Goldberg Apologizes To Gunther For 2 Reasons After WWE Retirement Match
Bill Goldberg is apologizing for something he did during his WWE retirement match against Gunther.
The WWE World Heavyweight Title was on the line when Gunther defended the gold against WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg in his adopted hometown of Atlanta.
It was a physical match as Gunther managed to survive the Spear and Jackhammer, partly because referee Charles Robinson was taken out after an accidental Spear. Gunther was able to recover, slap on the dreaded Sleeper, and make Goldberg pass out to lose the match.
During the match, when Gunther did one of his signature chops to the chest, Goldberg laughed it off instead of selling it. Most WWE superstars sell Gunther’s chops as a deadly move, but the WWE Hall of Famer chose a different reaction.
Speaking to the Ariel Helwani Show a few days after the match, Goldberg admitted he was wrong and apologized for it.
“I just really apologize. Number one, I clipped him once with a right hand and number two, man, I laughed when he chopped me, but I didn’t know what to expect. Because you feel these chops throughout your career a little bit and they’re loud, man.
Looks like they hurt, you look at the skin and it leaves some good marks and it’s devastating. It’s a great work punch, but I thought it was gonna hurt more, that’s all.”
As he continued, the former WCW World Champion explained his reaction to Gunther’s chops.
“It just startled me, and I didn’t mean to do that. I really apologize because I didn’t mean that. That’s not a rib. I’m not trying to downplay his move, but its just it caught me off guard and I completely broke character.”
Goldberg Was P**sed Off After Saturday Night’s Main Event
When reflecting on the match, Goldberg expressed his frustrations with how it went. After the match was done, Goldberg only had about 30 seconds on NBC to speak to the crowd, which is something that upset him a lot.
“I mean, the Saturday night’s Main Event and live TV in Atlanta. I mean, you always have your dreams of how you’re going to do things, and ultimately to have a little bit more control over the time and the space would have been much more preferred. Let’s just put it that way…
I mean, I can’t say that I was too thrilled about part of that… Freaking 20 seconds with the microphone in my hand, for God’s sakes.
The entire rundown, from the inception of the idea to its delivery. It was a little less than to be desired, but for the again, I’m not going to complain, because nobody, not many people, get that opportunity… I get two weeks, man, I get two weeks before I can really, you know, spill the beans and, you know, make my feelings kind of known about the entire rundown.
Let’s just say I’m p*ssed off at the way I went out. I put so much into it and I don’t feel as though the effort was reciprocated to put a stamp on what I’ve accomplished. I think it could have been done a little bit differently. That’s all. I’m happy with my performance. I’m happy with the setting, you know, but could it have been better? Absolutely. It can always be better.”
The complaining by Goldberg has been criticized by a lot of people, including WWE’s Peter Rosenberg, who said he was “so disappointed” to hear what Goldberg said about how WWE handled his retirement match.