Goldberg Returning To WWE On January 27th Raw (WWE News)

Goldberg will return to WWE on the 27 January episode of Raw as the WCW icon enters his retirement year.

Dave Meltzer has reported as much for the Wrestling Observer, stating that Gunther is a likely opponent for Goldberg, who turned 58 on 27 December.

With the 27th Jan Raw taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, WWE is likely trying to maximise the crowd's response to Goldberg. The former WCW and WWE Heavyweight Champion played college football for the University of Georgia from 1987-1989 and was a huge star for the Atlanta-based WCW in the 1990s.

Goldberg confirmed he would have a retirement match sometime in 2025 last November. As WWE wrote at the time:

Goldberg appeared on ESPN’s SEC Nation on Saturday, Nov. 2, and revealed that Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque granted his request for one more match. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther goaded the former World Champion during Bad Blood, forcing Goldberg to hop the barricade and try to confront The Ring General. Who will be next, and last, for the legendary Goldberg?

In what could be interpreted as a tease, Goldberg and Gunther interacted on 5 October's Bad Blood 2024 show, where the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion goaded Bill and son Gage. In November, Gage responded via an interview with Sportskeeda's Bill Apter:

"I mean, when he [Gunther] first came out I wasn't expecting anything, and then he started saying all that, and then I'm like, 'Okay, okay,' and I started whispering to my dad, I'm like, 'You might wanna get in there and kick his a** or something like that.' But he got out there. He showed his presence, for sure, too. It was just like, 'Why are you calling him out?' I don't really know. I kinda wanna see my dad kick his a** now."

WWE had not officially announced Goldberg's 27 January appearance at the time of writing.