New WWE star wants to be a World Champion like Batista and Goldberg

Batista and Goldberg were two of the most destructive WWE stars of their generation. In a WWE LFG preview video, new Performance Center recruit Elijah Holyfield revealed his plans to follow in the legendary superstars' footsteps.

Holyfield is the son of boxing great Evander Holyfield. The 27-year-old former football player began training at the Performance Center facility in November 2024. On February 16, he will appear in the new behind-the-scenes WWE LFG: Legends and Future Greats series on A&E.

Ahead of the first episode, Holyfield said Batista and Goldberg are two of his biggest wrestling inspirations:

"All the advice I've got is take a little bit from everybody that you do like. My favorite of all time is probably Batista, so something of that nature. I've got a chance to talk to Goldberg a couple of times. He kinda told me a little bit about his experience and how he won his [WCW] Championship in Atlanta. Thinking of that in Atlanta, oh my God, Atlanta's my hometown, and that would be an experience that I would literally cry. I get goosebumps thinking about it." [4:18 – 4:39]

Holyfield also made it clear his mission is to win a World Championship in WWE one day:

"My goal is to be the champion of the world. In my mind, [that is] what I came here to do, and that's what I'll try to do every single day." [5:12 – 5:17]

Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, Mickie James, and The Undertaker appear on LFG as mentors. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and several current wrestlers also feature in the series.

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Batista and Goldberg are not Elijah Holyfield's only WWE inspirations

Elijah's father Evander Holyfield is one of the world's best-known boxers. He fought professionally from 1984 to 2011 and is best remembered for his high-profile bouts with Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.

Having witnessed his father's superstardom as a child, Elijah is confident he can continue his family's sporting legacy:

"I've kind of always looked at my dad. Like, if he could do it, I could do it because he gave birth to me, and I've worked out with him, I've done everything he's done, so why can't I do the same thing as him?" [3:10 – 3:18]

Later in the preview episode, another developmental talent confirmed he has backstage heat and compared himself to NXT booker Shawn Michaels.

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Please credit WWE LFG and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.