Dave Bautista officially retires from professional wrestling

Los Angeles: Describing his over two decade stint as a WWE wrestler as "a hell of a run", Dave Bautista has officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling.

The wrestler-turned-actor shared the news on Instagram Monday following his defeat at the hands of Triple H at WrestleMania in New York over the weekend. "To all the @wwe fans across the world that gave me the opportunity to suspend your disbelief, thank you.

From the biggest part of my heart thank you for letting me entertain you. Tonight was my story book ending and I wanted to leave you with all I had to give. "I'll miss this theatre of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from sports entertainment. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, I leave in great health, and without a doubt the show will go on. I had a hell of a run.

Thank you for the journey #dreamchaser #wrestlemania35," the "Guardians of the Galaxy" star wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of him in the ring. This year, Bautista will be seen reprising his role as Drax the Destroyer in "Avengers: Endgame", which he will follow up with "Stuber".

He was recently roped in to star in the Zack Snyder-directed zombie film, "Army of the Dead". He will also star in the third "Guardians" film after Marvel rehired James Gunn as director.