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Bill Goldberg opens up on possible WWE return, says ‘not in my court’

Posted: Aug 25th 2016 By: Brian Fritz

In all of the excitement this past week surrounding SummerSlam, arguably the most talked about person in wrestling circles was one who hasn’t been with the WWE in more than a decade: Bill Goldberg.

“Twelve years being removed from the business, I think that I'm probably the biggest name that people are talking about free agency-wise,” Goldberg said.

Rumors were swirling heading into the weekend that the former WCW and WWE champion could make a surprise return at SummerSlam, confronting Brock Lesnar to end the show and setting up a big match at WrestleMania 33 next April.

That turned out to be nothing more than speculation from a fan base hungry to see Goldberg return to the ring.

During the late 90s, Goldberg was an instant hit in WCW, becoming one of the hottest stars the wrestling business has ever seen. He later had a one-year run with the WWE that never met expectations. His last match was in 2004 where he defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania XX.

The talk about a possible return heated up after Goldberg signed on with 2K to become the pre-order exclusive character in the new WWE 2K17 video game which hits shelves in October. Now, newer fans get the opportunity to play as the man behind the legendary win streak.

“It's a whole new generation of people that realize that I was a guy who went out there and ripped people's heads off,” said Goldberg. “It's cool to introduce myself to them and it's cool to be able to go virtually and compete against guys that I never wrestled, compete against current superstars and obviously to go out and beat Brock's a** again.”

Despite not being in the business for some time, he still attracts plenty of excited fans, which was the case at two recent events in Germany to promote the game.

“It humbles me in that I can go to Frankfurt or Colon and do the launch for this game and there's going to be 500 to 1,000 to 1,500 people there absolutely screaming at the top of their lungs like I'd never left the ring,” Goldberg said. “I don't ever assume that anybody knows who I am or anybody appreciates what I did in the ring but, to get that, it humbles me and it further reinforces the fact that I guess I did something right.”

Goldberg concedes that if it wasn’t for his son, he would not have agreed to be a part of the game and is “forever grateful” to both 2K and WWE for allowing it to happen. At the same time, he admits that those recent overseas appearances did get the juices flowing inside of him regarding a potential return to the squared circle.

“It evoked a feeling that I haven't felt in a long time which is kind of cool but the reality is it ain't in my court,” stated Goldberg. “It's not in my court. I've said many times that I'm willing to throw water under the bridge but, hey, at the end of the day, it is what it is.

“I'm here in the video game and I'm ecstatic for that. If that's all that it is, hey, I'm fine, I'm cool. I can live the rest of my life and be extremely pleased with what I've accomplished.”

Even at 49, Goldberg remains physically fit by training Muay Thai up to five days a week. He has always had an appreciation for getting physical which he regularly displayed during his wrestling career.

“I get more physicality now than I ever have in my entire life,” said Goldberg. “I travel with a mouthpiece if that tells you anything about a 49-year-old guy like me. I thrive on physical confrontation. It's a competitive juice in me. I'm always going to have that in the back of my mind.

“So whether I'm 49, 59, 69 or 109, I'm always going to think that I can go out and compete.”

Even if a return for a potential dream match to close out his career doesn’t come to fruition, Goldberg would be thrilled to enter the WWE Hall of Fame.

“Hey, that would be a dream come true for anybody in my position,” admits Goldberg. “I can't really talk on it because I have no control over it. I think what would get me in there is stuff that I've already done. So opening my mouth and expressing my feelings about it would be nothing but rehashing things that I've said in the past but the reality is I would be a true honor.

“Anybody who has been in my business and not looked at that invitation like that, it's a unrealistic evaluation of what's going on because it's (a) pat on the back for stuff that you've done.”