Dave Bautista's successful run in WWE made him one of the biggest names in the industry. Overtime, Bautista began to test his mettle at acting, and by 2014 finally hit it big when he was casted as Drax the Destroyer, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Guardians of the Galaxy." However, between his 2010 WWE departure and his casting as Drax, Bautista fell on hard times becoming one of many wrestlers who ended up poor despite being one of the highest paid stars in the promotion at the peak of his fame.
During a 2021 interview with "IGN," Bautista noted that his life had changed drastically over the years but before landing the role of Drax, he had barely worked for three years. "So I'd really left wrestling behind and I could have gone back with my tail between my legs, but I still [would] have been just stuck in a place that I never would have gone any further, but I just took a chance," he recalled. "And then when I got [cast], not only because I was broke, [everything changed]. When I say broke, my house was foreclosed, I had nothing, man. I sold all my stuff. I sold everything that I made from [when] I was wrestling. I had issues with the IRS. I was just lost in everything."
Interestingly, years ago when the story first broke, fans on Reddit didn't fully buy Bautista's story. Many pointed out that while the former WWE Champion might have been broke, but he wasn't close to "Hollywood broke" and chalked his financial troubles down to his alleged struggles with handling money. Additionally, some even claimed that the story was just a PR stunt to make him regain some favor, especially around his 2014 return to WWE, when WWE fans rejected Bautista.
