Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Monday, November 26, 2007 at 4:07 PM EST

Charleston.net has an interview up with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Batista talking about a variety of topics. Here are some highlights:

On his education growing up:
"Education is the most important thing you can get. I always preach that to my kids. I don’t want them like me ... making a living with my body. That’s the thing. If I get hurt, I really don’t have anything to fall back on. It’s a regret of mine. I did well in school. I’m not dumb by any means. I’m very capable. But back then I was struggling. I was struggling with my family life. School just wasn’t very important to me."

On his infidelities & his book bringing him closer to his ex-wife:
"Since we had already talked about it 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."

On dating WWE Diva Melina:
"I was heartbroken after me and my wife split up, and I started dating other girls. I really fell for Melina. We’ve been open about it for a long time now. I still love her and am very in love with her. I wouldn’t put that out there if it were hurtful to her. I didn’t want to just throw her under the bus and put it out there without her knowing about it. 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."

On avoiding the steroid topic 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)."

On WWE's Wellness Testing Policy:
"The wellness program is 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."

To read the full interview, click here.