Goldberg talks his 'acquired passion' for pro wrestling and a possible WWE Hall of Fame berth

One of the things that WCW legend Goldberg gets knocked for is not having a "passion" for pro wrestling.

It's not dissimilar to some of the knocks on another football player turned main eventer, Roman Reigns. Rather than appreciate whatever strides he made to capitalize on his look and charismatic presence, he's criticized for not being an in-ring technician. And he's taken a lot of semi-self-infllicted shots over the years for openly talking about making money rather than emphasizing a love of performing.

Some comments he made in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour over at our sister site MMAFighting.com probably won't change the minds of fans who are truly anti-Goldberg, but they show the man behind the character being honest about his relationship with pro wrestling - and grateful. Noting that his first love was always football, he did grow to love wrestling, and he knows it's the reason people still reach out to him today:

That passion was an acquired passion, but it will never leave me. Any time someone stops me in the street and asks me for an autograph, pro wrestling gave me that.

However, that doesn't change his stance on a couple of questions those reaching out to him invariably ask. Will you wrestle again, and are you going into Vince McMahon's WWE Hall of Fame?

I'd love to get back in the ring so my son could see me, but that's it. I've expressed my feelings once or twice on the phone. I'm not picking up my phone and calling anyone for employment. I've made my opinions known. Would it be an honor to be bestowed Hall of Fame credentials? Yeah. Does it define me as a person? No.

Check out the whole video to see the former Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman talk about a possible future in kickboxing, including a match he was offered against the former Alberto Del Rio, and more.

Anything that changes your opinion of the man who was booed out of WrestleMania XX when he faced Brock Lesnar? Remind you of anyone who folks are worried might get booed out of Santa Clara when he faces the same man on Sunday?