Dave Bautista Announces His Retirement from WWE After WrestleMania 35: 'I Had a Hell of a Run'

Lindsay Kimble
Updated

After one final night in front of hordes of WrestleMania fans, Dave Bautista is leaving his WWE career behind.

Bautista — who fell to Triple H on Sunday night at WrestleMania 35 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — announced the news on Instagram, Monday.

“To all the @wwe fans across the world that gave me the opportunity to suspend your disbelief, thank you,” the 50-year-old wrote. “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.”

He continued, “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 ✌🏼#dreamchaser #wrestlemania35.”

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 ✌🏼#dreamchaser #wrestlemania35

A post shared by David Bautista (@davebautista) on Apr 8, 2019 at 1:19am PDT

The Guardians of the Galaxy star will next appear in several upcoming films, including April 26’s Avengers: Endgame. He’s also in this summer’s Stuber with Kumail Nanjiani. Additionally, Deadline recently reported that Bautista will appear in zombie movie Army of the Dead, helmed by Zack Snyder.

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According to Sports Illustrated, Bautista joined WWE’s developmental system back in 2000. He made his television debut two years later, in 2002. After becoming the world heavyweight champion in 2005, he held onto the title for 282 days — the longest reign in history, according to SI.