Dave Bautista has officially announced his retirement from WWE wresting. Bautista, who goes under the name Batista in the ring, appeared in a crazy fight with Triple H at WrestleMania XXXV and lost the long battle. A few hours after the fight was over, Bautista posted his announcement on social media, making sure to thank all of his fans for the love and support over the years. The former wrestler has focused on his acting work over the past five years, but always teased a return to the ring to finish on his own terms.

Dave Bautista started wrestling in 1999 and signed with the WWF, now WWE in 2000. He was told that he would never make it in the world of wrestling for a few reasons, but the main one was his age. He was 30 at the time he started his career and was able to prove everybody wrong. Under the name Batista, he is a six-time world champion having won the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship twice. He also holds the record for the longest reign as World Heavyweight Champion at 282 days. Bautista had this to say about retiring.

"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."

While Dave Bautista's wrestling career was huge, it left him wanting more. So, he decided to set his next goal on acting like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena. However, Bautista does not like to be compared to the aforementioned wrestlers-turned actors. In fact, he hates being compared to the two, who he refers to as wrestlers who became movie stars. Bautista likes to think he became an actor.

While Dave Bautista can appreciate what Dwayne Johnson brings to the table, he still doesn't think he's a very good actor. Johnson would probably agree with that statement and is one of the world's best entertainers. That's just not what Bautista is interested in. After shooting to fame with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, the actor has been looking to broaden his horizons by getting into all kinds of different roles. He had a role in Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and has a role in the director's upcoming Dune big screen adaptation.

Dave Bautista also has the action comedy Stuber on the way this summer. While he is certainly going to miss his wrestling days, Bautista is in another chapter of his life and has gotten to that place by doing it on his own terms, which he is proud of. It's going to be very interesting to see where the actor decides to go next. You can check out the wrestling retirement announcement below, thanks to Dave Bautista's Instagram page.