Bill Goldberg has never been subtle in the ring. His smash ’em and stack ’em style grabbed pro wrestling fans by the throat in the late 90s, and his intensity poured over from WCW into the WWE arena where he became a Heavyweight and Universal Champion, twice. Now, the former football player is taking his directness to the airwaves.
In an interview with Adam Carriker, Goldberg opened up about his final match with WWE and what, not who, is next for him in pro wrestling.
“I’ll stop the rumor mill right now,” he said. “The reason those rumors are out there right now is because Vince McMahon and I had a handshake understanding that after the Roman Reigns match, I would have a proper retirement match and, you know, that hasn’t come to fruition through them. Nobody puts a stamp on my career. Nobody tells me when I’m done. Period, end of story. When somebody tells me that I kind of like to fight against it and find my own way.
“I go out my own way. I certainly don’t go out under Roman Reigns three weeks after I had COVID and agreed to a match. If I go on a world tour and promote it myself, that’s a possibility. Hey, I’m a businessman and I am fortunately, I believe, in a position where I can make it happen. At the end of the day, I do believe my character deserves a proper sendoff. Until that happens, I don’t believe I am hanging them up. Anything and everything is an option and, like I say, I am very much leaning towards promoting it myself and doing a four-city world tour.”
Fully knowing what he had just done, the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion reveled in his disclosure.
“Let the rumor mill start up after that!”
Goldberg closed by teasing that he had a lot of names in mind for the show, as opponents or tag partners. He also conceded that “nothing could come of this” but the idea certainly came across as something he would like to pursue. Of course, this is pro wrestling, and nothing drives a big-money WWE contract negotiation like leverage. If there is fan interest in one last Goldberg run, perhaps WWE and AEW could come knocking at his door before he makes his own plans.
If you use any quotes from this post please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling for the transcription