Shocking reason Goldberg agreed to lose his WWE retirement match, according to wrestling veteran

Goldberg competed in his WWE retirement match at last week's Saturday Night's Main Event 2025, where he failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship. Ex-WWE star Stevie Richards is speculating that the WCW legend may have agreed to lose at the show to secure his son Gage's future with the global juggernaut.

It's no secret that Goldberg is among the most protected stars in wrestling history, who seldom took losses during his peak. His streak of 173 consecutive wins during his time in WCW is among the longest of all time. However, in the second innings of his career, Da Man took several notable losses, putting over stars such as Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, and more.

Even in his retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event 2025, Goldberg went down to Gunther, who retained his World Heavyweight Championship. Speaking on the recent episode of his Stevie Richards Show, the ex-WWE star stated that the legendary performer might have lost to ensure his son, Gage, can have a smooth entry into the company's developmental system.

“The Goldberg thing, I don’t know. See, that’s the one thing I don’t think Goldberg would have (lost). Maybe he’s doing good business because he knows his kid’s going to go into the developmental. Maybe it’s more about his kid than him," said Richards. [H/T TJR Wrestling]

Stevie Richards thinks Goldberg could train Gage to face Gunther in WWE

Furthermore, Richards said Goldberg was self-aware now and knew that winning over Gunther wouldn't do any good to anyone involved. He also pitched a wild idea, saying the WWE legend could potentially serve as his son Gage's coach and train him to exact revenge on The Ring General down the line for his loss.

“All I’m saying with that is, what’s Goldberg going to do? Maybe he has self-awareness now. Why do I have to (win). Okay, I’ll put Gunther over and this just gonna be it. And then the fans are gonna, they’re expecting me to win, but maybe now I’m gonna be coaching Gage to be a wrestler. And maybe it’s going to be Gage and Gunther. Everybody was like, ‘Oh my God, do you think it…’ They’ve done it before with Dominik, right? So he got in there way too quick.”

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Gage Goldberg had previously stated that his dream was to make it as a footballer and that WWE served more like a backup plan at this point.

About the author

Arpit Shrivastava is a journalist who reports on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda. He is also an assistant content manager for the AEW team and has played a pivotal role in building it from the ground up. Arpit graduated in Political Science and Mass Communication. From writing for his college magazine while being a huge wrestling fan to pursuing journalism as a career, he has accumulated five years of experience in the industry.

During the course of his career, Arpit has written nearly 4k articles, garnering over 32 million reads. Besides covering the latest stories in the world of pro wrestling, Arpit mentors several up-and-coming writers and is also responsible for assembling a stellar team for Sportskeeda's All Elite Wrestling division. Arpit gives utmost importance to fact-based reporting as he sources information only from reliable outlets. He believes in providing relevant information to readers, allowing them to form their opinions based on legitimate facts.

Among Arpit's favorite wrestlers is MJF. He admires The Wolf of Wrestling for his cool, anti-authoritative attitude on television. Arpit is also fond of Sami Zayn's never-say-die approach and underdog persona. In the women's division, he looks up to Becky Lynch for her sheer aura.

Outside of pro wrestling, Arpit is a massive history and cinema buff. He spends his leisure time reading and following tennis and cricket.

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Edited by Arsh Das