Former WWE Champion wanted to be Goldberg’s retirement match

A former WWE Champion has revealed that he wanted to be Goldberg's opponent in his retirement match. Da Man made a blockbuster return to the Stamford-based promotion last night on RAW to set up a World Heavyweight Championship clash with Gunther, likely to be his final match before hanging up his wrestling boots.

After the show, Big E joined Sam Roberts and Megan Morant on RAW Recap. When asked about his reaction to the 58-year-old's return to WWE programming, the former WWE Champion said he was hit with nostalgia and felt like he was 13 again.

Big E further expressed himself as a massive Goldberg fan. The 39-year-old noted that he wanted to be the WWE Hall of Famer's final opponent. However, he also pointed out that it was no longer possible.

"Look, it was like I was 13 years old once again. It was like, I hearken back to him winning the title at the Georgia Dome. I met this man at a Walmart signing like 25 years ago. You know what I mean? Like, we got to do a Hot Ones together. This man, my wrestling fandom is so deeply connected to this man. My most famous promo of all time has to do with that man. I wanted his retirement match. That's obviously off the table," he said. [From 57:00 to 57:32]

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You can check out the video below for Big E's comments:

Big E has been away from in-ring action for over three years. He sustained a devastating neck injury during a tag team match in the March 11, 2022, edition of Friday Night SmackDown. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion has yet to receive medical clearance to get back inside the squared circle.

Goldberg set to wrestle his first WWE match after three years

Goldberg showed up on Monday Night RAW to confront World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. The veteran brought up The Ring General insulting him at WWE Bad Blood 2024, and challenged him to a match at Saturday Night's Main Event in Atlanta next month.

WWE later made the match official. It will be Goldberg's first in-ring appearance since Elimination Chamber 2022, where he challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. The Tribal Chief won the bout via submission to retain his title.

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If you use quotes from the article, please credit the Raw Recap podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Ankit Verma is a WWE news writer with over four years of experience in the writing field. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Physical Sciences, but his love and passion for writing and pro wrestling led him to create content about it.

He writes his articles putting himself in the readers’ shoes, making sure it’s as simply written, informative, and straight to the point as possible while being devoid of opinion. Ankit strives to present accurate information by ensuring the source is credible and cross-checking all facts and figures.

Ankit would have liked to have managed Kane during The Attitude Era, helping to take the Big Red Monster to greater heights than his brother/rival, The Undertaker. His favorite pro wrestler of all time is AJ Styles.

When Ankit is not writing for Sportskeeda, he enjoys spending his time studying astronomy and playing cricket.

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Edited by Kebin Edwin Antony