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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Dave Batista with Jeremy Roberts Publisher: World Wrestling Entertainment Reviewed By: Dale Kulas |
When I first heard that former World Champion and WWE wrestler, Dave Batista was penning his own autobiography;
"way too soon" ran through my mind. The book, "Batista Unleashed" only covers the first five years of his WWE to
cover, and I thought the book would be a failure like previous wrestlers who released their autobiographies early in
I couldn't have been more wrong. Of all the wrestler biographies I have read thus far, no one has had such an
eventful childhood as Batista. His accounts of growing up in the rough part of Washington D.C. leave plenty of
interesting first hand experiences. Batista's childhood troubles, growing up in a divorced family, dropping out of high
school, having his own kid at an early age, his doomed marriage, and a ton of other shenanigans combined to have
me hooked throughout the entire first half of the book.
When it comes to Batista's wrestling career, Dave doesn't pull any punches and tells it like it is. He admits how he
struggled in his early years learning how to wrestle while coping with his asthma, and his frustrations with
management not teaching him anything else other than to be a big, powerful brute. Dave doesn't hide much either,
as he tells the ugly truth about his enemies, and gives praise to people he still wish were in the company. It was quite
fascinating reading about how he grew to learn the business and how he was taught so much while part of the
faction, Evolution with Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton.
That all led to Batista transitioning from a supporting role to becoming a main event star by winning his first World
Championship at Wrestlemania 21. Dave explains how tough it was behind the scenes to become accepted as a top
draw, and how it became tougher when he got drafted to the Smackdown brand and had to deal with leading a new
locker room.
This all culminates for one entertaining read. I am surprised this didn't turn out to be the quick cash-in book like I so
dreadfully thought it would be. I wasn't that big of a Batista fan like before this book, but I had a whole new respect for
him coming out of it. If wrestling biographies are your thing, than I highly recommend not to skip over Batista
Unleashed.
"way too soon" ran through my mind. The book, "Batista Unleashed" only covers the first five years of his WWE to
cover, and I thought the book would be a failure like previous wrestlers who released their autobiographies early in
I couldn't have been more wrong. Of all the wrestler biographies I have read thus far, no one has had such an
eventful childhood as Batista. His accounts of growing up in the rough part of Washington D.C. leave plenty of
interesting first hand experiences. Batista's childhood troubles, growing up in a divorced family, dropping out of high
school, having his own kid at an early age, his doomed marriage, and a ton of other shenanigans combined to have
me hooked throughout the entire first half of the book.
When it comes to Batista's wrestling career, Dave doesn't pull any punches and tells it like it is. He admits how he
struggled in his early years learning how to wrestle while coping with his asthma, and his frustrations with
management not teaching him anything else other than to be a big, powerful brute. Dave doesn't hide much either,
as he tells the ugly truth about his enemies, and gives praise to people he still wish were in the company. It was quite
fascinating reading about how he grew to learn the business and how he was taught so much while part of the
faction, Evolution with Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton.
That all led to Batista transitioning from a supporting role to becoming a main event star by winning his first World
Championship at Wrestlemania 21. Dave explains how tough it was behind the scenes to become accepted as a top
draw, and how it became tougher when he got drafted to the Smackdown brand and had to deal with leading a new
locker room.
This all culminates for one entertaining read. I am surprised this didn't turn out to be the quick cash-in book like I so
dreadfully thought it would be. I wasn't that big of a Batista fan like before this book, but I had a whole new respect for
him coming out of it. If wrestling biographies are your thing, than I highly recommend not to skip over Batista
Unleashed.
