Cody Rhodes Honors Retiring WWE Legend With Emotional Speech
Cody Rhodes paid an emotional tribute to a retiring champion on Saturday.
The Saturday Night’s Main Event featured former world champion Goldberg challenging Gunther for the WWE Heavyweight Title.
This was Goldberg’s first match in three years, having wrestled his last at the 2022 Elimination Chamber PLE against Roman Reigns.
The match in Georgia, Goldberg’s hometown, had fans rooting for him throughout.
The 58-year-old was escorted to the ring by his crew, which included his son Gage, former wrestler Ernest Miller, and former WCW head of security Doug Dellinger.
WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page was also in attendance.
As expected, their main event match witnessed back-and-forth action.
The champion took advantage of Goldberg’s injured left leg, attacking it at every presented opportunity.
In the closing minutes, the former WCW Champion looked to hit a Spear, but missed Gunther and instead got referee Charles Robinson.
Although he did get Gunther with the Jackhammer, he appeared too worn out before another referee came in to count the pin.
Gunther took advantage of this and choked Golberg out to retain his belt.
Cody Rhodes Pays Emotional Tribute To Goldberg
Cody Rhodes, who was backstage throughout the evening, came out after the final match and paid a tribute to the retiring superstar.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it for Bill Goldberg. He’s been World Champion, Hall of Famer, and wrestling royalty. I was down the street in the Georgia Dome when he hoisted up Hulk Hogan..I saw it myself. It was magic. And tonight, each and every one of us got to see it again. It was magic once again. Thank you very, very much.
Cody Rhodes delivered a speech for Goldberg after SNME went off the air tonight.
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— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) July 13, 2025
Whether or not Goldberg returns to WWE in any capacity remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes will meet John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam.