Batista clears the air on alleged real-life heat with 16-time WWE World Champion

Batista is arguably one of WWE's biggest stars in the company's history who successfully transitioned into a Hollywood A-Lister. Meanwhile, The Animal recently cleared the air regarding alleged real-life issues between him and John Cena.

In 2005, Batista and John Cena received their breaks as both were the World Champions of their respective brands. The Animal and The Leader of Cenation switched brands and remained faces for a long time in the Stamford-based company. However, many believed the two had real-life issues.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, The Animal cleared the air on any real-life heat with the 16-time WWE World Champion while talking about The Franchise Player's upcoming Retirement Tour. The 55-year-old star stated internet fans created a real-life rivalry between him and Cena.

Batista further claimed that he respected The Greatest of All Time more than what people thought.

"I get along with John [Cena]. I really respect John a lot more than people think I do for some reason. I think the internet and fans have built this rivalry between us, which really isn't," Batista said. (From 30:58 to 31:10)

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Batista hasn't faced John Cena in WWE since 2010

For many years, John Cena and Batista were the flagbearers of RAW and SmackDown, respectively, under Vince McMahon's leadership. The two stars reached the pinnacle at the same time and didn't face each other for a while.

However, the line began to blur when the two ended up on Monday Night RAW in 2008. This led to a singles match at The Biggest Party of The Summer in Indiana, which The Animal won.

At the beginning of 2010, a heel Batista went head-to-head with The Doctor of Thuganomics and won the WWE Championship. The storyline also saw involvement from Bret Hart and Vince McMahon. However, Cena overcame The Animal at The Grandest Stage of Them All in Arizona.

The two feuded for a while before Batista left for Hollywood. In 2014, the stars teamed up for a few live events, but haven't faced each other in a one-on-one match in WWE since 2010.

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If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Chris Van Vliet and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.