The “Goldberg return” buzz has never really gone away. He’s an athlete that keeps himself in great shape, and his mystique from his WCW run is such that all it takes is a a short clip of his entrance to get a reaction from all but the most jaded wrestling fan.
When he was announced as pre-order bonus character for WWE 2K17 - a move that helped bring Ultimate Warrior and Sting into the fold - chatter got louder. And when he and Brock Lesnar suddenly couldn’t do an interview without mentioning one another or their WrestleMania XX match, well...
WWE itself hyped his interview segment with Jonathan Coachman on SportsCenter tonight, and names like Jim Ross and Dave Meltzer reported that Goldberg’s return to WWE for another shot at Lesnar would be announced there. So much of the wrestling world was anxiously watching ESPN’s flagship broadcast at 9PM Eastern on Oct. 5.
What would he say?
Pretty much the exact same stuff he’s been saying in interviews for years.
After chatting about his football background and epic run through the Monday Night War era with WCW, Goldberg talked up the 2K17 video game, which comes out next week. He’s flattered to be following in Sting and Warrior’s footsteps, and that his ten year old son will be able to interact with his character as more than just YouTube clips of matches from the 90s.
Coach asked him point blank about a comeback, but that was also more of the same. He’s open to it, but has concerns about trying to do his act at 49 years old and damaging his legacy.
Goldberg clearly knows there’s a lot of fan interest, and didn’t close the door on anything. But in answers that seem to directly refute the reports we’ve heard over the last 24 hours, he revealed he hasn’t talked to Vince McMahon since leaving the ‘E back in 2004 after defeating Lesnar, and said he’s nowhere near the shape he’d have to be in to consider a return.
More promising answers were that he’s open to it, and would like to give Brock a rematch. He closed the matter by asking Coach, and the fans, to give him until the end of the year to make a decision.
So probably not Survivor Series, then.
The two men, who worked together for Vince in the early aughts, laughed about stories from their times in the ring together, and the segment closed with more plugs for WWE 2K17.
That should give us about a week until the next comeback rumors start.
Disappointed, or relieved, Cagesiders?