Goldberg, a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, claimed this week that he and Vince McMahon, the company’s chairman, had agreed to hold a retirement match before his contract with the organization expired.
Goldberg stated the following on an appearance on 93.7 The Ticket (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News):
“Vince McMahon and I made a handshake agreement that, you know, I would have a real retirement match after the Roman Reigns encounter. And, as you may know, that hasn’t happened through them. So, naturally, You see, nobody makes a mark on my professional life. No one ever informs me when I’m finished. I kind of prefer to push back against it when someone says that, you know. I prefer to go my own way and do things how I want to. And I most certainly do not leave under Roman Reigns three weeks after receiving COVID and agreeing to a match.
Goldberg’s last contest took place at Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia in February 2022. Just about six weeks before Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to become the undisputed WWE universal champion, he lost to Reigns in a Universal Championship battle.
The match between Reigns and Goldberg that was originally planned for WrestleMania 36 never took place since Reigns withdrew due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Goldberg’s WWE contract expired on January 1 and, as Fightful Select (via Felix Upton of Ringside News) has reported, a number of organizations have since indicated interest in hiring him.
The 56-year-old Goldberg stated in a March interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated that he believed WWE owed him a retirement match and that if WWE wasn’t interested, he would be open to organizing his own match in Israel.
In 1997, Goldberg made his professional wrestling debut with WCW. After embarking on an illustrious unbeaten run, he quickly attained the titles of American and then world heavyweight champion.
While Goldberg didn’t join WWE right once after it acquired WCW in 2001, he did in 2003 and competed for a while before quitting the sport.
In 2016, Goldberg made a comeback to the WWE and participated in a number of matches as a sideshow performer while twice holding the Universal Championship.
Goldberg’s name still carries a lot of weight in professional wrestling, despite the fact that his performances in recent years have frequently drawn criticism. As a result, he will probably find a taker for his retirement match even if it isn’t in WWE.
