Is a Goldberg WWE return near?

[Just Do It]

With so much of the roster injured right now heading into WWE's 100K target show, there is obviously disaster potential if they fall well short of this target. I guess they should have spent more time building talent, but that's a different story.

They have milked Rock, Bret, Undertaker, Lesnar, Michaels, Warrior, Hogan and others in the past few years to gain extra buys and traction. Even Savage got the HOF nod last year. There are very few legit "main" guys left to milk, and the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest to me is Bill Goldberg.

Without a doubt one of the biggest "stars" in wrestling history, he hasn't been seen in a WWE ring in over ten years. They made advances to him in 2011 but the two sides couldn't agree on a price. After that, HHH and HBK went on local Atlanta news burying Goldberg.

Goldberg has subsequently said publicly (aimed at HHH) let's bury all the silly beef and reach a deal. Goldberg has stated he wants to wrestle in front of his kids, and I'd argue the timing couldn't be better than right now with the lack of roster.

It seems Goldberg has been returning to the "wrestling eye" over the last six months. It could be a coincidence, or it could be a long term plan to get back in the fans consciousness. First we had the spear on old rival Scott Steiner at a show (I believe he had a hand in promoting):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYEDLZyIqvU

And over the past few days he has taken to Twitter to promote a new wrestling documentary he is in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w5cpp3FwTE

Is this all a coincidence or is there more to it? WWE own all of Goldbergs footage (outside of his brief Japan stint). Re educating the current WWE audience to Goldberg makes their content (i.e. Network) have more value. This is obviously another huge benefit (Jim Ross and Steve Austin recently agreed).

Meltzer speculated around Wrestlemania 31 time that a Goldberg return probably would have done better business than a Sting return based on their respective DVD sales.

So what do you think? Is a Goldberg WWE return near? Do you want to see one or would you rather he stay away?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I doubt anything will come of it because, allegedly, Goldberg wants an absolutely huge amount of money to wrestle and he wants to be the one going over. Whenever WrestleMania season comes around, there's almost always some sort of rumor of Goldberg being interested or of talks between both sides possibly happening, etc.

For myself, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeing Goldberg back in WWE. I was never a fan of the guy, he was a lousy pro wrestler and his undefeated streak is one of the most overly hyped, overrated angles of the last 20 years when you consider nearly all of those matches were 2 minute squash matches against nameless jobbers.

Goldberg had a great look and genuine intensity, I'll give him that, but that's about all he had. One reason why his matches were usually kept so short in WCW was because his weaknesses as a pro wrestler became obvious if his matches went to the 10 minute mark; his cardio wasn't usually all that great, he had a mediocre understanding if psychology, didn't know how to tell a story beyond being this grunting, snorting meathead, etc. I mean, for all intents & purposes, WWE already has a guy like that on the roster named Ryback and he comes a lot cheaper than Goldberg would.

 

[Navi]

I doubt anything will come of it because, allegedly, Goldberg wants an absolutely huge amount of money to wrestle and he wants to be the one going over. Whenever WrestleMania season comes around, there's almost always some sort of rumor of Goldberg being interested or of talks between both sides possibly happening, etc.

For myself, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeing Goldberg back in WWE. I was never a fan of the guy, he was a lousy pro wrestler and his undefeated streak is one of the most overly hyped, overrated angles of the last 20 years when you consider nearly all of those matches were 2 minute squash matches against nameless jobbers.

Goldberg had a great look and genuine intensity, I'll give him that, but that's about all he had. One reason why his matches were usually kept so short in WCW was because his weaknesses as a pro wrestler became obvious if his matches went to the 10 minute mark; his cardio wasn't usually all that great, he had a mediocre understanding if psychology, didn't know how to tell a story beyond being this grunting, snorting meathead, etc. I mean, for all intents & purposes, WWE already has a guy like that on the roster named Ryback and he comes a lot cheaper than Goldberg would.

I have to agree, Ryback is being groomed as the new Golberg. Wait till you see SD and his new ring gear. There are some great meme's already out there about it.

Even if Goldberg does come back, will most even know who he is anymore. It's not like he's even been around the WWE in a decade. With the fans as young as they are at the shows, they wouldn't have a clue. They would have to do the same thing they did with Styles, but even more so.

Really can't see him coming back and don't care if he does to be honest. He's waited too long should have done it 5 years ago.

 

[Logisticalbooker86]

I just looked up Ryback's new look via the search engine on Twitter.

Holy crap, who thought that was a good idea? His new attire makes me think Goldberg might return, because why the hell did they make this wardrobe change otherwise?

 

[Vanilla Midget]

A Goldberg return hinders the business more so than provides it with star power. If the rumours of Goldberg returning only to go over are true then it's pointlesss. No one needs the rub of working with him. The new guys need to become stars, maybe they can do that pinning a nearly 50 year old man who hasn't wrestled I'm ten years, I'm not sure.

Maybe I'm still sore over Bret's career being cut short, but to me Goldberg is garbage. He doesn't care about the business. He cares about Goldberg. He was a huge nuclear white hot star in 1998, but had no staying power. Sure he could kick my ass, but I fail to see his value in 2016.

I always found it funny that people chanted Goldberg at Ryback, but no one ever chanted Stone Cold at Goldberg. I don't think the plain black trunks, short boots, and shaved head with beard combo was a coincidence.

Speaking of Ryback, if Goldberg comes back I hope it's to job to the Big Guy. Ryan Reeves may be an inferior and not to mention dangerous wrestler, but at least he loves the business.

 

[kadroan]

I have to agree, Ryback is being groomed as the new Golberg. Wait till you see SD and his new ring gear. There are some great meme's already out there about it.

Even if Goldberg does come back, will most even know who he is anymore. It's not like he's even been around the WWE in a decade. With the fans as young as they are at the shows, they wouldn't have a clue. They would have to do the same thing they did with Styles, but even more so.

Really can't see him coming back and don't care if he does to be honest. He's waited too long should have done it 5 years ago.

Interesting on your point about Ryback being the new Goldberg. I thought they had potential in 2012.

Yeah true. WWE can bring up the hype machine though. Look at what they did with Sting.

 

[WorstWrestlingExcrement]

What is this deep obsession about every fringing wrestler heading to worst wrestling excrement they have over 500 wrestlers or should I say benchwarmers sitting on their butts collecting paychecks! Underutilized and unrecognized as usual

Last I head TNA and Goldberg reached a deal and there getting close

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/643...-wrestling-a-few-days-ago-about-an-appearance

http://www.inquisitr.com/2639316/tn...priority-as-impact-wrestling-moves-to-pop-tv/

 

[Navi]

What is this deep obsession about every fringing wrestler heading to worst wrestling excrement they have over 500 wrestlers or should I say benchwarmers sitting on their butts collecting paychecks! Underutilized and unrecognized as usual

Last I head TNA and Goldberg reached a deal and there getting close

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/643...-wrestling-a-few-days-ago-about-an-appearance

http://www.inquisitr.com/2639316/tn...priority-as-impact-wrestling-moves-to-pop-tv/

Do you even read the links you posted? None of them say he's for sure or even close to signing a deal with TNA. I read them and in the first link he talks about them calling him to promote the move he and Bram were in together. Nowhere does it say he's going to come and work for them.

In the second link, TNA said they would like to have him for their debut on POP TV last month, but he was asking for an outrageous sum of money, so nothing was done.

If anyone has the money to get Goldberg in their ring it's the WWE and I don't think they need him anymore.

Oh and where do you get the figure of 500 wrestlers sitting collecting paychecks? That's just a bit ridiculous as well.

 

[WorstWrestlingExcrement]

Do you even read the links you posted? None of them say he's for sure or even close to signing a deal with TNA. I read them and in the first link he talks about them calling him to promote the move he and Bram were in together. Nowhere does it say he's going to come and work for them.

In the second link, TNA said they would like to have him for their debut on POP TV last month, but he was asking for an outrageous sum of money, so nothing was done.

If anyone has the money to get Goldberg in their ring it's the WWE and I don't think they need him anymore.

Oh and where do you get the figure of 500 wrestlers sitting collecting paychecks? That's just a bit ridiculous as well.

OMG are you ever an ignorant wwe sheep! You are still missing the point!
Where on the links I sent you did Goldberg state wwe ever contacted him!
GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ ! Enough said!
Speculating rumors rather than the fact that TNA is getting him is what you should focus on

 

[Navi]

OMG are you ever an ignorant wwe sheep! You are still missing the point!
Where on the links I sent you did Goldberg state wwe ever contacted him!
GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ ! Enough said!
Speculating rumors rather than the fact that TNA is getting him is what you should focus on

I might be an ignorant WWE sheep, but I'm not a liar.

Where did I say anywhere your link said the WWE were contacting him? Please show me. What I said was, TNA said he wanted too much money, which your link states. I also said the WWE is the only one with enough money to get him.

Nowhere did I say the WWE contacted him, and no where did I miss the point.

You posted two links stating Goldberg was close to signing with the WWE. Neither one states that. I think you need to learn to read and understand English before you start taking people to task for things they didn't say.

Oh and thanks for answering the question about the imaginary figure of 500 wrestlers on the WWE payroll. A number that you probably investigated thoroughly to come up with. You know the same investigation that prompted you to make the comments that Goldberg was basically TNA property. Neither could be further from the truth. So who is spreading rumours here.

I await your intellectual rebuttal. Should I hold my breath?

 

[stingray11214]

Goldberg always couter-offer terms that NOBODY except the incredibly desperate would agree to. Why? Because maybe he does NOT want to wrestle anymore. Think about it: If he really wanted to come back into the squared circle, don't you think he waould make reasonable counters? He does not care about wrestling anymore. He does not NEED wrestling. SO, why talk about him?

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I think that if Goldberg were to return, the WWE would have already made prepeartions for his feud, given that he's a big name and his match should have a long build-up. However both HHH and Lesnar have already planted their seeds for their WM matches.

So that leaves someone like Sheamus to fill in, a match where Goldberg could win, but it's not the big selling point WWE is looking for.

Which leaves 2 names open. Either Orton, if he's cleared by Wrestlemania time, or The Undertaker. Both of these matches would be nice to see, but to hell if Goldberg's gonna win any of these. He shouldn't. He should come back, do the job, take the money and have a proper send-off the following night. Goldberg gets his nice last send-off and a big paycheck, WWE gets a big match for the show and also put their wrestler over. It's a win-win.

But I doubt Goldberg's gonna reuturn for Wrestlemania.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think that if Goldberg were to return, the WWE would have already made prepeartions for his feud, given that he's a big name and his match should have a long build-up.

For sure, because there's no way they're going to slip Goldberg into a card unannounced; they'd publicize the living hell out of it. That said, if there are plans to do this, there's still time to build it.

I think bringing him in would be a big mistake. This guy's been off the scene for a long time; wasn't it 2003 he last worked for WWE? A lot of today's fans won't even know who he is; we're not exactly talking about an appearance by the Rock.

Personally, I hope they don't do it. To me, this guy doesn't give a damn about pro wrestling or the fans, all he cares about is money. Of course, that in itself isn't a reason to not have him perform, but I doubt he'd bring a decent monetary return for what they'd have to pay him........and that bugs me too; the idea of Goldberg sitting back and thinking: "Well, I've got WWE over a barrel. They want me because they have so many major stars out of action, so I'm going to hold them up for every penny I can get. I have nothing to lose by stretching this out until the last possible minute."

Yes, you can argue that's just good business sense, but it doesn't mean we have to like or admire it.

Ironic, isn't it? People on this forum constantly harp on "Stop talking about the Attitude Era in WWE! That was a long, long time ago and has no bearing on today!"

Yet, wasn't that the same period of time Goldberg had his greatest influence?

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

For sure, because there's no way they're going to slip Goldberg into a card unannounced; they'd publicize the living hell out of it. That said, if there are plans to do this, there's still time to build it.

I think bringing him in would be a big mistake. This guy's been off the scene for a long time; wasn't it 2003 he last worked for WWE? A lot of today's fans won't even know who he is; we're not exactly talking about an appearance by the Rock.

Personally, I hope they don't do it. To me, this guy doesn't give a damn about pro wrestling or the fans, all he cares about is money. Of course, that in itself isn't a reason to not have him perform, but I doubt he'd bring a decent monetary return for what they'd have to pay him........and that bugs me too; the idea of Goldberg sitting back and thinking: "Well, I've got WWE over a barrel. They want me because they have so many major stars out of action, so I'm going to hold them up for every penny I can get. I have nothing to lose by stretching this out until the last possible minute."

Yes, you can argue that's just good business sense, but it doesn't mean we have to like or admire it.

Ironic, isn't it? People on this forum constantly harp on "Stop talking about the Attitude Era in WWE! That was a long, long time ago and has no bearing on today!"

Yet, wasn't that the same period of time Goldberg had his greatest influence?

I think the fans would react well to Goldberg. I mean AJ Styles and Sting, who had never appeared before in a WWE ring got a huge reaction. Goldberg would definately get one, too.

Also, of course Goldberg doesn't care about the fans. But I don't care what he thinks. If it's for one more Goldberg match then I'm all for it. But, only if ti's done right.

By right I mean: a) Goldberg goes out on his back like a pro, b) No Batista-from-2014 treatment, which means no Rumbles or World titles. Just a match, against either Undertaker or Orton would do the trick for me.

Hell, Orton actually needs that victory to tell you the truth. He hasn't done anything relevant in a year and the last time he got a big win at Wrestlemania was at Wrestlemania 24. That was actually his only big singles win. His victories over CM Punk and Rollins aren't really defined as big. But beating Goldberg could bring him back some of his lost starpower.

 

[WorstWrestlingExcrement]

GOLDBERG has no interest he asks a lot of money and cause he doesn t want to get into the ring so he increases the amount every time! He has no desire but from what I heard TNA won t give up till they get him and they always have others in mind such as Batista to go after since Dave turned wwe down! wwe is like a tramp in heat trying to get her clutches on talent she dumped and jobbed them!
So this WM speculation every year of GOLDBERG talks resurfacing is old and boring!
Give it up wwe has a roster of 200 wrestlers and legends etc mostly benchwarmers!
GOLDBERG has no desire for this excrement product anymore and TNA can use him better as soon as they dig deeper into their Panda Pockets and get him in!
That being said and seeing how wwe mistreated and mishandled Steve Borden is sufficient reason for Bill not to even head there so as soon as Steve Borden gets his wwe hall of shame award he ll be heading back to TNA !

 

[Azane]

Nothing beats old stars coming in around Wrestlemania and burying main roster talent, so the other 9 months of the year we're left with Roman Reigns vs Sheamus level matches.

Goldberg's time is past. Nothing good comes to WWE if he returns, you won't generate buys to even come close to what he wants, and the last time we saw him in the ring he sandbagged at Wrestlemania, in what would only be a DREAM match of Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Too many question marks for a Goldberg return.

Is he in ring shape? Goldberg is pushing 50, you can't outrun Father Time, and it's hard to forget about Batista having a lot of trouble shaking off his ring rust a few years ago.

I know a lot of people think WWE spoiled The Rock's big return to the ring at Survivor Series 2011, but I have to believe there was some method to the madness. Wrestlemania 28 would've been Rock's first match in about eight years, so having a main event tag team match at Survivor Series was a nice test run.

Goldberg needs a test run match to gauge the crowd's reaction, and to see if he's in acceptable ring shape first. Sorry, but he can't just waltz into a featured Wrestlemania match after twelve years. What's going to happen, if the crowd turns on him? What's going to happen, if he's gasping for air within the first five minutes of the match? It's too dicey.

Also, as others pointed out, Goldberg's legacy is overhyped, and his time has passed. Can anyone think of any truly great, marquee matches from Goldberg? His title match with DDP at Halloween Havoc comes close, but "good" is far as I can go for praising it. It's true, Goldberg was at the center of and involved in some memorable moments, but looking back at his career, it's hard to come up with a short list of quality or entertaining matches.

But I seriously doubt Bill Goldberg has any real interest in returning to WWE. If Vince and company are willing to give into his demands and agree to his price tag, I'm sure Goldberg will bite, but that's not going to happen. As usual, it's just a bunch of rumors and speculation, and every now then, Goldberg will talk about how he's staying in shape, and waiting for right moment and the right opportunity. But after a while you realize it's a bunch of hot air, and we're back to square one in the rumors cycle.

 

[ShinChan]

As much as I love Goldberg and would love to see him perform at Wrestlemania, I think He shouldnot return to WWE at Wrestlemania. First of all, He will be asking for huge amount of money which I know WWE can afford to give but still. Secondly, He would surely want to go over in a decisive manner which worsens the situation even more. Therefore, It would be a losing scenario for WWE as at Wrestlemania, Young talents should get the rub from part-timers or veterans. Goldberg going over some young talent at Wrestlemania wouldnot do any good to anyone except Goldberg.

Further, Lets assume that he is ready to give the rub to a young talent, But there is no right choice for getting the rub off him. WWE is not high anymore on Ryback and I can see any other free power brawler. Maybe Kevin Owens?

​

 

[OYDK]

I made a similar thread a while back and while at that time I thought a Goldberg return may be possible, the chances become less and less with every passing day. I wouldn't mind seeing Goldberg come back for a match but WWE would have to overpay him a ridiculous amount and as Mitch mentioned, there's no way he's in ANY sort of shape to come back and jump right into it. I think by now, if there was any legitimate shot of Goldberg returning, we would have heard about him busting his ass in the gym or at least training for "something".

In other news, I find it funny that people think wrestling plays into this at all. Goldberg doesn't give a shit about getting in the ring, or at least, he cares very little about it. Goldberg wants money. He can demand whatever he wants and if WWE says no, that's fine because he didn't necessarily want to wrestle in the first place. Say what you want about Goldberg, but the guy is a businessman above all else. We can hate him for not caring about wrestling, but we also have to understand that to him, wrestling has always been a job, not a passion.

IF Goldberg were to come back, I would have rather seen Reigns go against him than anybody else. I don't necessarily care for a nostalgia match including Goldberg, in my opinion he would be much better used for putting a young name over. Also, the HHH/Reigns main event is kind of lacklustre. Other than that, I don't have much interest in Goldberg vs anybody else, come to think of it...

 

[laodaron]

From what I've read, Goldberg both wants and believes he deserves Rock money for a return. It's ridiculous. I think it would be fun to hear his music hit, and for him to spear and jackhammer someone, but other than that, I'm fine with him never returning, or if he really wants, going to lolTNA.

 

[Piss Bucket]

The best thing about Goldberg was his WCW music, I used to really like that.

Don't get me wrong he is a very good wrestler, but he has no real gimmick apart from being a big man famous for having a long undefeated streak in WCW, which he'd still have if not for Kevin bloody fucking Nash.

 

[Reflection]

My reason for believing that Goldberg isn't going to make a WWE return, is very simple. This week, we saw that Ryback's wrestling gear has been changed to black briefs, he has also been given a couple of new moves, and he is still a face character. These three things make me believe that they want to stick with a modern-day version of Goldberg (though not nearly as dominant) out there, rather than the real guy.
Unless Ryback turns heel in the coming weeks and starts trashing Goldberg directly, we can be even more sure that this isn't going to happen.

 

[DirtyD79]

I just don't see it happening. If it were to happen though I imagine they would have started hyping it up a good couple months ago. I also just don't see any reason to do it other than for nostalgia's sake. What's more WWE already had Goldberg and he sucked ass in WWE. They had him at a Wrestlemania and he stunk up the joint. It's time to move on and let it go.

 

[Leb_Hustla]

OMG....enough hate on Goldberg's last run/wrestlemania match/not caring about the business !!!!

I commented on this exact point in a similar thread like last month.

First off, Goldberg in my opinion was underutilised during his last run. He was brought back in a storyline with a heel Rock which was an entertaining program but afterward he was mainly utilised as filler talent for matches like the elination chamber. Yes if memory serves he won the WHC but was quick to loose it back to HHH who was in full swing talent buriel mode then again went back to floundering in the upper mid card until the Lesnar fued began. By which time word was given that he wouldn't be resigning. You can't place all the blame on big Bill for that so stop using the "he only cared about the money/don't care about the business" card!!

Secondly EVERYONE KNEW LESNAR AND GOLDBERG WERE LEAVING AFTER WRESTLEMANIA! !!!!
Therefor even if they put on a 5 star match, people were going to shit on it anyway, even with Austin as ref.

Lastly "sports entertainment" is a business no mater how you slice the pie. Goldberg was once one of the highest paid talents in the industry not including merchandising. Just because he wants to be paid a decent pot IF mutual beneficial terms can be made then why shouldn't he push for it? So what if he doesn't care about the business, neither does Lesnar or any other of the part timers that grace our screens come wrestlemania season. They want to get paid! Remember they are wrestlers 2nd, businessmen 1st.

We can argue semantics all day eg: he wants to be paid the same despite not doing anything for the last 10 years, overestimating his value blah blah blah. But at the end of the day if Vinny Mac is serious about resigning him he will, no matter the cost.

If creative are smart they'll let him have his wrestle mania moment then utilise him to help build new talent. Reading some of the above posts has got me curious about what wwe are trying to do with Ryback seeings they've gone from trying to subtly draw comparisons to Goldberg to full carbon copy mode, minus the goatee and the jackhammer finisher. Maybe a storyline about Ryback being way better then goldberg? It'd be a good segway into a return feud IMO.

Be it nostalgia or just a fresh storyline, I wouldn't be mad if I was to hear that theme music and see him walking through the pyro. I'd mark out like a little girl at a 1d concert. However being realistic, at this point I doubt we'll see the original big guy anytime soon. WM's only a couple months away and if they want to capitalise on the return they would have started operation 'saturate-WWE-with-returning-star-material' by now.

 

[TStorm]

I don't really see it ever happening, and in all honesty, I don't ever want to.

I was a fan of Goldberg, purely because of his intensity, and his look, he looked like an unstoppable bull, ready to destroy everything and anything that got into his path, but that's what people were expected to be a fan of. That is all that ever mattered, he wasn't a 'wrestler', he was a spectacle.

He could walk out, destroy someone in a matter of moments, and would get over because of how much he destroyed someone, people were entertained (and honestly, it was entertaining, which isn't something you can say about most squash matches, because he hit each move with the right amount of intensity), they bought in and believed it. Even the "streak" was exaggerated, and was only a means to add onto the spectacle. The sparks, the smoke, puffing smoke like a dragon ready to devour it's next meal. Spectacle.

Goldberg was someone that I never expected to have 5-Star classics, but there were so many others capable of doing that, and he wasn't built like that, Goldberg just needed to be a monster and destroy person after person as they came along.

His stock plummeted after the streak came to an end. This was back during a time that while wrestling was a big part, gimmicks played a much bigger part. Goldberg, was a product of the time, he was someone found, that had the look, got very basic training in wrestling, went out destroyed people, got over and things went on from there.

His character in todays product wouldn't work, it barely worked in his original run, it struggled, and even if it did, he might still have the look, but I doubt he still has the intensity that he brought back in the day.

His original mistake was coming to WWE in the first place, it gave us a match with The Rock, and had him in the ring with Austin (despite him having a match with Lesnar), but Goldberg was never built for the WWE product, and he never will be.