Batista, in response to a fan suggesting that he might be the big surprise heading to AEW, gave his candid thoughts on the concept of retirement in professional wrestling.
In his first appearance on AEW TV, Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show in WWE, revealed that AEW would be announcing the signing of a new talent that is “Hall of Fame worthy” at their upcoming pay-per-view, Revolution.
.@PaulWight has a BIG surprise set for #AEWRevolution this Sunday!
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2021
RT with your predictions on who you think it could be.
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama
REMINDER: The Countdown to #AEWRevolution begins immediately following Dynamite. pic.twitter.com/94eDL1bxfy
As is often the case with many instances such as this one, fans began to speculate on social media as to who the mystery performer could be.
Due to the fact that Paul Wight misspoke and said “Evolution” instead of “Revolution” and factoring in that Dave Batista was set to be the headliner of the 2020 class of the WWE Hall of Fame before the global pandemic prevented the event from happening, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion’s name was suggested.
Replying to the suggestion on his own Twitter, Dave Bautista, without denying he'd be the surprise, set his focus on the lack of merit that the word “retirement” carries in professional wrestling circles.
They’re going to have to come up with another word thats used specifically for professional wrestlers who actually mean it when they say they’re retired. Currently the word “retired” has zero credibility by professional wrestling standards. ---- https://t.co/tFYG2UQGRx
— The Artist Formerly Known as Super Duper Dave (@DaveBautista) March 4, 2021
As of this writing, WWE has not announced an official plan to induct all of the Hall of Fame-elect performers from the Hall of Fame class of 2020.
Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Revolution on Sunday, March 7. If you miss any of the action from the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite, you can check out our full coverage here.