What’s the story?
In a recent interview with Fox Sports, WWE superstar Goldberg spoke about who he thinks should make a surprise entry in this year’s Royal Rumble, how he has often been mistaken for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and what his fitness regime looks like in the buildup to the Rumble.
In case you didn’t know…
The 2017 Royal Rumble will see Goldberg make only his second appearance overall in the match. Before this, he competed in the 2004 edition where he made an entrance at the #30 spot and eliminated 3 superstars in quick time. However, the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar interfered in the match and delivered an F5 to ‘The Myth’, which led to his elimination by Kurt Angle. Lesnar’s actions culminated in the WrestleMania XX showdown between him and Goldberg, where the latter emerged victorious.
The heart of the matter
When asked about who he expects to make a surprise entry into the Royal Rumble match this year, Goldberg initially joked about Donald Trump being the one. However, on a more serious note, he was of the view that Kurt Angle could be the one perhaps due to the fact that he has made it to the WWE Hall of Fame very recently. Here’s what Goldberg told Fox Sports:
“Donald Trump [laughs]. You know Angle’d be special. Kurt would be special. I’ve never really done anything with him… I mean I was in the ring with him before once, but for him to get the honor of going into the Hall of Fame. He might be a surprise entrant, you never know. There are a number of guys out there who would be really cool to see, he’s one of them for sure.”
On people often confusing him with ‘Stone Cold’, Goldberg said there are many stories about that and they spoke about it when Austin came to his house for his podcast. He claimed that the WWE Hall of Famer hated it even more than him and this is something he was pleased to know.
Goldberg stated that he had no issues with people thinking that he is Steve Austin aside from the fact that ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ weighs less than him and he considers it an insult if people think he is skinny. That being said, he is of the opinion that being mistaken for one of the best in the business is not a bad thing for him. This is what the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion had to say:
“There are many stories, man, but I think one of the funniest ones is when he came over to the house to do his podcast. And we had a conversation about that, and it pisses him off more than it pisses me off. It was just nice to see that he felt the same way about it.
And the reality is that I’m honored that people would think I was Austin, except for the fact that he’s like 30 pounds less than me. So I take it as an insult that I’m skinny when people say it. But the reality is that, hey man, he’s one of the best to ever put boots on. To be mistaken for Steve, it could be a lot worse.”
Talking about how he is preparing for the Royal Rumble fitness-wise, Goldberg revealed how had ended up training a little too excessively before the Survivor Series and was completely exhausted. So, with a week to go for the Rumble, he is concentrating on things like stretching and Muay Thai training. The WCW legend said he is not doing much cardio because he needs to put on weight at this age.
‘The Myth’ was quoted as saying this:
“One thing that I found out [at Survivor Series] is that I over-trained exponentially, and I was completely spent. So a week prior, I’m working light weights, I’m doing a lot of stretching, some Muay Thai training. Not a lot of cardio, unfortunately, because the cardio melts weight off of me and, at this age, I need as much weight as I can get.”
What next?
Ever since he announced his entry into the Royal Rumble match this year, Goldberg has been one of the favourites to win it. Whether or not he earns an opportunity to headline WrestleMania is something we will only learn on Sunday 29 January at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Sportskeeda’s Take
With plenty of big names featuring in the lineup for this year’s Royal Rumble, it will surely be an uphill task for Goldberg to be the last man standing inside the ring at the end of it all.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
