Ex-WWE And WCW Star Goldberg Wants To Have One More Match — Will He Be Back For ‘WrestleMania 32’?
Goldberg’s time in professional wrestling was extremely short, but in that short amount of time, there’s no question that he made a huge impact in the business, as he was arguably one of the top three biggest stars of the late 90s while he was on his 173-match streak in WCW. When he made the transition to WWE in March of 2003, many WWE fans expected that he would have the same impact. But, he unfortunately did not.
The last time anybody saw Goldberg in a WWE ring was back at WrestleMania 20 in 2004, just one year after his WWE debut, where he — along with his opponent that night, Brock Lesnar — was booed out of Madison Square Garden. Lesnar vs. Goldberg was supposed to be one of the most memorable matches in WrestleMania history, but instead it turned out to be a complete dud, as both men were officially done with WWE after that match, therefore they had both mentally checked-out before the match even began.
Every now and then the rumor of Goldberg returning to WWE to have one last match at WrestleMania pops up, most notably in late 2012 when Ryback — who the WWE fans were comparing to Goldberg at the time — was really gaining momentum, and was becoming one of WWE’s top babyfaces. Unfortunately, the Goldberg vs. Ryback match never happened at that year’s WrestleMania 29, and instead, Ryback lost clean to Mark Henry at the event.
In an interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani on this week’s edition of the MMA Hour, Goldberg expressed his desire to climb back into a WWE ring one last time, but only because he wants his son to be able to see him wrestle live, and in person. Goldberg also talked about a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction, and said that he would love to be in it, but if he’s never inducted, it won’t bother him.
“I’d love to get back in the ring so my son could see me, but that’s it. I’ve expressed my feelings once or twice on the phone. I’m not picking up my phone and calling anyone for employment. I’ve made my opinions known. Would it be an honor to be bestowed Hall of Fame credentials? Yeah. Does it define me as a person? No.”
During Goldberg’s one year in WWE from 2003 to 2004, he didn’t exactly make friends with the people who are now in high places within the company, as he ended up having major issues with the now WWE COO, and Head of Talent Relations, Triple H. So — unless he feels like the fans are begging for a Goldberg return — it’s unlikely that Triple H will pick up the phone and ask Goldberg if he’s interested in coming back.
As for possible opponents for Goldberg, well, there’s a few. The obvious one is Ryback, but WWE could attempt to right the wrong from WrestleMania 20 and book a Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar rematch, or they could even have Goldberg face-off with someone like Rusev. The possibilities are endless, and with WWE looking to set an all-time attendance record at next year’s WrestleMania in Dallas, Texas — who knows, maybe Triple H will put his personal feelings aside and reach out to Goldberg for a possible return to WWE.
[Image via Bleacher Report]
