Goldberg terrified WCW in the late 1990s with an unparalleled advantage. Almost 30 years later, he’s limping more than raiding the ring, but he does so with familiar strength when he faces Gunther in the main event on Saturday night in his retirement match.
“Status doesn’t always suit your taste,” Goldberg confessed to CBS Sports. “But you adapt and overcome. It’s a very overwhelming time for me… I’m not going to sit here and feel sorry for myself at 58. I’m not getting sleep.
His compromised left knee robs the explosion of his signature spear. Jacked up shoulders threaten the jacka hammer finisher. He also suffered multiple minor injuries while preparing for his retirement match. Goldberg’s “old body” isn’t the only one testing him. His retirement week was a storm of “tumultuous” tragedy and misfortune.
“My stepfather passed away last weekend,” Goldberg said. “The July 4th flood in the country of the Hills was totally devastating. It’s something I can’t even put into words, and being a resident there.”
Goldberg didn’t expect to wrestling for the final world championship at 58. The WWE Hall of Fame was scheduled to play a retirement match shortly after he wrestled in Rome in 2022. It didn’t pan out. But Goldberg doesn’t want easy things.
“Everyone wants an opportunity to go out on their own and get it. That’s how I do it,” he said. “A lot of people don’t get that opportunity… I don’t miss out on the opportunity to stamp my career. It’s a privilege, that’s really true.”
It’s not the first time that Goldberg felt like he was fighting an uphill. When every moment is big, all the flaws are enlarged. Bret Hart’s concussion encounters Brock Lesnar on WrestleMania 20, crushing “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.
“There are highs and lows. Everyone goes through that,” Goldberg said. “I’m not immune to the reality that I’m a human, and that kind of thing hurts because I want everyone to appreciate my work.
“At the end of the day, what I taught my son is that you turn it into fuel, and you use it to push yourself.”
Check out our full interview with Goldberg below.
With every moment of conflicted career, there are so many more memorable things. The 86-second dismantling of Lesnar in Goldberg was a legal shocker in 2016. His feud with Diamond Dallas Page is fondly reminiscent of Goldberg’s best ring incline. Stalking, who is one of the most heart-wrenching runs, wins as the 173-match storyline attacks Goldberg from rookie to WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
The moment Goldberg cherishes most, he has left the wider public eye. After Goldberg defeated “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan to become champion, the new world order handcuffed Goldberg and defeated him. Coming to Goldberg’s rescue were his former Atlanta Falcons teammates, including star athletes Cornelius Bennett and Jesse Tugle.
“I look up and see people bleeding, crying, sweating on the football field where my love and passion is, and they couldn’t make me happy to do what they’re doing for those five minutes,” Goldberg said. “They were protecting me in the pro wrestling ring.”
He continued: “It was poetic justice. I just wanted to be like them, so I felt like I had circled. For that short period, they didn’t want to be like me.
Goldberg is looking for another timeless moment, almost 27 years after the day he cherishes so much. He returns to his second home in Atlanta and challenges the world heavyweight champion Gunther in the main event on Saturday night. Goldberg gives him everything he has, and gives him his condition badly. Not only is Gunther the next, but he is the last in Atlanta.
