Batista Unleashed by Dave Batista

Author:Dave Batista
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2007-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

MY FIRST BAD INJURY

So anyway, I went to the hospital and had an MRI done. It told me my triceps was torn. I had to have surgery to repair the tear. Of course, injuries are an occupational hazard for wrestlers, but this was the first really bad injury I’d had. It took me out of the ring for nearly seven months.

Part of the reason I was out so long was that I reinjured myself maybe two and a half months after the surgery. I was trying to get back into shape. I was gung ho, and was looking forward to starting to work out and get back into full shape so I could wrestle again. But while I was out running, I fell and re-tore the muscle. I just fell and landed on it wrong and it popped apart again. It actually didn’t hurt that much, but it was obvious that I’d torn it. I guess I hadn’t had enough time to heal and the repair wasn’t strong enough yet.

For some reason, people started spreading stories about what happened. I just don’t know why they’d do that, but they did. People were spreading rumors on the Internet that I was on a treadmill and fell off and re-tore it. Others “suspected” I was in the gym lifting weights and I re-tore it. It’s kind of strange that people spend energy coming up with stories about things that they have no idea about.

Not to discount the physical injury, but I believe I hurt emotionally more than anything else. It was pretty heartbreaking. I’d been really hoping to be in WrestleMania that year, and of course that couldn’t happen. And, since I was still new with Evolution, I was afraid that I would lose my spot. No matter what anybody tells you, I think you’re always just a little bit afraid that if something goes wrong it will blow your career. At least that’s the way I felt.

And they did start talking about replacing me. If I’m not mistaken, at one point they even looked at guys who might take my slot. I was very fortunate that Hunter felt strongly that Evolution wouldn’t be the same without me. So they held out and waited through the spring and summer for me. That’s a very long time in the wrestling world. I’m still thankful for that.

I should also probably mention that most wrestlers don’t get paid while they’re injured. In my case, I went back to my guaranteed salary, which wasn’t that much; it was barely enough for me to live on, though I was grateful for any income at that point.

Of course, when I came back to work, because I had already exceeded my guarantee, in effect I had to pay the money back. Which really sucked.

Wrestlers are paid according to a complicated formula. When you get hurt, you don’t get paid anywhere near your normal salary.

So you might think about that the next time you hear or read a rumor about someone faking an injury.

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