Dave Bautista was never offered the job of guest referee in the main event of WrestleMania 32 … Vince McMahon wanted him in the segment which featured 3 of the most popular wrestlers ever.

We broke the story back in January, Bautista met with Vince McMahon at the Royal Rumble this year and the boss laid out a pitch for the former champ to participate at Mania in a non-wrestling role.

Well-placed sources tell us Vince was wanted Dave to appear in the legends segment Sunday night — the one that eventually featured Steve Austin, Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels getting physical with The League of Nations and Xavier Woods — but as we previously reported, Dave had to pass.

The actor/former wrestler has instead been busy filming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and was just announced as one of the cast members in the upcoming “Blade Runner” sequel.

Despite reports though, a ref spot was never in the cards at WrestleMania.