Ahead of his WWE World Championship match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Goldberg heaped praise on his opponent Gunther.
“This guy’s a very he’s a formidable opponent. I mean, he’s the World Heavyweight Champion. I remember meeting him right when he broke in. The guy had a shooting star up his ass at that point and I knew he was going to be destined for big things. It’s an honor for me to get in the in the ring with him. It’s an honor to step into a position to be vying for the World Heavyweight Championship at 58-years-old,” he told Dan Sileo of The National Football Show.
Goldberg explained that the call to be in a retirement match came out of the blue. At first, he wasn’t sure if he would accept the opportunity or not as he has been enjoying his time as a father to son Gage and his wife Wanda.
“Out of the blue I get a phone call asking if I’m still interested in in the retirement match. I had to think about it for a second, but you know instantly, your answer is yes, so that you can go out on your own terms and rectify what people saw before but then you have to look at reality. I have to look at the fact that I hurt my shoulder playing football. I’ve done nothing but compound injury after injury on that shoulder since,” he said.
Part of the reason Goldberg is returning to the ring is to set a past wrong right.
“Unfortunately, my last match with the WWE contractually I was against Roman Reigns. It was in Saudi Arabia. There were a number of things that were wrong with that scenario. First and foremost, me coming off of COVID three weeks before. I hadn’t trained for three months. To make an extremely long story short, it’s just wasn’t the right way for me to go out, that’s all. I talked to Vince (McMahon) and we agreed that I’d do a another match and then a couple months later Vince gets fired and the match goes up in flames,” he recalled.
It hasn’t been a easy journey back to be in fighting shape but Goldberg says he is ready to take on Gunther.
“I mean, it’s just tough. It’s tough to train like you used to…It’s like going back to the NFL at 58-years-old and trying to be that big, badass defensive lineman again…I’m not going to bitch. I’m not going to moan. I’m not going to complain. I’m not going to give excuses. I’m just going to f—–g do it!” he said.
Is he worried about risking his legacy? You bet he is.
“I’m going to do my best. 50% of me is better than 99% of the pricks on the planet. I believe it is so…It’s a risk. It’s a huge risk. Am I risking the legacy of Goldberg in the ring? I mean, always, every time you step in there, you risk that but, you know it’s risk versus reward. It’s another opportunity to give my son the platform to see his dad go out and do his thing. I mean, he’s the reason why I came out of retirement in the beginning,” he said
On the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray was critical of Goldberg’s return. Goldberg fired back at him.
“So, Bully Ray can bite me! I could care, but everybody’s got an opinion, and Bully Ray has a podcast that’s about wrestling, right? You’re obviously gonna chime in and give your two cents. I love him to death and I respect his opinion but his opinion is like an asshole and everybody’s got one, right?” replied Goldberg.
