Update On Bill Goldberg: WWE Holding Off On Announcing His Return Until After ‘Hell In A Cell’
One of the hottest subjects in the professional wrestling world over the last couple of months has been Bill Goldberg and his potential return to WWE after being away from the company for 12 years.
The Goldberg returning to WWE rumor got started after 2K announced that he would be the pre-order bonus for this year’s WWE 2K17 video game, which is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Tuesday, October 11. Then, it really began to pick up steam after Goldberg and Brock Lesnar began teasing a match with one another just a few days before August’s SummerSlam show. Now, rumor has it that Goldberg will return to the ring at next month’s Survivor Series, where he’ll go one on one with Brock Lesnar.
During his appearance on the Live Audio Wrestling Podcast on Sunday night, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who was the one that originally reported that Goldberg was coming back to WWE at Survivor Series, said that WWE was holding off on announcing that Goldberg is going return next month until after the Hell in a Cell show on October 30.
“I was surprised when [Goldberg] didn’t announce that he’s coming back during the ESPN interview, but the idea is that [WWE] doesn’t want to undercut Hell in a Cell by giving you a main event before Hell in a Cell takes place. That’s what they kind of explained to me.”
Of course, everybody expected Goldberg to announce his return to WWE during his interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter last week, but instead, he made it seem like his return wasn’t going to happen until next year. He also said that he’s unsure if he wants to come back, because if he does return, he may end up ruining his legacy, which is something that he doesn’t want to do.
On Friday, Brock Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman teased a Lesnar vs. Goldberg match by posting the following tweet.
#ICYMI – On behalf of my client @BrockLesnar, a message to @Goldberg regarding @WWE @WWEgames #WWE2K17 …. https://t.co/y0wfS7kKnb pic.twitter.com/Ntcrfx7yON
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) October 7, 2016
Most WWE fans believe that Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg should happen at WrestleMania 33, but according to Meltzer, WWE already has other plans for Lesnar at WrestleMania. Furthermore, they want the match to happen at Survivor Series, because the event is taking place just a little over a month after the WWE 2K17 video game is released, and they believe that it’ll help boost its sales.
Goldberg, 49, hasn’t wrestled since he left WWE back in 2004, but he’s still in great shape, as he trains in Muay Thai on a regular basis. Also, during an interview with Brian Fritz of Between the Ropes, the ex-WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion said that for the first time in his life, he’s doing cardio. So, being in ring shape clearly won’t be an issue for him if he does return to action next month.
When Goldberg left WWE back in 2004, he didn’t leave under the best of terms. However, in the aforementioned interview with Brian Fritz, he said that he considers the issues that he had with WWE chairman Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque to be water under the bridge.
WOR: Lesnar vs. Goldberg update, Del Rio stabbing, Impact future, more! https://t.co/O8ZDbN3l8g pic.twitter.com/zGwcrE2L5m
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) October 6, 2016
If Goldberg does end up returning to WWE next month, it’ll be the third year in a row that 2K has rebuilt a relationship between WWE and a professional wrestling legend, as they helped bring The Ultimate Warrior back to WWE in 2014, and they helped sell Vince McMahon on signing Sting, who, in his 30-year career, had never stepped foot in a WWE ring.
As of this writing, Goldberg’s WWE return is scheduled to be a one-off. But if everything goes well at Survivor Series, we may see him wrestle again at WrestleMania 33.
[Featured Image by WWE]
