In a revealing new interview with Ariel Helwani, Goldberg clarified that his recent retirement is only “in principle,” leaving the door open for a potential return to the ring. The WWE Hall of Famer’s comments come just days after what was billed as his career-ending match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The source of his hesitation to close the book on his career appears to stem from his dissatisfaction with how his farewell was handled. Goldberg expressed disappointment that the match took place on a televised special rather than a major Premium Live Event. He was also frustrated that his post-match retirement speech to his hometown Atlanta crowd, with 91 personal guests in attendance from around the world, was cut from the live broadcast.
This feeling of an unfulfilled farewell was at the heart of his comments.
“I can’t say that. In principle, yeah, I’m done, but I worked my ass off for five months. I don’t think I’ve dedicated that much of my life towards one goal, one night. I would be remiss in saying it didn’t feel as though it was a waste because I only went out there for 14 minutes and that was it,” Goldberg said.
He acknowledged the physical toll that his football and wrestling careers have taken on his body, which made the perceived “waste” of his preparation more pointed.
“I’m 58 years old. My body is kind of torn to shreds. Hopefully, I was able to cover a lot of it up. I had my retirement match… I don’t know if I want to kick start that again and say, ‘Guess what, I didn’t retire. I want to go one more time.’ You don’t plan stuff like that,” he explained.
While he seems finished for now, he repeatedly invoked a classic wrestling adage to describe his status. “In the world of professional wrestling, I guess you’re not retired until you’re dead. In principle, yeah, I’m retired.”
However, any potential future match is unlikely to happen under the WWE banner. Goldberg made it clear he does not see himself having a continued presence in the company.
“I don’t think I’m lingering anywhere around the WWE anytime in the future, by any stretch of the imagination,” he stated. “Wrestling world, you’re never retired until you’re dead. I ain’t dead yet. It was reinvigorating. It was a lot of fun. It taught me that I could do things that I never thought that I could do.”