WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg has stated that the opponent for his retirement match didn’t have to be Gunther, but he was the first one to disrespect him.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12, the 4-time World Champion will step into the ring one final time as he challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was first teased back at Bad Blood 2024, which saw the World Champion and the veteran have an altercation after Gunther insulted Goldberg and his family, who were sitting at ringside.
Following the announcement that Goldberg would compete one final time in 2025, the Hall of Famer interrupted Gunther on the June 16 Raw, setting up the showdown. While the previous confrontation is the motivation for the match, the Hall of Famer has admitted that he was ready to take on anyone, it just happened to be the reigning World Champion.
Speaking with 11Alive, Goldberg noted that the match could have been against anyone who insulted him and his family, adding that he intends to teach Gunther a lesson in Atlanta:
“Well, as I said the other night on the show, I was vying for my retirement match and he just so happened to put himself in that spot. It could have happened to anybody that opened their mouth negatively about me and my family when we were there, back for the pay-per-view (Bad Blood). So I don’t know whether it was planned by him. I don’t know. All I can say is he willingly stepped right into that spot, and I willingly accepted him as my final opponent. I just want to put my fist through his face. I just want to make sure that this younger generation and he’s representing that younger generation respects us old guys and doesn’t, and they don’t, and they must understand that we must command that respect forever because you never know what position they’re in or condition they’re in. You never know if they’re still willing to go and I’m still willing to go. So you better watch your mouth and you, younger generation, man, look up to your elders, respect them because you never know what can happen.”
Goldberg Gets The Upper Hand Ahead Of WWE Retirement Match
Making his return to Raw one last time before the match, Goldberg appeared live on the July 7 Raw and simply dropped his upcoming opponent with a right hand, standing tall on the go-home show.
H/t to Fightful for the use of transcription.
Featured image: WWE
