Dave Bautista Says He And Fellow WWE Champion Weren't 'Getting Equal Opportunities'

Six-time WWE world champion Dave Bautista has revealed that he didn't feel he received the same opportunities as John Cena outside of the ring.

In a recent interview with GQ, the WWE star-turned-actor spoke about some key moments in his wrestling career, one of which was how his original run in WWE came to an end. In 2009, despite being a legitimate draw who helped usher in a popularity boom for the company, he felt as though he was not receiving the treatment commensurate with a star of his stature.

"John Cena and I were both headlining shows," Bautista told GQ. "I was [the face of] 'SmackDown.' He was 'Raw.' But he was being used in [WWE-produced] films and television commercials and magazines, and I was just headlining shows. In fact, there was one point where he was off making a film and I was headlining both sets of shows and the pay-per-views. It was just a feeling of, 'We're not getting equal opportunities.'"

With how he wasn't getting the opportunities Cena got in the form of WWE Studios films, as well as superhero movies becoming increasingly dominant in Hollywood, Bautista left WWE in 2010 to become an actor. However, he said that he wasn't interested in acting. "I felt like I was coming into my own as a wrestler. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it," said the former WWE world champion.

But because he wanted to prove his worth, he made the career change, and on the advice of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin turned down bad scripts, even if they paid well, despite having serious financial issues at the time. Bautista has a whopping five movies set for release in 2023, including "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Dune: Part Two."