Can we just put Bill Goldberg out of his misery?
After making a triumphant return to WWE last year and recently winning the Universal Heavyweight Title, the former WWE and WCW world champion has said in a recent interview he isn’t happy since he beat Kevin Owens.
Sometimes, winning titles can’t buy happiness.
[DavidL]
Per Yahoo Sports, Goldberg, who is slated to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title at WrestleMania this Sunday in Orlando, Florida, described his most recent run with the company – his first in more than a decade – as “miserable.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m miserable. I’m absolutely miserable,” Goldberg told E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness during an interview last week. “Nobody get me wrong when I say I’ve been miserable throughout this, but I am. I’m miserable. I’m bloated 24 hours a day. I’m stressed 24 hours a day. I don’t sleep, but it’s a small price to pay.”
Oy Vey!
Goldberg was the top star and public face of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at the peak of the Monday Night Wars. He is best known for his time in WCW, where he performed between 1997 and 2001. Goldberg rose to fame in WCW with a lengthy undefeated streak in singles competition from 1997 to 1998, which is considered the longest winning streak in professional wrestling.
During this time, he became WCW United States Champion and WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He was also a one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Bret Hart), making him along with Hart the fifth WCW Triple Crown winner. Following WCW’s closure in 2001, Goldberg wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) between 2002 and 2003, and for WWE between 2003 and 2004, becoming a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in the latter.
Goldberg headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WCW and WWE. This included closing WCW’s premier annual event, Starrcade, on two occasions (1998 and 1999). After 12 years away from the company, he returned to WWE in 2016 and headlined Survivor Series against Lesnar. It also coincided with a deal he had with WWE to use his likeness in the WWE 2K17 video game.
This is the issue I have had with the company using part-time champions to try and boost ratings. The run by The Rock and later Brock Lesnar were short because neither were at weekly bookings. Thus, the title lost its importance. Goldberg hasn’t defended his title yet but also hasn’t been in a ring competing since beating Owens.
The fact he will more than likely drop the title to Lesnar does nothing to help promote the Universal Title as a true world title. The WWE World Title gets more run because Bray Wyatt is an every-day champion, performing at house shows and is part of SmackDown Live on a weekly basis.
The fact age has crept up on Goldberg might have been part of the reason for his recent revelation.
“People are expecting me to be able to do exactly what I did back then,” Goldberg told the podcast, hosted by former WWE stars Edge and Christian. “I am nothing but a machine now. I get up in the morning. I eat. I train. I eat. It’s the toughest thing I ever embarked upon, guys. I’m 13 years removed from the business. I can’t name a power wrestler who has come back 13 freaking years afterward. And then, within 20 pounds of what he was back then.”
If Goldberg does, in fact, drop the strap at WrestleMania 33 this weekend, it could be the last time we see the superstar in the ring.