Report: Goldberg Draws Interest from 'Several Companies' After WWE Contract Expired

Multiple pro wrestling companies have reportedly expressed interest in WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg now that he is a free agent.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Goldberg's WWE contract expired on Jan. 1, and since then several companies have entertained the idea of trying to book him.

Then 56-year-old Goldberg last wrestled a match in February 2022 when he lost a Universal Championship match to Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia.

Goldberg also previously wrestled three matches in 2021, losing to Drew McIntyre at Royal Rumble and Bobby Lashley at SummerSlam before beating Lashley at Crown Jewel in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

While Goldberg was a dominant force in WCW in the late 1990s, won a world title during a brief run with WWE from 2003 to 2004 and won two more world titles after returning to WWE in 2016, he may not be done wrestling.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated this month, Goldberg expressed his belief that WWE owed him a retirement match, and noted that if WWE didn't want to give him one, he would consider doing it in Israel:

"You never say never, especially in wrestling, and they owe me one. That's all I can say. I made a deal with the devil and I did my job, and they owe me a retirement match. At the end of the day, at 56, it's not something where I'm sitting by the phone waiting for a call. I've got a few ideas of how to do it on my own, possibly in Israel. So never say never."

As part of Fightful's report, it was noted that a wrestling company in Israel has indeed expressed interest in Goldberg, who is Jewish.

Outside of WWE, the most impactful thing Goldberg could do in the wrestling business would be to sign with AEW, which already employs several pro wrestling legends, including Sting, Paul Wight, Mark Henry, Chris Jericho and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, among others.

During an appearance on The Bet (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Wilkinson), AEW president Tony Khan admitted he was keeping tabs on Goldberg's situation, saying: "I think he's a household name in pro wrestling and certainly that's interesting to hear that Bill is a free agent. He's one of the biggest names in wrestling and certainly will be something else to keep an eye on for us."

While a large portion of the wrestling fanbase seemingly weren't fans of Goldberg's work in WWE during his last run due to how limited he was in the ring, he remains a major name in the wrestling business.

Because of that, many fans of years past remain interested in Goldberg and what he does, so Khan could see value in bringing him in.

AEW's television ratings have been down in 2023 compared to previous years, and signing Goldberg for a short run could potentially aid the numbers.

Regardless of what AEW decides to do, Goldberg seemingly has plenty of options at his disposal if he is dead set on having a retirement match.

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