Goldberg Addresses “Bullsh*t” Perception Of Him
WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg has reacted to one of the most enduring perceptions of him as a wrestler, calling it “bullsh*t” as he reflects on his WrestleMania 20 debacle.
In early 2004, WWE had a meaningful brand split that for the most part kept Raw stars on Raw and SmackDown stars on SmackDown. Brock Lesnar was a top star on the blue brand while Goldberg was main eventer on Monday nights. However, at the 2004 Royal Rumble, the two behemoth’s paths crossed putting them on a collision course for WrestleMania 20.
What should have been one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history to date, however, became one of the most infamous bouts of all time. In Madison Square Garden, the crowd vocally turned on both men as fans became aware in the build-up to the event that both Goldberg and Lesnar were leaving the company afterward. The hero of the bout became Stone Cold Steve Austin who had been installed as the special guest referee.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on his Talk is Jericho podcast, Goldberg reflected on the match and says he doesn’t think its as bad as people remember:
“Looking back on it, I think the match wasn’t that bad. I haven’t seen anybody press Brock [Lesnar] over his head before and you know, the things like that get overlooked in a debacle.
“It was tough. If I could have been anywhere else on the planet at that time, I would have wished to have been there, because I got absolutely no love and Brock, you know, if you look at my words on that documentary, when I’m saying ‘f the people’, I’m trying to get Brock to calm down so he doesn’t rip my head off because he was p*ssed, as p*ssed as I was.”
“Yeah, you know, I got it, I understood, I didn’t really know his situation. But it looked like he wanted to kill me. And, you know, I was a big bad dude back then. But as you know, Brock’s got that wrestling background.”
Goldberg also pointed to a moment from the match that people have used to claim that he never cared about the wrestling business or the fans, something he takes issue with:
“It would have been interesting, man, for sure. But I had to, I had to try to calm him. I can see how the public takes that little clip and goes ‘Oh Goldberg never liked the business or the people.’ That’s bullsh*t. I was just trying to calm a beast down.
“You know, it was a tough night. I love to put that behind me. But you have to look back on it, reflect and try to pull something positive out of it. The positive is that I changed exponentially over the number of years that passed and I came back and I kind of made amends with myself. You know, everything happens for a reason, man.”
During the conversation, the former WCW World Champion also discussed why a dream match between himself and Steve Austin never took place.