A WWE Hall of Famer and former world champion has been hitting the gym hard to prepare for his highly anticipated new television role.
Like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dave Bautista (known as Batista in WWE) found great success in Hollywood after leaving the professional wrestling business. He may no longer be an active wrestler, but that hasn’t stopped Bautista from still putting in the work in the gym.
In August, news broke that Bautista was cast to play Kratos in Amazon Prime Video’s new TV series, God of War, based on the iconic video game franchise.
On his Instagram story, Bautista showed off a remarkable body transformation, adding that he’s gained 20 pounds for his role as Kratos. The WWE Hall of Famer added that he’s now up to 250 pounds.
Dave Bautista reveals he has gained 20 more pounds of muscle for playing Kratos in ‘GOD OF WAR’.
He has now reached 250 pounds. pic.twitter.com/fUOr0P7EAB— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 1, 2026
In WWE, Bautista was billed at 290 pounds. Though he’s adamant about being done in the ring, the 57-year-old certainly looks like he could suit up and wrestle again immediately.
Dave Bautista Retired From Professional Wrestling in 2019
Dave Bautista Shows off His Muscular 250-Pound Physique for 'God of War' Role
Four years after leaving WWE, Bautista returned for a short-lived second stint in 2014. He won the Royal Rumble match and headlined WrestleMania 30, losing to Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match including Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Bautista returned in 2019 for one last match involving his former Evolution stable leader, Triple H. The latter defeated Bautista in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 35, marking Triple H’s lone victory over his former ally.
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