5 WWE backstage stories we learned this week: Superstar rehired one day after being fired, CM Punk's in-ring future

#3 How Goldberg felt about working with Dolph Ziggler

In June 2019, many fans called for Goldberg to retire as an in-ring competitor after he legitimately knocked himself out in the main event of Super ShowDown against The Undertaker, causing the rest of the match to be full of miscommunications and mistakes.

Two months later, the WWE Hall of Famer made a surprisingly swift return to the ring by winning a two-minute match at SummerSlam against Dolph Ziggler, who had been mocking the former WCW star's in-ring ability.

On-screen, Goldberg is a man not to be messed with, and he could easily be described as the most intense Superstar of his generation. Off-screen, however, the man behind the menacing character is very different to his television persona, as he proved during an interview with Sports Illustrated this week.

Regarding his SummerSlam match against Ziggler, Goldberg said in the out-of-character interview that he greatly appreciates that the two-time World Heavyweight Champion agreed to lose to him in quick fashion.

"I am greatly appreciative of what he did for me, and for his professionalism. I can’t say thank you enough."