After a storied career, Bill Goldberg wrestled his final match this past weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event, challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship. In the days following the event, the WWE Hall of Famer has expressed his gratitude to WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for making the moment happen.
During a recent interview with the Boston Herald, Goldberg was clear about the role Levesque played in his farewell.
“I couldn’t have done any of that on Saturday night without [Triple H]. That’s the truth, one thousand percent.”
Goldberg’s final match was the culmination of a promise made by former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The Hall of Famer last competed at Elimination Chamber in 2022 against Roman Reigns while dealing with COVID. He agreed to the match on the condition that McMahon would later provide him with a proper retirement bout.
The 58-year-old challenged GUNTHER in a physical contest, ultimately failing to capture the title from The Ring General. The physical toll of a long career was a significant hurdle, and Goldberg noted on The Ariel Helwani Show that competing at this stage would have been impossible without modern medical treatments.
“There is no way in hell I could have done that without going to get the stem cells. Absolutely, no way. The body that I’ve lived with prior to that, it couldn’t have accomplished it…I woke up and my hand was swollen. I don’t know what happened. I think I might have gone through — who knows, who cares.”
He elaborated on his physical condition and his mindset heading into the match.
“To be able to get out of that match…I’ve got a bad knee, and everybody complains, ‘Oh, he’s limping.’ And man, I should be limping. I earned a limp. And if I gotta go in with shoulder pads and a helmet and a knee brace on, I’m going in, but I’m going out like a warrior…Stem cells allowed me to go in there and give it my best at whatever age that I am, and I could not have done it without them.”
Reflecting on his journey, Goldberg expressed immense gratitude for his career and the people who helped him along the way.
“I never thought a Jewish boy from Tulsa, Oklahoma would ever hear his name chanted all over the world. I didn’t do it alone – the help I got was immeasurable. It was a lot more than a one-man show. I had an idea of what was going to work, and I brought it to Eric Bischoff. He had the trust in me to see it through. I never imagined it would be anywhere close to as big as it was. I’m greatly appreciative that so many people were happy with what they saw. It was a long road leading up to it and a lot of sacrifices were made. In some ways it was a success, in other ways it was a failure.”