Batista‘s wrestling career didn’t start off with a bang. He wasn’t always considered a “can’t miss” prospect. In fact, WCW actually had first dibs on him when he went and tried out at their Power Plant wrestling school. In typical WCW fashion though, they didn’t see much potential in the future WWE Champion, and told him he’d “never make it in the business.” As usual, WCW‘s loss would turn into WWE‘s gain. WWE would send him to Afa Anoa’i (Roman Reigns’ uncle) for training, and in 2000, he was sent to the highly respected Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for some real seasoning. Batista is part of hands down the most legendary recruiting class in WWE history. They’re referred to as “The OVW 4” in some circles, and were made up of Batista, Randy Orton, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar. I challenge anyone to find a better rookie class than that. It doesn’t exist. All 4 men went on to be, not only World Champions, but also hugely successful outside the wrestling world (Orton to a lesser extent). Batista would become OVW Heavyweight Champion, while wrestling as Leviathan, during his stint before losing the title to The Prototype (John Cena). His time in WWE‘s developmental system proved to be successful, and Batista would be rewarded with a call up to the main roster. That’s where he’d really start turning heads.
