Goldberg Reveals Why He Never Had Dream Match With Steve Austin
Goldberg had the fortunes of facing several other wrestling legends during his initial run in WWE, but fellow Hall of Famer 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin wasn't one of them.
The former professional football player signed a one-year pact with WWE in 2003. WWE wasted no time pushing the former WCW Champion, who feuded with the likes of The Rock, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar and Triple H/Evolution. Goldberg enjoyed all of those feuds in a short one-year run with WWE, but why wasn't there a dream match with The Texas Rattlesnake?
During an appearance on Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast (h/t WrestlingInc.com), Goldberg revealed the key reason as to why the match didn't happen. Austin was dealing with neck injuries that prompted him to at the age of 38, and Goldberg's two finishing maneuvers were too dangerous to perform on The Texas Rattlesnake.
"There's no question that I wish it would've happened (the match with Austin)," Goldberg said. "That was the match to have. Why it never happened, I think 90% of the reasoning behind that was (Austin's) neck issues and my finishing moves, right? Whether it be the spear, whether it be the Jackhammer, I don't think that those are moves that he would've wanted to, wanted to do, nor would his boss would've wanted him to do. I think it was a safety issue more so than anything."
Austin retired in 2003 while Goldberg was in the midst of his main event run in WWE. Austin would continue to make occasional appearances for WWE after retiring from in-ring competition, even serving as the special guest referee for the Goldberg-Lesnar match at
WrestleMania 20.
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That match is perhaps mostly remembered for the hostile crowd that booed and heckled the two stars throughout the match. Goldberg's contract was set to expire, and Lesnar was leaving WWE so he could try out for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. Goldberg won the match, and the fans cheered loudly when Austin delivered Stunners on both competitors.
Austin opted to come back for one more match at day one of WrestleMania 38, defeating Kevin Owens in the main event in a No Holds Barred match.
Goldberg's Most Recent WWE Match
Goldberg hasn't wrestled since the Feb. 19 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. There, he lost to Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship bout via technical submission. But Goldberg recently revealed that he's still under contract with WWE, so perhaps he'll return in the not-so-distant future.
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