AEW Offered Bill Goldberg "Legitimate Retirement Run" Before WWE (AEW News)
Tony Khan planned to offer Goldberg something big before recent WWE retirement.
Tony Khan reportedly wanted to bring Bill Goldberg into AEW for a "legitimate retirement run" that'd likely have played out longer than WWE's one did. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp claims that Khan was ready to offer Goldberg terms before the former WCW legend decided to stick with Triple H and remain on WWE's side heading into 2025's farewell.
Goldberg showed face at Bad Blood in October 2024, but build was slow for his retirement match vs. Gunther. Indeed, WWE didn't properly get moving on that until mere weeks before he wrestled for the last time at Saturday Night's Main Event in Atlanta. On the night, Gunther defeated the one-time squash match machine by submission.
It was a shock ending to Bill's story, but then...the whole Gunther scenario took people by surprise when WWE announced the match. Bringing Goldberg back into the fold for yet another World Title crack was always going to be risky, but the social media and engagement numbers for SNME will surely make everything worthwhile.
However, Goldberg did weigh up working for AEW instead before committing to WWE once more. In late-2023, Bill described the company as "too cheesy" for his own personal tastes, but acknowledged that he did hold some chats with Tony about potentially becoming #AllElite before hanging up his boots.
Those talks didn't lead to anything formal. So, we'll never know just what Khan had in mind for Goldberg's last stand. AEW did handle fellow icon Sting's final months with aplomb though, which is worth remembering.
Goldberg Has Expressed Frustrations With WWE
In retrospect, Goldberg is apparently "p*ssed off" at the way WWE handled his retirement. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Bill said that he loved working with Gunther and has a ton of respect for what he brings to the party, but that he can't shake the idea that WWE should've treated his final performance with greater respect.
Mid-interview, Goldberg ranted about only cutting 3 promos of any note before stepping into the ring vs. Gunther. He isn't happy that the promotion started laying foundations back in October 2024 but didn't officially announce that the match was happening until a few weeks before Saturday Night's Main Event either.
Then, the final slap in the face came when WWE rushed through a 28-second post-match speech from Bill before SNME faded out. Goldberg doesn't believe the company would've been so disorganised for other top stars, and he specifically mentioned both The Undertaker and John Cena when giving examples.
Goldberg signed a shortlived NDA before the match with Gunther, but says he'll be able to give his true thoughts on everything soon.