Did you know that, before he garnered critical and popular acclaim for his portrayal of Drax the Destroyer, Dave Bautista was a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment! 

Well it turns out that, although Bautista plans to retire from the role, the makers of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise are hoping to strike gold twice by casting another former wrestler for the role, Mason Ryan. 

Because of the clever spelling adjustment, most people don’t realize that former WWE grappler “Batista” was played by thespian Dave Bautista (with a “u”)!  

Marvel fans are likely surprised by this choice of Ryan as the new Draw, given the stark physical differences between Bautista and Ryan (the former has many tattoos, the latter has an appendectomy scar on his abdomen). 

But Ryan may surprise the doubters, given that he is a veteran of stage and screen, famously playing the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway production of Evita. 

Ryan was best known in WWE day for portraying The Patriot during the so-called Attitude Era, as well as brief stints as Max Moon, Doink the Clown, and Druid #11. Ryan’s big breakout came when he was part of the NEXUS, after which he shaved his head and had a decent main-roster run under the name Ryback. 

Although Dave Bautista says he is too old to play Drax anymore, he believes he is perfect for the titlular role in the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer adaptation of King Lear.