Why Batista Still Isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame — Despite Being Ready for Years
WWE fans have been waiting a long time to see Batista take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame — and it turns out he’s been waiting too. So why hasn’t “The Animal” been inducted yet?
Back in 2024, Batista openly said he was ready and excited for his Hall of Fame induction. In fact, WWE already announced him for the 2020 class, but the ceremony was pushed back due to the pandemic. When the 2021 ceremony finally happened, Batista couldn’t attend because he was locked into a film shoot.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Batista explained that he fully agreed to the induction when Triple H approached him. WWE originally planned for his Hall of Fame moment to take place in Los Angeles — the same city where he won his first World Championship. For Batista, it felt like the perfect full-circle moment.
Here’s how the 6-time World Champion described it:
“I want to be inducted. I agreed to it when Hunter asked. It was supposed to happen in LA, which was perfect because that’s where I won my first world title. But I was filming in South Africa and we just couldn’t make it work. I’m still open to it, and I’d love to go in someday.”
However, even after all these years, it still hasn’t happened.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, there’s one simple reason WWE keeps postponing it:
“Scheduling is the reason I’m given every year. I ask every year and I’m told it’s scheduling every year.”
So, Batista wants it. WWE wants it. Fans want it. But until everyone’s calendars line up perfectly… the wait continues.
Becky Lynch Opens Up About WWE’s Old Expectations for Women
Becky Lynch has been a trailblazer in WWE, but her journey wasn’t always empowering. Long before she became “The Man,” she had to navigate an environment with very different expectations for female wrestlers.
Speaking on Something’s Burning with Bert Kreischer, Lynch revealed that when she first joined WWE, the company expected women to focus heavily on looks rather than wrestling ability.
According to Lynch:
“Back then, if you were a girl in WWE, you had to show up in nice dresses. In NXT, you had to be as… let’s say ‘h0e-y’ as possible. Dresses cut up to your a**, tops as low as they could go. That was the aesthetic. It wasn’t me — but I knew that’s what they wanted.”
She also shared a disturbing story from early in her career: a male wrestler attempted to use his backstage influence to control the careers of women, threatening to blacklist those who didn’t comply or those who did.
WWE has changed dramatically since then, and Lynch has been a major part of that transformation — helping shift the focus toward athletic ability, storytelling, and respect for the women’s division.
