By: John Pollock & Jack Wannan
Just days after his retirement match, Bill Goldberg spoke out about how the final match was handled and his issues with its presentation.
Goldberg appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday and was candid about his disappointment over several aspects of Saturday’s broadcast on NBC.
“Let’s just say I’m pissed off with the way I went out. I put so much into it, and I don’t feel as though the effort was reciprocated to put a stamp on what I accomplished. Again, I’m not gonna say that I’m not ecstatic about the opportunity that I got. But I was a WCW guy, man. I don’t know, man. I think it could’ve been done a little bit differently, that’s all. I’m happy with my performance, I’m happy with the setting, but could’ve it been better? Absolutely. It could always be better.”
When Helwani followed up and asked what he would have changed, he responded, “about 100 things” that he would have done differently.
After losing to Gunther in the main event, many of his friends and family joined him in the ring for his speech. Due to airing on NBC, there was a hard out, and they had to cut out of the live broadcast immediately. The full speech was posted the next day on WWE’s YouTube channel.
“They cut me off 30 seconds into my speech, bro. I mean, you don’t do that. But, it’s all good … I think it doesn’t matter [who decided to cut the feed] because it’s live television and you can plan for it, that’s all. I know it is what it is. The match might’ve gone long, and this, and that, and whatever it is. I just think it could’ve been a little classier compared to what it was. And I’ll just say, that’s a mild understatement.”
Goldberg kept stating he was thankful for the opportunity and having the chance to have a retirement match on a big platform, but didn’t feel certain stars would have had their speech cut off like he did.
“Everything throughout the years have built up to something like the ultimate rib. I guess that was the ultimate rib … I’m not saying it was done on purpose by any stretch of the imagination. I’m saying it wasn’t prepared for on purpose, that’s all. They wouldn’t do that to Taker, I don’t think. They’re not gonna do that to Cena, Cena’s going around the world doing his retirement thing. Mine was just the World Heavyweight Championship match. And to be honest with you, I’m gonna catch hell for- I don’t care. I had World Heavyweight matches all the time. That doesn’t do anything for me. I mean it does, but make it different than just an angle, at least.”
Goldberg is 58 years old and went through the intense five-month preparation for the match with Gunther. He stated the match and date were locked in back in January, but wished WWE spent more time promoting it rather than the three weeks it received.
Goldberg added that he could not have pulled this off without stem cell treatment and acknowledged he has a bad knee, neck, and shoulder, but managed to enjoy the match and praised his opponent.
“To be able to have my last match with him? It was friggin’ awesome. The kid’s extremely talented. And man, would I love to have a chop-fest with him and have 10 more of those matches, because each one you do with him is better … It was an honor to work with the kid and I really am appreciative of him helping me out and making this old man look like he could do some stuff.”
Finally, despite its billing, Goldberg would not commit to Saturday’s match being the final one he participates in.
“I don’t think I’m lingering anywhere around the WWE anytime soon. Like I said, in the wrestling world, you’re never retired until you’re dead, and I ain’t dead yet, man. It was reinvigorating, it was a lot of fun. It taught me that I could do things that I never thought that I could do.”
The match with Gunther was Goldberg’s first since February 2022 and his longest match since December 2003 at over fourteen minutes.
He was inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in April 2018.
