A storm brewing in October

David Michael Bautista, more popularly known in professional wrestling circles as Dave "The Animal" Batista took Manila by storm last week during a three-day visit to promote the forthcoming Smack Down! Survivor Series Tour.

Batista whose father is Filipino and mother is Greek, will be the main attraction on Oct. 21-22 at the Araneta Coliseum when he and fellow World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstars King Booker, The Undertaker and Chris Benoit along with other wrestling greats, slug it out before an anticipated sell out crowd.

The 6’5", 290-pound, 37-year-old resident of Tampa, Florida, captured the hearts of thousands of Filipino fans with his humility and his pride in being part Filipino. "I’m very proud of my roots as part Filipino. Filipino people are very hard working, as I found out from Filipinos I know in the US. My grandfather and grandmother, in fact, they went to the US with nothing. They took odd jobs to make ends meet. I think I inherited that trait from them. I myself had to work my way hard to enter this business. I was a bouncer for 10 years before I made it to WWE," Batista proclaimed before an appreciative audience at the Cineplex 10 of Gateway Mall.

While proudly proclaiming his Filipino blood by having a tattoo on his muscular left arm of the Filipino flag merged with the Greek flag, he has requested, through agents, that there be no mention of his father in interviews or press conferences. One is reminded of Dennis Rodman who is estranged from his Philippine-based father Philander and refuses to have anything to do with him.

Batista talks of his impoverished beginnings when the major influence in his life was his mother who Batista says heroically made ends meet sometimes by repeatedly feeding him re-heated pork and beans leftovers. Because of his poor origins and what others say was a troubled childhood in Washington DC and Virginia, Batista advises youth to stay out of trouble and focus on having a good education and being good at one’s chosen career.

Manny Atacador of Uniprom Inc. and Araneta Coliseum talks about Batista’s humility and being very accommodating to fans to the extent of obliging autograph hunters even as Batista was about to board the plane back to the US.

According to various internet sources and his website, Batista was a bouncer in various clubs before getting into professional wrestling. Never known to run away from a fight, Batista was once arrested for brawling with a man although it seemed clear that his actions were in self-defense.

Although kind-hearted and soft spoken, atop the ring, Batista is like a beast unleashed — ferocious and unforgiving to his foes. Wrestling aficionados adore him for his tremendous energy and vicious maneuvers which, combined with shaking-the-ropes, thumbs up/thumbs down antics during fights, have made him one of the most exciting professional wrestlers today.

Since he made his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000, Batista has earned numerous titles: world Tag Team Championship in partnership with Ric Flair; the WWE Tag Team plum with Rey Mysterio; the 2005 Royal Rumble crown and the world heavyweight title, which he held for nine moths before relinquishing it due a busted triceps last January.

Now fully recovered from this injury, Batista has recently signed up for a world heavyweight title duel against reigning champion King Booker. Incidentally, Batista has torn his right triceps three times and has had four surgeries on it. Despite all these injuries, Batista is expected to be at his meanest best when he comes to the Araneta Coliseum in October.

A colorful personality, Batista walks around in expensive shades and sleek suits when not in his fighting get up, a carryover from his days as member of Evolution, one of the most dominating groups in the annals of WWE. And when Batista takes off his dapper clothing, one cannot help but notice his elaborate body tattoos that includes the merged Philippine and Greek flags and, as described in the internet, a large Chinese dragon on his back, red Kanji lettering on his upper left biceps which says "Angel" in tribute to his wife (a survivor of ovarian cancer and from whom Batista has been separated since August) and a small sun on his stomach that encircles his belly button.

Outside the ring, Batista loves collecting lunch boxes and is pretty good at break dancing. His website says that the lunch box collection started when he bought his wife an ET lunch box and she did not want to break it so he bought a second one.

Among the awards Batista has received are the 2005 wrestler of the year, 2005 most improved wrestler of the year and the 2005 most powerful wrestler of the year.

Promoters of Smack Down! are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that as many fans as possible enjoy the live performance of the world’s top professional wrestlers. Tickets are popularly priced at P10, P420, P500, P945, P3,675 and P5,250.

A once—in-a-lifetime chance to have dinner with a WWE superstar and signed WWE freebies plus premium tickets are up for grabs in a simple raffle. A P1,000 accumulated purchase at any Araneta Center establishment (Gateway Mall, Coliseum Circlel restaurants, Shopwise Arcade Restaurants, Ali Mall, Farmers Plaza, New Frontier Arcade, among others) entitle the customer to one raffle stub with a sealed code. Cell phone users will also have a chance to win in the raffle by texting Araneta Promo <raffle code> to 2858 for Globe and Sun and 622 for Smart.

For those who want to see professional wrestling at its finest, you will have the chance to have your dream come true on Oct. 21 and 22 when the Araneta Coliseum unveils Smack Down!