Goldberg Suffers Massive Personal Loss Days Ahead of His WWE Retirement match

Goldberg and his family is currently mourning the unfortunate demise of his father-in-law ahead of his swansong on July 12th in Atlanta.

Goldberg Suffers Massive Personal Loss Days Ahead of His WWE Retirement match

Goldberg [via- WWE]

This weekend, Bill Goldberg will take on Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event. As big of an opportunity as it is for ‘Da Man’ to win a world title at 58 years old, WWE is labeling it as his last match. Before circling back to this, it needs to be noted that ‘The Icon’ has sustained a personal setback.

Goldberg’s wife, Wanda, shared some heartbreaking news yesterday via Instagram by revealing that her father had passed away at 88. She penned an emotional note highlighting her dad’s contribution to their household. Moreover, the Texas Rangers actress revealed that her parents would have celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on July 14.

He was not only Wanda’s so-called superhero but also Goldberg‘s father-in-law and their son Gage‘s beloved grandfather. The gut-wrenching loss has engulfed the WWE great’s family at a time when he’s on the cusp of wrestling for one last time. Moreover, the former defensive tackle for the Falcons isn’t remotely near his physical best at this point in time.

Nonetheless, if Goldberg wants to stand a chance against the menacing Austrian known as Gunther, he’ll have to muster up the courage to pull off a remarkable display. The WCW stalwart must remember what’s driving him to stand across from ‘The Ring General’, the disrespect hurled at him by the Vienna-born wrestler at Bad Blood last year. And that too in front of his wife and son. Gunther has already declared that he will do it again at SNME in his opponent’s adopted hometown of Atlanta.

Booker T slams Goldberg’s critics ahead of the latter’s SNME showdown

A number of fans and wrestling pundits have slammed Goldberg’s insertion into the world title picture when he’s bowing out from this profession after a 28-year-long career. Former 5-time World Champion Booker T recently hopped in the WCW legend’s favor while calling out his naysayers. The ex-Harlem Heat member believes that each one of Goldberg’s contemporaries belittling what he’s currently up to would’ve done the same thing if WWE presented them with the offer.

Booker T and Goldberg
Booker T and Goldberg [via- WWE]

The former King of the Ring also humbled the current-day wrestlers badmouthing Goldberg over his alleged special treatment from WWE. Booker has urged them to attain the stardom of ‘Da Man’, who once went on a 173-0 undefeated streak in WCW and wiped out The Rock in 2003 in his WWE debut appearance.

Despite the NXT commentator’s backing, the WWE Universe has picked a side in recent weeks, and it’s not the man who shocked Brock Lesnar in 90 seconds at Survivor Series 2016. Gunther’s trash-talking of Goldberg has received palpable cheers from crowds on Raw. The tides may turn in Atlanta considering the Tulsa native considers it his home, but there’s a good chance he closes out his WWE journey on a negative note. It’d be interesting to see whom the crowd favors on D-Day in Atlanta.

Goldberg hasn’t wrestled in over three years

Goldberg will have to shrug off over three years of ring rust before meeting Gunther on Saturday. The former WCW Champion hasn’t wrestled since losing to Roman Reigns in February 2022. It was after that only when Goldberg grew apart from WWE, as his contract expired and was not renewed.

Goldberg
Goldberg [via WWE]

Goldberg would later go on to slam the then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon for not keeping his promise of bestowing a retirement match on him. The 2018-inducted WWE Hall of Famer told Ariel Helwani a few months ago that it was Triple H who reached out to him about doing business with the company again.

Goldberg was moved by ‘The Game’s’ heartwarming gesture and couldn’t deny an opportunity to do his long-awaited farewell match inside a WWE ring. The former Universal Champion has been training for it for a while. He even had to undergo stem cell therapy as part of the process to revert back to his ring shape.

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