn’t invited! And it’s in my hometown.! .. guess by now I shouldn’t be shocked anymore.”
Of course, the WWE have more than a month to reach out and rectify the situation, so let’s hope the fans in attendance are left completely satisfied. Bautista’s last major run with the company may not have ended in the way they’d liked, but they managed to reconcile with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and others in the past.
Looking back, I can remember when Batista (don’t forget, his ring name lacked the “u”) was a cornerstone of SmackDown, and Teddy Long shouting his name will forever be burned into my brain. In fact, one could say the Guardians of The Galaxy star was the face of the “blue show” in the latter half of the 2000s, so fingers remain crossed for a cameo at the very least.