Wrestling fans have grown accustomed to chanting “one more match” for performers who are retired or close to it. Bill Goldberg appears to be leading a hypothetical chant of that kind for himself.
It’s been a little more than a year now since Goldberg’s last WWE match at Elimination Chamber 2022, when he was submitted by Roman Reigns. He has been pretty open about his contract status since that time, explaining on The Bump last fall that he had no more matches left on his deal with WWE.
That doesn’t mean he believes he’s been in the ring for the last time, even at age 56. In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Goldberg said he feels WWE should give him a more proper send-off in exchange for being a good soldier.
“I made a deal with the devil and I did my job, and they owe me a retirement match,” Goldberg said, perhaps referencing that loss to Reigns. “At the end of the day, at 56, it’s not something where I’m sitting by the phone waiting for a call.”
He added that he had “a few ideas of how to do it on my own, possibly in Israel.” Goldberg is one of the more prominent Jewish wrestlers of the past few decades, and despite describing himself as not overly religious, has never shied away from that part of his background.
Goldberg had complimentary things to say about both Reigns and Paul Heyman, as well as the “tenacity” and “passion” of wrestling fans. Both of those adjectives could be used to describe him as well, particularly as he campaigns for one final match.
Will fans join in and push WWE to give him that one last moment in the squared circle? It’ll be something interesting to keep an eye on for the post-WrestleMania portion of 2023.