By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Returning WWE star Batista talked in-depth about leaving WWE four years ago and his decision to return to WWE in an interview published in the March 2014 edition of WWE Magazine with Batista on the cover.

- Batista said he knew for the final nine months of his previous WWE run that he would be leaving the company. He added that breaking his back in his final match before leaving set him back on post-WWE projects.

"The back injury set me behind a lot, about a year," he said. "And I finally had to go in for back surgery, which I didn't want to have to do. But I had to."

- Batista said he wanted to return to WWE sooner, but "there were some things that I wanted to accomplish before I came back."

Batista also noted the promotional element of his WWE return, specifically promoting his summer movie role in "Guardians of the Galaxy."

"I'm going to be coming back and bringing a little bit more attention with the projects that I've done outside the company," Batista said before offering words that have haunted his WWE return. "I'll pull my weight. I think I have the credibility and respect factor."

The interview appears to have been conducted prior to fans turning on Batista at the Royal Rumble and in the weeks since then, with the audience viewing Batista's return as (a) blocking out Daniel Bryan from the WWE Title picture and (b) indirectly pushing out C.M. Punk from WWE.

Relatedly, Batista said he doesn't himself coming back to "be the savior" of the product, "just an addition" bringing back his power style of wrestling.

- Batista noted in previous non-WWE interviews that the PG product was holding him back from returning to WWE sooner. In the WWE Magazine interview, Batista said he's "still fighting it."

"There were times even before I left, and I've discussed this openly, that I wasn't crazy with the direction the company was going. I didn't understand. I couldn't relate. I didn't get it. I grew up in the Attitude Era; that was what drew me back into wrestling," Batista said. "I was passionate at that time. Everything took a drastic change and I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't prepared and I fought it all along the way. I'm still fighting it."

- Regarding the current roster of big men not connecting as well with the audience, Batista said he was fortunate to be paired up with Ric Flair and Triple H.

"I think those guys haven't had that opportunity and perhaps they'd be different Superstars if they did," Batista said. "It's really not any fault of their own, but I was really fortunate."

[ FYI: Batista's entire interview can be read in the latest WWE Magazine, available HERE ]

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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