Bill Goldberg is one of the most dominant wrestlers of all time. The WWE Hall of Famer has made a name for himself from his dominant wins over top talents in WCW and in WWE. Recently, the wrestling veteran opened up about his final match inside the squared circle.
The former WWE Universal Champion’s contract with WWE came to an end last year. His final match was against Roman Reigns back in February 2022. During an interview with the Chicago Sports Podcast, Goldberg shared why he agreed to wrestle one more time.
“Towards the end of my career, I showed up and did what they asked me to do because I didn’t really — it was a different deal. My last match, I had COVID three weeks before I agreed to do that match,” Goldberg explained. “The only reason I agreed to do that match was because they agreed to give me another one.
“So the answer… early in [my] career, I always tried to give everybody my best. Except towards the end it was tough to get into it because it’s like, ‘OK, you’re wrestling Roman… and it’s COVID and there’s no one in the stands. Oh no, you’re not wrestling him, you’re wrestling Drew in an hour…’ It was a different time and things were different towards the end of my tenure,” Goldberg said.
Iron Bill
The veteran also mentioned that he wanted to mimic Iron Mike Tyson’s performance inside a boxing ring.
“What I tried to give them every time was a piece of me every single time I went out. I tried to put them at the edge of their seat, I tried to be a replication of what Mike Tyson did when he walked out to the boxing ring.”
Kevin Sullivan mentioned this same concept in a recent interview with WrestleZone, noting how he viewed Goldberg as WCW’s version of “Iron Mike”.
Sullivan previously said he helped create Goldberg’s persona, and he’s also touted wanting to turn Hulk Hogan heel before the rise of the nWo.
“I saw what he could bring to the table, but I knew he was limited,” Sullivan said of Goldberg. “I put him in short black boots, no socks, black tights. No ring jacket, ala Mike Tyson.”
A Clean Finish
Sullivan then shared his original pitch to actually end Goldberg’s streak. It didn’t go down this way, but he believes it would have been better received than the actual ending.
“And the day he got beat, I really, really — my finish was, rather than a cattle prod and 12 people running down. I wanted Bill to whip Kevin into the corner, go for his charge, Kevin move out of the way,” Sullivan explained. “Bill [would] hit the post and came back out. Kevin gives him a big boot, gives him the powerbomb, and beats him 1-2-3.”
Sullivan explained the reasoning behind his plans, once again using Mike Tyson’s boxing career to highlight his point.
“Why I wanted that was because he had won clean all the time. I wanted him to lose clean. It’s like when Mike Tyson went over and fought Douglas, nobody thought Douglas had a chance. But Mike got knocked out. It was a clean knockout. It wasn’t a referee’s decision or a split decision by the referee or two judges,” Kevin Sullivan said. “I wanted him to lose clean.”
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