Goldberg Came Back to Wrestling for His Son

At 49 years old, Bill Goldberg is coming back to the WWE for one night against Brock Lesnar at [...]

By Lan Pitts

WWE Goldberg
(Photo: WWE)

At 49 years old, Bill Goldberg is coming back to the WWE for one night against Brock Lesnar at this Sunday's Survivor Series. Goldberg's legacy in wrestling is a mixed one having been one of WCW's top guys and when he finally came to WWE more than a decade ago, he couldn't quite recreate that original magic.

Well, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and since returning to WWE, Goldberg has reemerged with an explosive energy that feels all too familiar, but in the best way possible. But why come back after 12 years? His last match with Lesnar at WrestleMania XX is considered one of the worst payoffs in wrestling history after months of hype. When the bell rang the two men circled each other and the crowd quickly caught on, projecting boos all across the area. As a wrestling fan, I died of secondhand embarrassment.

When the former WCW World Champion was announced as an unlockable character in the new WWE2K17, the rumors instantly started to fly on an inevitable return. When asked about "when" and not if, Goldberg said he had no idea if he was coming back as it wasn't up to him.

The sports-entertainment superstar opened up on why he waited til now to return and when he got the call.

"I only found out a couple of weeks ago," he told Bleacher Report. He was on his way out the door to film a movie when the top brass over at WWE reached out to him. "It's not like I was training for twelve years, sitting, waiting for that day so that I could turn a switch on and go, 'okay, it's time! I got eight weeks.'"

Goldberg has been training with Robert Oberst, a yearly competitor in the World's Strongest Man competition and said that he understands he's 49, but still giving his all. "I don't train like this guy," he said, "but that didn't stop me from trying to do everything that he did at the gym. It doesn't mean that I think I'm Godzilla and that I'm unrealistic."

So why go through all of this for what is seemingly one last match?

For Goldberg, he credits his son, Gage, to get back in the ring just for the experience to see his father compete at one of the biggest events of the year?

"The main reason is my 10-year-old boy. The biggest impact that I can give him as an experience in life when your dad used to be who I used to be in front of millions of people on television, it's empowering as a human and as a child," he said.

"I want him to experience that coolness, and I want him to be proud of his daddy," Goldberg continued.

That makes sense because before now I guess the only way he could watch is dad was on YouTube or the WWE Network. It has to be somewhat surreal to see his father become this wrecking ball of a man going up against one of the biggest names in combat sports history. Goldberg has promised his son he will give it "his damn best", but what does Brock Lesnar have in store for the returning former champion?

Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar can only be seen this Sunday at Survivor Series, only on the WWE Network.

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