WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg competed in his retirement match against Gunther this past weekend at Saturday’s Night Main Event. Speaking today to Ariel Helwani, Goldberg went off on a rant, expressing disappointment at his send-off but hinting that he would have more to say in two weeks.
On if he would have preferred to have his retirement match on a PLE instead of live TV
“Yeah, absolutely. They cut me off after freaking 20 seconds with the microphone in my hand, for God’s sake.Ultimately, to have a little bit more control over the time and the space would have been much more preferred, let’s just put it that way. But to be given that opportunity on such a special show with the lineage of the show, to be able to go against the World Heavyweight Champion, to be able to go against Gunther, again, it was an honor and a privilege to be given that opportunity, and I had to make the most of it.”
“I have two weeks before I can really spill the beans and make my feelings known about the entire rundown. From the inception of the idea to its delivery, it was a little less than to be desired, but again, I’m not gonna complain because not many people get that opportunity.”
On working with Gunther
“Gunther was an unbelievable guy to work with. It was awesome. I had a good time and I was laughing. I actually had fun. There were moments in that match where I actually enjoyed myself, and I can’t say that I’ve done that very many times.”
On the short buildup to the match
“I would have loved for them to announce it in January and have a build up to it and do something I thought was maybe worthy of my career. But let’s just say that they chose to do it with three weeks notice. It is what it is. It’s part of the package. It’s part of the meal that you get dealt. I would be remiss in thinking that I thought the meal would be different but it was shame on me for thinking that it would’ve been different. Don’t you love the way that I’ve been able to navigate my words?”
On his son Gage possibly working with WWE
“They tried to give him an NIL (deal) but when I found out how much they were going to give him, I put the brakes on that one. But they would be ignorant if they didn’t have an idea that it could be in his future.”
More on his retirement match
“Let’s just say I’m pissed off at the way I went out. Because I put so much into it and I don’t feel as though the effort was reciprocated to put a stamp on what I’ve accomplished. Again, I’m not going to say that I’m not ecstatic with the opportunity that I got. I think it could have been done a little bit differently. That’s all. I’m happy with my performance. I’m happy with the setting, but could it have been better? Absolutely, it can always be better.”
On what could have been done different
“Well, there’s about a hundred things. I did three interviews beforehand, Ariel. I did three in six months. They cut me off 30 seconds into my speech, bro. You don’t do that, but it’s all good.”
On his retirement speech getting cut off on NBC and whether it was the network’s call or WWE’s
“I think it doesn’t matter cause it’s live television and you can plan for it. That’s all. I know it is what it is and the match might have gone long and this or that and whatever it is. But I just think that it could have been a little classier prepared than it was. And I’ll just say, that’s a mild understatement. It is what it is. I got the opportunity to speak for 28 seconds. Not many people get that, but it’s just everything throughout the years have built up to something like the ultimate rib. I guess that was the ultimate rib.”
“I’m not saying it was done on purpose by any stretch of the imagination. I’m saying that it wasn’t prepared for on purpose. That’s all. I mean, they wouldn’t do that to Taker, right? I don’t think they would. They’re not going to do that to Cena. Cena’s going around the world doing his retirement thing.”
