In Defense of Goldberg

Court is in session!

Goldberg’s retirement match was always gonna get people talking. Love him or not, the guy’s been a major name in wrestling for decades and a legitimate living legend. But what really lit up the internet wasn’t just the match, it was what he said after. Some fans are calling him ungrateful for voicing his frustrations, but let’s be real… that’s missing the point. This isn’t about disrespect, it’s about how WWE handled one of the biggest send offs of the year. So let’s break it down - the match, the comments, the drama, and why Goldberg actually had a point.

Goldberg had his retirement match at Saturday Nights Main Event for the World Heavyweight Championship against Gunther in the main event. The match took place in Atlanta, the home of WCW where Goldberg made himself a household name. While Goldberg came up short in this match, as was predicted, what wasn’t predicted was the length. Going just under 15 minutes, this was Goldberg's longest match since 2003. Post match, Goldberg is surrounded by family and friends and he gave a quick thank you before the show went off the air.

A few days later, Goldberg goes on the Ariel Helwani show to discuss the match. This is where the controversy stems from. 

Let’s get into the three main issues Goldberg brought up during this interview: 

1. Disappointed it was on cable TV opposed to a Netflix PLE 

2. Disappointed his post match speech was cut short 

3. Disappointed with the 2 - 3 week build

Before we dive into these three main issues, let’s address one thing - being grateful and being human.

Does every wrestler get their dream retirement? No. Triple H didn’t even know he was wrestling his last match when he had it, as is the case with many wrestlers. Did Goldberg get an opportunity that not many others get? Yes. But we are completely ignoring the human side of it all. Have you ever received a promotion that other people wanted, just to realize you don’t like the new job. You should just be grateful, right? You’re in a relationship that takes care of you, but you aren’t truly happy. You should just be grateful, right? Someone gives you a gift on your birthday, but it's a box full of spiders. You should just be grateful, right? These may be extreme examples, but I’m making a defense case here folks! 

Take this quote from about two minutes into the Helwani interview:

"It was an honor and a privilege just to be able to get something like that done, man, especially years removed from my last match and accelerated age, just getting the opportunity to kind of put a stamp on it the way I wanted to - well not the way I wanted to - but as in control as I could be, I would remiss in saying I didn't garner that opportunity with open arms and I was very appreciative of it." 

The quote is filled with praise, with a mention of a grievance in the middle. Is this any different than when Kurt Angle brings up the fact he would have rather fought Cena in his retirement match opposed to Corbin? The difference is fans love Angle and Cena while not being a fan of Corbin, so Angle gets the pass because fans share the same grievance. Goldberg is in the opposite boat where Gunther is the favorite but is that fair to Goldberg, simply because he isn't as beloved?  

I've heard another take of why Goldberg is ungrateful is because he should of just been happy with his last match in Saudi. The criticism being that this is the second time Goldberg hasn't been happy with the last match he wrestled. Is this not exactly how The Undertaker spent his last few matches? Trying for one last great match to go out on? While people did wish for Taker to just retire by the end due to health and performance concerns, nobody saw him as ungrateful for receiving multiple stabs at a last match. 

Another criticism is Goldberg laughing during Gunther's chops. While I acknowledge AEW is a different style of wrestling, Sting was notorious for no selling spots during his retirement run. The difference was when Sting did it, it was a highlight of the match. The crowd popped hard each time. Just some food for thought. Is it really a big deal considering Gunther won the match in the end anyways?  

With that out of the way, let's circle back to Goldberg's three main issues

Disappointed it was on cable TV opposed to a Netflix PLE 

When it comes to cable vs Netflix, the biggest crime is the commercial breaks. Who wouldn’t be frustrated with two to three ad breaks during their last ever match, especially considering a two night Summerslam is literally right around the corner. The cut to commercial when the match ended was so abrupt, it became a moment of laughter online. Additionally, the image of absolute fear on Michael Cole's face as he knew the cut off was coming is something that will forever be attached to this moment when it is looked back on. 

Could WWE have had longer commercial breaks in between matches instead of during the match? I'm not sure how those logistics work, but consider this - there is a rumor that Cena is having his last match at a SNME in Boston - are we just going to be cool with Cena’s last ever match also being interrupted by commercial breaks? I think this is a legitimate issue that WWE needs to address and we should thank Goldberg for speaking out on this. 

Disappointed his post match speech was cut short 

I will start with this - the speech was cut short but ultimately this is a digital world and most people were going to see it online anyways. But put yourself in the shoes of one Bill Goldberg. It is absolutely disappointing to think you will have time for a speech, then last minute told it will be cut short. Imagine having to deal with that, with a camera in your face. Considering the circumstances, Goldberg dealt with it just fine in the moment.

Consider this - with the event running out of time, what would have happened if Seth didn’t have his match cut short? Would the show have cut off during Goldberg's match? Or the more likely option, would they have had to cut stuff from the match to make time? The more you think about it, the show really wasn’t executed that well. Imagine the stress building as you are sitting around waiting, while the event is current underway, to determine if any last minute adjustments need to be made to your last match ever. Frustrating indeed. 

Disappointed with the 2 - 3 week build

The confrontation at Bad Blood in October 2024 planted the seeds for the match but according to Goldberg during the Helwani interview, it wasn't set in stone until January 2025. In the six month span since the match was confirmed, WWE scheduled Goldberg for just three interviews to promote the event. Just three. It sounds to me that he would have been more than happy to go on a full press tour to promote the event but despite the match booked in January, it wasn't until June 16th that Goldberg appeared on TV for the match to be officially announced. 

I have a theory that the reason Goldberg didn't get to do a retirement tour is because Cena is in the middle of his retirement tour. They should have had this match before OR after Cena's run. Why WWE insisted the match took place when it did is obvious - AEW All In being on the same day. It would put you in a position to start thinking to yourself, “are they just using me to combat the rival show?”.

WWE gave both Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels perfect retirement matches (let’s pretend the other matches never happened). Those matches also happened fifteen years ago. As we touched upon, in more recent times WWE has given us a lack luster Kurt Angle retirement match and a disheartening last few years of Taker (god bless AJ Styles). Let’s not forget how they booked Stings run either. And sure, that was the old WWE regime but are we going to pretend that the Cena retirement tour hasn't been heavily criticized?

At the end of the day, was Goldberg perfect in how he handled everything? Maybe not. But can you really blame the guy for being a little fired up about how his last ever match went down? He showed up, went out on his back like a pro, and still gave WWE and Gunther their flowers. So yeah, he vented a bit but that doesn’t mean he’s ungrateful. It means he actually cared. And honestly, if more legends spoke up like this, maybe WWE would finally start getting these big moments right. Until then, let the man speak his truth.

Case closed.