WWE legend does not want Bill Goldberg to return

Bill Goldberg plans to compete in a WWE retirement match in 2025. Eric Bischoff, the two-time Universal Champion's former WCW boss, recently gave his honest thoughts on the 58-year-old's in-ring return.

Goldberg was one of WCW's top stars in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The former football player worked for WWE in 2003 and 2004 before returning in 2016. He got involved in an altercation with Gunther at Bad Blood in October 2024, prompting speculation that they could face each other.

On his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff admitted he does not like the idea of Goldberg wrestling again:

"I don't see it with Goldberg and Gunther. There's nothing there. Is Bill gonna become a part of the weekly programming for weeks and weeks leading up to it? Then, yeah, sure, let's see then. Character-wise, it could be interesting, but unless they're gonna do something fairly extensive with Bill, from a storyline and appearance point of view, I'd rather not see it, to be honest." [1:39:33 – 1:40:03]

Goldberg has not wrestled since unsuccessfully challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber 2022.

Eric Bischoff thinks Bill Goldberg's return is "forced"

Veteran wrestlers have been known to compete in one more match several years after their full-time careers end. Shawn Michaels, for example, returned in 2018 aged 53 despite initially retiring in 2010. Ric Flair also wrestled again in 2022 at the age of 73.

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Although Goldberg is keen to finish his career on a high, Eric Bischoff is unsure whether a return to in-ring action is wise:

"It feels like it's forced, and we're trying to get one more out of Bill Goldberg for no other reason than, 'We wanna get one more out of Bill Goldberg.' I just don't like that. It just doesn't feel right to me." [1:40:03 – 1:40:15]

Goldberg won several titles during his wrestling career, including the WCW and WWE World Heavyweight Championships. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.

Please credit 83 Weeks and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart