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WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg is one of the most dominant superstars in wrestling history. Having once gone on an undefeated 173-0 streak in WCW, he suffered the first truly clean loss of his career over twenty years after his debut, to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33.
His return to WWE at Survivor Series 2016 after over 12 years saw him shock the world, as he defeated Brock Lesnar in just about a minute. Since then, Goldberg has taken some major losses against main event talent in the company, but he has also had his fair share of victories, some quite shocking too.
So, while Goldberg's match with Gunther may have been billed as his retirement match and does have the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, when Da Man is involved, one never knows what may happen. In this article, we shall shed light on his five most recent victims, which, coincidentally, are all the people he has beaten since his return to WWE in 2017.
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#1 Bobby Lashley
At WWE SummerSlam 2021, Goldberg challenged Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship in a losing effort. Lashley targeted Goldberg's knee and forced a referee stoppage, and continued to attack the veteran's injured leg thereafter, before also going after Gage, Bill Goldberg's son.
Goldberg swore vengeance and defeated Lashley at Crown Jewel later that year, after Lashley lost the title to Big E via a MITB cash-in. This loss symbolically marked the end of Lashley's main event run in WWE. The All Mighty would steadily move down the card in the years to follow, and was released from the sports entertainment giant in 2024, and signed with AEW shortly thereafter, where he reunited with MVP and Shelton Benjamin to form the Hurt Syndicate.
While Lashley and Benjamin presently hold the AEW World Tag Team Championships in All Elite Wrestling, they have also added former AEW World Champion MJF to the faction. Bobby Lashley was also the most recent victim of Goldberg's career. In his only match since, Goldberg lost to Roman Reigns.
#2 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
Goldberg shockingly defeated Bray Wyatt to win the Universal Championship at WWE Super ShowDown 2020. He was supposed to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36, but due to COVID-19, he dropped the title to Braun Strowman instead. Wyatt's loss is perhaps one of the most criticised booking decisions of the century and a stark reminder of "what could have been."
Bray Wyatt was released from WWE in 2021 following another brief Universal Title reign, before making a blockbuster return to the company the following year. His last WWE appearance happened on the Road to WrestleMania 39, while embroiled in a story with Bobby Lashley and Uncle Howdy, which came to an abrupt end due to Wyatt's health issues.
Wyatt never wrestled on TV again, and his health issues worsened over time. He passed away on August 24, 2023, at the age of 36. The news shocked and distressed the entire wrestling community, and tributes continue to pour in for one of the most creative geniuses the business has ever seen. Even today, Wyatt has got the whole world in his hands.
#3 Dolph Ziggler
After a disastrous match against The Undertaker at SuperShowDown 2019, where Goldberg got concussed before the match even started, the veteran returned to confront Dolph Ziggler after Ziggler mocked him for weeks. While Ziggler thought he was set to face Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam, HBK and The Miz tricked him into a match with Goldberg.
Ziggler lost to the WWE Hall of Famer in a highly entertaining squash match and post-match angle, with one of the best sellers in the game helping Goldberg rehabilitate his image. Dolph Ziggler would go on to have an NXT Championship run a while later, before he was surprisingly released despite being one of the longest-tenured superstars in the company at the time.
He now goes by Nic Nemeth, primarily appearing for TNA, where he is one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions alongside his brother, Ryan Nemeth. Since his WWE release, he has won the AAA Mega Championship, IWGP Global Championship and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship too.
#4 Kevin Owens
The Icon defeated Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at WWE Fastlane 2017, courtesy of a pre-match distraction by Chris Jericho. This set up his rematch against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33.
While Kevin Owens hasn't won a world championship since, he has gone on to become one of the greatest, most complete, most reliable and most important wrestlers of this generation. Owens may not have won a singles title in a while, but he has main evented WrestleMania twice, been in several major title matches and been a draw at numerous PLEs.
The Prizefighter had an incredible feud with Cody Rhodes in 2024-25, with his last WWE match being a sensational Street Fight with his wrestling soulmate, Sami Zayn, at Elimination Chamber in Toronto. While he was scheduled for a blockbuster match with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, he was diagnosed with a serious neck injury leading up to the match.
As a result, KO, one of the cornerstones of WWE this decade, has also been ruled out of action indefinitely. Owens is now battling a career-threatening injury, and there is no timeline on his surgery, let alone recovery. Of all the names mentioned, Owens came out of a loss to Goldberg looking the strongest.
#5 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar was The Icon's last match during his first WWE run, and his first match back. Their clash at Survivor Series had a crazy amount of hype leading up to it, and within just one minute, they made their match one of the most iconic of the century after Da Man squashed the Beast Incarnate.
Lesnar got his win back at the following WrestleMania, also winning the Universal Championship in the process, and kicking off a 500+ day reign as the champion, a record at the time. He went on to win several world titles over the next few years, even going on a full-fledged babyface run.
However, Lesnar has been missing since he was referenced as one of the defendants in the Vince McMahon-Janel Grant lawsuit, and has been completely out of any sort of limelight ever since. His last match was at SummerSlam 2023, the culmination of an incredible feud with Cody Rhodes that summer. Whether he will ever be seen on WWE TV again remains uncertain, and whether he should remains a controversial discourse among fans.
Essentially, none of Goldberg's victims are currently active superstars in WWE. Based on precedent, Gunther may be putting a lot more on the line than just the World Heavyweight Championship or even honor and respect.
At Saturday Night's Main Event, Goldberg's career may be destined to end, but Gunther's career as a top WWE star may also be on the line.
