WWE "Moves Away" From Original Goldberg Retirement Plans
The latest on WWE's on/off plans for Bill Goldberg, his looming return and GUNTHER.
Viper from PW Nexus is reporting that Bill Goldberg is expected to have "one or two" more matches before retiring from the ring completely. It's also understood that the ex-WCW squash match machine is likely to return to WWE TV in early 2025, although news on who he'll be working with is sketchy at best.
In March 2023, Bill told Sports Illustrated that the company owed him a proper retirement match. His latest bout with WWE? A six minute defeat to all-conquering 'Tribal Chief' Roman Reigns back at Elimination Chamber 2022 over in Saudi Arabia. Before that, Goldberg had traded wins with Bobby Lashley and lost to Drew McIntyre in 2021. You'd need to go back to the super-weird WrestleMania 36 in 2020 for his next match after that - there, he dropped the Universal Title to Braun Strowman (who was replacing Reigns).
The site also reported that Triple H/WWE may not pull the trigger on a match they've already worked some build for on PLE and flagship show Raw.
WWE "May Have Moved Away" From GUNTHER Match Plans
Goldberg worked a confrontation angle with reigning World Heavyweight Champion and all-round wrestling machine GUNTHER at Bad Blood on 5 October. The segment started with Triple H unveiling the brand new Crown Jewel Championships, then peaked with GUNTHER getting Bill all riled up around ringside.
Eventually, Goldberg hopped the barrier and ended up posing with Hunter inside the ring. Earlier, on television in September, GUNTHER trolled Bret Hart by alleging that the 'Hitman's' personal rival Bill was actually his favourite pro wrestler of all time. That received a lighthearted pop from the live crowd. GUNTHER visibly struggled to hold it together and stop himself from rolling around laughing.
The joke went down well, but there's a chance WWE won't follow up on the Goldberg vs. GUNTHER stuff. That clashes with reports from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE were working towards making the match a reality. Dave also claimed that the bout wasn't planned for WrestleMania 41 to begin with.
Fans should expect to see Goldberg back on WWE programming early in the new year. It'll become clear then whether they're interested in rekindling the GUNTHER idea or plan to move Bill onto fresh opponents who will give him the retirement scenario he craves.