01/05/2025
After the 800th episode of RAW in 2008, Dave Bautista thought he did his job well. But Vince McMahon didn’t see it that way. Right in front of everyone, Vince tore into him—cold, sharp, and brutal. The locker room went silent. Bautista didn’t argue. He just nodded, walked away, and sat alone. Later, when someone asked if he was okay, he simply said, “That’s the day I knew things would never be the same.”
He kept showing up. Kept performing. But something inside him changed that night. Not because of the words—but how they were said. Quietly, he began planning his exit. Behind the powerhouse was a man slowly letting go of the dream.
Respect the man behind the character.
