Just about everyone seems happier since Triple H took over creative control of WWE from the now deposed Vince McMahon. Goldberg is one of the rare exceptions.
That’s because the WWE Hall of Famer had heat with Triple H right from the start of his tenure with the company back in 2003. Or as he tells it, even before he ever appeared on a WWE broadcast.
Goldberg appeared this week on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast and told host Tim Green that while he feuded with Triple H in the summer and fall of 2003, his issues with The Game “had everything to do with when I got there” (h/t Fightful for the transcription).
The fact that I didn’t get along with Paul Levesque, which is Vince’s son-in-law, had everything to do with when I got there. A lot of that between Hunter and myself was real. We had an interaction when I was in WCW leading the charge, New York had a press event. You know all the behind the scenes. The Kliq, with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, are his buddies. I hurt myself, and I know people who are friends that weren’t with me were talking to him when he was working in WWE. He made a comment while I was at home, and I remember it like it was yesterday. He said I was tanking it or faking it or something, and that I wasn’t there for the demise of WCW or how could I. From then on, I wanted to rip his face off. We had a confrontation prior to me signing with WWE, and ironically we were represented by the same agent. It made the situation quite uncomfortable once I signed with WWE.
From a business perspective, it didn’t stop the two men from working together. Goldberg defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship in September 2003 at Unforgiven and retained that title in a rematch at Survivor Series 2003. Triple H won the belt back at Armageddon to close out the year in a Triple Threat match that also featured Kane.
But the effects of their real life beef could still be spilling over into the present, as Goldberg is one of the few legends who doesn’t seem eager to reunite with WWE. Instead, he’s talked openly about having a retirement match elsewhere, while WWE has been firing on all cylinders without him.
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