Goldberg Says Vince McMahon Agreed to WWE Retirement Match After Roman Reigns Loss

WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg said this week that he had an agreement in place with WWE chairman Vince McMahon to have a retirement match before his contract with the company expired.

During an appearance on 93.7 The Ticket (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Goldberg said:

"Vince McMahon and I had a handshake understanding that, you know, after the Roman Reigns match I would have a proper retirement match. And, you know, that hasn't come to fruition through them. So, therefore… You know, nobody puts a stamp on my career. Nobody tells me when I'm done, period. When somebody tells me that, you know, I kinda like to fight against it. I like to do things my own way and I go out my own way. And I certainly don't go out, you know, under Roman Reigns, you know, three weeks after I've had COVID and agreed to a match."

Goldberg's last match was at Elimination Chamber in February 2022 in Saudi Arabia. He lost to Reigns in a Universal Championship match just about six weeks before Reigns beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to become the undisputed WWE universal champion.

Reigns and Goldberg were previously scheduled to have a match at WrestleMania 36, but it didn't happen since Reigns pulled out of the event amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) previously reported that Goldberg's WWE contract expired on Jan. 1, and since then, multiple companies have expressed interest in booking him.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated in March, the 56-year-old Goldberg said he thought WWE owed him a retirement match, and expressed interest in putting together a retirement match of his own in Israel if WWE wasn't interested.

Goldberg burst onto the scene in the pro wrestling world as part of WCW in 1997. He went on a historic undefeated streak and before long, he was United States champion and then world heavyweight champion.

While Goldberg didn't immediately go to WWE once it purchased WCW in 2001, he did join WWE in 2003 and had a brief run before stepping away from wrestling.

Goldberg returned to WWE in 2016 and wrestled several matches as a part-time performer, holding the Universal Championship twice.

While his performances in recent years have often been criticized, Goldberg's name still carries a ton of weight in pro wrestling, meaning he will likely find a taker for his retirement match even if it isn't in WWE.

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