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Goldberg’s Current Relationship Status And Future With The WWE

By Andy Slawecki
Published on: 02:55 PST, Apr 4, 2017

Goldberg’s latest run with the WWE has come to an end. After dropping the Universal Championship to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania on Sunday, Goldberg was not booked to appear on television the next night on RAW. However, those in attendance and subscribers to the WWE Network were treated to a send-off on the post-show, RAW Talk. There have been very few episodes of RAW Talk as Monday nights don’t have a weekly wrap-up show like SmackDown, but this was easily the most memorable segment of the show’s short history.

As noted, Goldberg originally returned to the WWE last October after more than 12 years away from the wrestling business. The original agreement between both parties called for one match at Survivor Series, where Goldberg would have returned the favor to Brock Lesnar for their infamous match in 2004 at WrestleMania 20.

Both Goldberg and WWE officials were pleasantly surprised with the reaction his return received, so they decided to extend his run up until WrestleMania. It was one of the few examples of the company successfully executing a six-month storyline from start to finish without wavering from the original blueprint. They determined that Goldberg would win the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens at some point (Fastlane) and then finally drop it to Lesnar at WrestleMania.

During the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, it was confirmed that Goldberg’s contract with WWE expired after Sunday night’s match. They did, of course, bring him back Monday night for his farewell address, but many questioned why they used him on RAW Talk and not the actual TV show. Everything that Goldberg said in his promo was true, and it will be a while before we see him again.

Goldberg closed out his segment by saying “never say never.” However, it was noted that nothing is currently on the books in terms of creative plans as of now. The opinion backstage is that Goldberg’s run was largely a success, and they are leaving the door open for a return at some point. When he left the WWE originally in 2004, he was bitter at the company. Both Goldberg and Vince McMahon felt negativity towards each other, though it’s still unclear who held more back then.

They have mended fences in the 13 years since, and things have changed a lot. Goldberg has told people that he is amenable to coming back again later this year, next year, or beyond if the scenario and opponent are right for him. It’s been said that their business relationship has been left open-ended, but both agreed that they had to part ways for now because nothing quite made sense coming off his program with Lesnar.

From the WWE’s bottom line, Goldberg’s merchandise sold extremely well in 2016-17, and he was a key part of the business boom during this year’s road to WrestleMania. A lot of that is based on WWE Network subscriptions, but this year’s period was much better than last year.

Goldberg trained very hard and put his body through a lot over the last five-six months to do his best to replicate what fans were used to the last time the Goldberg character was in the ring. The Inquisitr noted before how he said he was miserable during this current run due to his training and eating regimen. He referenced that Monday night by thanking his family for letting him live at the gym and at the dinner table. He has been eating a lot, and now he’ll be able to rest for a couple months, but if they agree to another program, he’ll have to return to eating seven-eight times a day.

It was pointed out that Goldberg is not hurting for money, and he stressed that he was doing it for his family who didn’t get to see him the first time around. It’s ironic, though, that he first got into wrestling because his accountant told him his football money was running out and he needed to get a new job. Goldberg knew Lex Luger and Sting, and they convinced him to get into pro wrestling. The icon made a ton of money from his WCW days and has managed it well since.

His WWE deal was also hefty in 2017, and the company was of the opinion that it was worth the investment. The Hall of Fame is also certainly in Goldberg’s future, but with Daniel Bryan, the Undertaker, and The Rock still to be inducted, it may be a few years if all four guys are going in as headliners. In any event, both the WWE and Goldberg are back on good terms and will be working together in some capacity moving forward.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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