Dave Bautista Reacts To Criticism Of WWE’s Army of the Dead Zombie Invasion

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Actor Dave Bautista has responded to a fan's criticism of the recent WWE Backlash fight featuring zombies as part of a cross-promotion effort between the company and streaming platform Netflix for Army of the Dead. The former wrestler stars in the Zack Snyder film as the leader of a mercenary group heading into Las Vegas to pull off a casino heist in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. The WrestleMania match saw Damian Priest and The Miz forced to face off against both one another and a horde of the undead surrounding the ring.

Army of the Dead languished in development hell for nearly 15 years before finally getting picked up by Netflix in 2019 and fast-tracked to production. Having finally hit theaters in mid-May, the film has received generally positive reviews from critics for Snyder's direction, the cast, and the action sequences while still critiquing its extended runtime and attempts at emotional storytelling. Though the box office numbers for the film are a little lower than originally expected, the universe is already set to expand with a prequel film and anime series.

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RELATED: Army Of The Dead: Zombie Apocalypse Backstory And Heist Timeline Explained

After a fan took to Twitter to call out the former wrestler for the cross-promotion fight between the WWE and Netflix, Bautista responded by noting he has no involvement on that end of the business and was on an airplane at the time of the show. The 52-year-old actor also pointed out that if the fan is truly upset, there's a much better person to direct their frustrations to. See what Bautista had to say below:

Bautista has never been afraid to speak his mind on any subject, be it politics, wrestling, or his future as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While some might find Bautista's reaction to be a little extreme, the fact of the matter is he's got every right to be a little upset given his wrestling past. From being booed by the crowd after winning the Royal Rumble in his 2014 return to being a villain in the ring and retiring two years ago, he's done enough to put that past behind him and forge a new path for himself. The last thing he needs after all that is for fans to accuse him of doing something "insulting" when he likely had little to do with the promotion.

No matter how the promoted fight was handled or Bautista's reaction to the backlash, the crossover should at least be applauded for the two brands showing synergy. Given Bautista's retirement from WWE, the company could've just as easily supported the film internally or with TV spots during ad breaks, but to see them showing some solidarity with the future Hall-of-Famer by drumming up extra interest in the film is a positive show of force. Where the Backlash battle may have failed to resonate with audiences, time is still to tell whether Army of the Dead can become Snyder's next hit when it arrives on Netflix on Friday.