Some WWE Hall of Famer have stepped out of retirement for a match or two,

which might not have met the expectations.

However, Dave Bautista is aware of how retirement in wrestling works and has no interest in returning to the ring and announcing it.

In 2019, Batista had his final wrestling match,

and two of his closest friends in the company, Triple H and Ric Flair, were there to celebrate the star and give him the outing he deserved. After the match, The Animal never wanted to step back in the ring and accepted the end of his career as a full-time performer in the ring.

In an interview on Jake’s Take, the former two-time WWE Champion and four-time World Heavyweight Champion recalled how he closed his career with the company. The Animal stated that he received the storybook ending he wanted and doesn’t want to announce retirement as ‘wrestling retirement’ isn’t a real thing.

“To me, the honorable way to go out is to go out on your back. And, you go out and you leave somebody who’s going to stay there with the company and you put them over and build them as stars. And, not like the guy [Triple H] I went out with needed to be built, he was probably the most massive star in the company. That’s the honorable way to go out,” Batista said. [From 03:20 to 03:42]

He added:

“It was a dream for me and it was a storybook ending. That’s why I’m very proud of the way I went out and that’s why I refuse to go back. Because wrestling retirement isn’t really retirement. So, peope don’t take you seriously when you say you’ve retired,” Batista said. [From 03:57 to 04:15]

Check out the video below:

Batista doesn’t want to return and tarnish his WWE legacy

The Animal had three successful runs in the Stamford-based company and hung up the boots at The Grandest Stage of Them All against Triple H. However, many have often questioned the star and want him to return for another run.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, while promoting The Killer’s Game, the six-time WWE World Champion stated he doesn’t want to tarnish his legacy with another return to the company.

Check out the video below:

It’ll be interesting to see when The Animal gets inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame.

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Jake’s Take and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.