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BATISTA DISCUSSES RIC FLAIR'S RETURN TO WWE, HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MELINA, THE WELLNESS POLICY AND MORE

WWE World champion Batista was interviewed by Mike Mooneyham for the Charleston Post-Courier while promoting his autobiography over the weekend.  Highlights from the interview featured:

The WWE Wellness Policy: "The wellness program is [making things] for the better. I think for the better not even so much as far as steroids. What scares me so much in our business is all the painkillers. They’re causing guys to overdose and die. That’s why I think this wellness program is such a great thing. The steroids is one thing, and I understand that they’re bad for you, but the main thing I think is causing guys to die young are those damn painkillers the guys are getting hooked on. I don’t use that stuff, mostly because I don’t like not having my wits about me, because I don’t want to be some zombie walking around and half out of it. I think you’d get that same sentiment around the locker room. It’s a lot more high-risk nowadays, and I don’t want to be in the ring with somebody who’s high.”

Not Touching Upon Steroids in his Book: "“It’s a real touchy subject right now. We were afraid of what people would read into it. I thought it would be a better discussion for people to have with myself rather than reading it (in a book).”

Ric Flair's Return: "I sure hope he doesn’t retire, because he’s got an awful lot of people who still want to see him perform....I’d love to see Naitch get one more title run. I’ve sure been pitching for it. People will always pay to see him. He’s that good.”

The Autobiography helping his relationship with his ex-wife: "Since we had already talked about [his infidelities] and I had come clean to her, it wasn’t as bad. She was the only person I ever felt like I needed to apologize to. I love her, and I can never repay her for what she’s done for me. The funny thing is that we’re really closer than ever now. I gave her an early copy of the book and she read it. She actually said she learned a lot about me in the book, and she also got to see things in a different light. There were things she had never really taken into consideration before because we were so angry with one another. It just helped us get past a lot. We’re close again ... actually closer than we’ve been in years.”

Dating WWE Diva Melina: “It’s been pretty rocky for us. A lot of it has to do with the business. It’s very hard to date in this business. We still talk on a daily basis, and there’s still a lot of love there. But we’re having a really hard time.....Trying to have a relationship with anybody is hard enough, but trying to have one with people in this business, knowing what goes on, is difficult. New guys and girls coming out and coming in ... it’s really hard.”

John Morrison's reaction to Batista dating Melina: "He knew everything from day one. From the day we started talking...That was one of the things that a lot of people didn’t realize and didn’t bother to ask. Melina and John weren’t together anymore. He was always aware of what was going on, and she was very honest with him. They split up and moved apart, and we started dating each other. She still considers him her best friend in the world. But he always knew exactly what was going on.”

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