WWE Rumors on Goldberg's Retirement Match Date, Ricky Saints Call Up and Evolution 2

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Latest on Goldberg's Retirement Match Date

Fightful Select reported on May 23 that WWE will potentially look to stage Goldberg's final match in Atlanta, his adopted hometown hometown. NXT Great American Bash and Saturday Night's Main Event will both take place on July 12 in Georgia's capital city.

Dave Meltzer followed up Friday on Wrestling Observer Radio (via Ringside News' Felix Upton) to say he has heard a Goldberg match "could happen" in mid-July.

Beyond giving the former world champion a big send-off, having him appear would build further interest in SNME or the Great American Bash, with both overlapping with AEW All In.

Between happening on the same night as All In and coming amid a packed weekend for WWE, Goldberg's retirement could get lost in the shuffle a bit. WWE is holding SmackDown, Saturday Night's Main Event, The Great American Bash and Evolution all in the span of three days.

Picking Saturday Night's Main Event for Goldberg's farewell would have one advantage. It's much easier to put him into the headline slot on that show compared to almost any other premium live event.

Ricky Saints Expected to Move Up from NXT

Ricky Saints lost the North American Championship to Ethan Page on the most recent episode of NXT, and it may foreshadow his exit from the developmental brand.

Meltzer reported Friday in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Steve Carrier of Ringside News) that Saints, Stephanie Vaquer and Jordynne Grace "are all expected on the main roster imminently."

Saints debuted on NXT in February after AEW released him with immediate effect. A lot of fans will have assumed from the moment he showed up that he'd get called up before too long. NXT would be more of a finishing school rather than somewhere he competed for the long haul.

Meltzer didn't specify whether Saints will aligned with Raw or SmackDown.

Perhaps the plan is to give him enough lead time to be on the Night of Champions card on June 28. At the very least, it's safe to assume he'll be on the main roster well ahead of SummerSlam in August.

Evolution Announcement Draws Mixed Internal Reaction

Excitement for a second installment of the all-women's Evolution premium live event goes all the way back to the original in 2018. However, the recent announcement confirming its addition to the calendar wasn't with uniform positivity.

Fightful Select (via Carrier) reported some wrestlers learned of the show the same time fans did. They didn't receive a heads up that Evolution 2025 is actually happening.

The date is also the source of some consternation.

Beyoncé is playing Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on July 10, 11, 13 and 14. With everything going on in downtown Atlanta, booking a hotel and traveling around the city will be tough, and it might be cost-prohibitive for some fans.

Mickie James lamented in 2021 she thought Evolution "was almost set up to fail" thanks to the relatively small hype and attention it received from WWE. According to Fightful, there's a small undercurrent behind the scenes that history is repeating itself.