Dave Bautista is to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame

Of his honour, Dave said: "Vince [McMahon] called me personally to ask me, I was just ... I wasn’t surprised, but I was pretty happy. It’s a good feeling, it’s a really great feeling. As soon as I hung up the phone, I was, and excuse my language, I was like, 'S**t, I gotta give a speech.' And that is what I’ve been stressing about since."

And whilst Dave - who is a six-time World Champion - has long retired from the sport, he still sees himself as having a "journey" to continue with WWE.

Dave added to People magazine: "I don’t think it’s sunk in. And I was thinking about it because I mean, it seems like a long journey, but it also feels like yesterday when I started my career. And it also feels ... because I’m still working so much, it doesn’t feel like an end of a journey. And I said that at WrestleMania last year: It’s the end of my in-ring journey, but it’s not the end of my journey with the WWE. I will always be connected with them, I’ll always be affiliated with them, I hope that I will always have a good relationship with them. So it doesn’t really feel like an ending for me, it feels like, kind of, I’m right in the mix ... All I can say is it feels good, it’s just satisfying. I feel like I accomplished something. I feel like it was all worth it."

Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, WWE ex ecutive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, shared of the appointment: "Batista was one of the fastest rising stars ever in WWE with an incredible list of accolades, and the success of the nWo changed the course of sports entertainment history. It is only fitting that they take their rightful place in the Hall of Fame."

The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on April 2, 2020.