WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg is well known for his time in WCW. He was an absolute force who built up arguably one of the most incredible win streaks in wrestling history. Goldberg won an absurd 173 matches in a row before losing to Kevin Nash in a monumental upset. After WCW's demise, Goldberg returned to the ring in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling. After a short stint in Japan, he made his way over to WWE.
Goldberg didn't have the most memorable stint in WWE the first time around. Although he won the World Heavyweight Championship during his run, it wasn't anything great. After only spending a year with the company, Goldberg left WWE, and fans did not like this. His final match against Brock Lesnar is notoriously known as the last match for Goldberg and Lesnar before they both left the company. The fans rejected the match and made sure both superstars knew how they felt.
It would be 12 years before the WWE Universe saw Goldberg in the ring again. After being announced as the cover athlete for WWE 2K17 a few months prior, fans were speculating about his return. After going back and forth with Lesnar on social media and in interviews, Paul Heyman challenged Goldberg to face Lesnar. He returned to Monday Night Raw and eventually defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series.
For multiple reasons, Goldberg's second run with WWE is much more memorable than his first. Goldberg won the Universal Championship twice during his second run but defeated Kevin Owens and The Fiend in the process. Although his matches with Lesnar and even Dolph Ziggler were memorable, everything else was nothing special. Since 2018, all of his matches have either been in Saudi Arabia or at one of the “Big 4” PPVs. Fans were tired of seeing Goldberg randomly show up and challenge for a world championship.
As of today, Goldberg is a free agent. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com reports that Goldberg's WWE contract actually expired at the end of 2022. Since this news came out, fans have been wondering what the future holds for Goldberg. He took a two-year break from WWE from 2017-2019, so a return there is possible. The difference this time around, though, is that signing with AEW is also a possibility.
Goldberg signing with AEW would be one of the least shocking things that could happen here. Whether fans like it or not, Goldberg is a big name and is still a draw. Say what you want about his wrestling skills, but his character and physicality make him a special attraction.
Tony Khan has brought in a ton of former WWE superstars over the years, so bringing in one more wouldn't hurt. While talking to Adrian Hernandez of The Bet Las Vegas & The Sporting Tribune, Khan discussed the possibility of Goldberg coming to AEW.
“I have a lot of respect for Bill,” Khan said. “I think Bill Goldberg is a great professional athlete and has had a great career in pro wrestling and is a very nice person. He actually has a lot of ties around the Jacksonville community, his family is from Jacksonville and they’ve done so much great work in the community. There is a great hospital, the Wolfson Children’s Hospital, and Bill is related to the Wolfson family. They have done so much great work in this community and that’s partially how I’ve gotten to know Bill. He’s a household name in pro wrestling and certainly, that’s interesting to hear that he is a free agent. It’s something to follow and he’s one of the biggest names in wrestling and certainly will be something else to keep an eye on for us. We have so many great wrestlers in AEW and so many exciting things happening in AEW week to week, that it’s always an exciting time. Bill is an exceptionally exciting name and one of the biggest names in the sport. Certainly, it’s a big thing for us to pay attention to. I would take notice of that and it is interesting.”
Despite being 56 years old, Goldberg can wrestle a few times a year like he was doing in WWE. My only issue is Goldberg may take away the spotlight from other wrestlers on the roster. Look what he did to Owens and Bray Wyatt's push. It took a while for Owens to recover from his loss, while Wyatt's “The Fiend” character never fully recovered after losing.
The worst thing that can happen is that Goldberg joins AEW and does the same thing. It would work if AEW books him in matches that make sense, and he doesn't bury any superstars. It would be disastrous if Goldberg signed with AEW and won the AEW Championship. I doubt that would happen, but you can never say never in wrestling.
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