Goldberg slams WWE for mishandling farewell match & speech

Goldberg was ‘pissed’ with how things went

Goldberg’s legendary wrestling career came to a close at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in his adopted hometown of Atlanta.

Facing World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in the main event, the WWE Hall of Famer fell short in a hard-hitting clash that lasted 14 minutes, his longest bout since 2003. Though the live crowd gave him a standing ovation, Goldberg’s farewell didn’t go as planned on live television.

The former WCW icon addressed the abrupt ending during a candid interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, revealing that his post-match speech was cut off just 30 seconds in.

“Let’s just say I’m pissed off at the way I went out,” Goldberg admitted.

“They cut me off 30 seconds into my speech, bro. You don’t do that. But it’s all good.”

Goldberg wasn’t sent well in his retirement

Despite planning for a proper sendoff, Goldberg says the execution lacked respect and preparation.

“I put so much into it, and I don’t feel as though the effort was reciprocated,” he explained.

“It’s live television, and you can plan for it. That’s all.”

“I’m not saying it [cutting speech off] was done on purpose by any stretch of the imagination. I’m saying it wasn’t prepared for on purpose. They wouldn’t do that to ‘Taker, right? I don’t think. They’re not gonna do that to Cena. Cena’s going around the world doing his retirement thing. Mine was just a World Heavyweight Championship Match. —I had World Heavyweight Championship Matches all the time. That doesn’t do anything for me. I mean, it does, but make it different than just an angle, at least. At the end, do something. Say something. I don’t know. It just felt a little ‘eh’ for me, that’s all,” said Goldberg

He also felt blindsided by WWE’s decision to announce the match just three weeks in advance, rather than building toward it with a longer storyline.

“I would have loved for them to announce it in January and have a build-up… but let’s just say they chose to do it with three weeks’ notice.”

Goldberg confirmed his retirement match was always planned against Gunther

While Goldberg wasn’t happy about the short notice or the event slot, he had no complaints about his opponent.

“I couldn’t have done it without my dance partner, and it was awesome. I had fun,” Goldberg said.

“Where are all the people that said I couldn’t go more than two minutes?”

He even laughed off no-selling Gunther’s signature chest chops, saying,

“There were moments in that match where I actually enjoyed myself… I can’t say that I’ve done that very many times.”

Is Goldberg truly retired?

While Goldberg declared his match at Saturday Night’s Main Event as his final WWE appearance, there’s still some ambiguity around whether the retirement is permanent.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the WWE Hall of Famer admitted that, while the plan was always to go out in Atlanta against Gunther, the way things ended left him disappointed.

“In principle, yeah, I’m done,” Goldberg said, acknowledging the retirement.

But he also shared how much he had committed to this one night: “I worked my ass off for five months. I don’t think I’ve dedicated that much of my life towards one goal, like one night.”

Adding to the emotional weight of the night was the fact that Goldberg had 91 close friends and family flown in from around the world.

“I don’t know if I want to kick-start that again, and say, ‘Hey, guys. Guess what? I didn’t retire. I want to go one more time.’”

Still, Goldberg understands the nature of the business, where retirements are rarely definitive. “In the world of professional wrestling, I guess you’re not retired until you’re dead,” he admitted.

So while Goldberg has closed the door for now, the phrasing leaves just enough room for a potential return if the right offer or moment comes along.

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