When it comes to his retirement from pro wrestling, Bill Goldberg isn’t happy with the way it played out.
While his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Gunther was fine enough, it was ultimately overshadowed by his retirement speech. And that’s not because of the quality of the 10-minute promo, but rather because it was rushed off of NBC airwaves just a few minutes in as WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event ran out of time.
The time crunch seemed to stem from what appeared to be a legitimate injury that Seth Rollins suffered in an earlier match, which caused a ripple effect for the rest of the card. But while the rushed nature of the promo may have been understandable, it clearly didn’t sit well with Goldberg, who voiced his frustration with the way his retirement angle was handled during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show.
“Let’s just say I’m pissed off at the way I went out,” he said. “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.”
Although Goldberg said he was “ecstatic” for the opportunity, he also reiterated that he wishes it had played out differently. Asked specifically what he would have changed, the 58-year-old pointed to the lackluster build to the match and the timing issues that plagued the show’s finish.
“They cut me off 30 seconds into my speech, bro. You don’t do that,” Goldberg said.
Asked if he believed the decision to cut his speech off early was made by WWE or NBC, the master of the jackhammer made it clear that it doesn’t matter to him either way. The same could be said for the preparation — or lack thereof — that he believes went into the event, which took place in his hometown of Atlanta.
“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,” Goldberg said. “They wouldn’t do that to [The Undertaker], right? I don’t think. They’re not gonna do that to [John] Cena. Cena’s going around the world doing his retirement thing. Mine was just a World Heavyweight Championship match. And to be honest with you, I’m gonna catch hell for this — I don’t care. I’ve had World Heavyweight matches all the time. That doesn’t do anything for me … it just felt a little eh for me, that’s all.”
It’s worth noting that Goldberg hasn’t always had a perfect relationship with WWE, dating back to his initial exit from the company in 2004. Still, the two sides were able to mend fences enough to facilitate a return in 2016, with the former WCW star making sporadic appearances for the company since then.
But while Saturday’s retirement match appeared to be well-intentioned, the end result seems to have once again fractured his relationship with WWE. To that end, it’s worth noting that Goldberg said his current contract is set to expire in two weeks, at which point he may have more to say about the entire ordeal.