WWE Nearly Lost Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber Because of COVID-19
Goldberg finally faced Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber this past weekend. The match was originally supposed to take place all the way back at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, but with the COVID-19 pandemic in its first wave across the United States, Reigns opted to step away from the match. It turns out that WWE almost lost the match a second time, as Goldberg confirmed on the latest CarCast that he was battling COVID when WWE contacted him about doing the match with Reigns in Saudi Arabia.
"You know... COVID. You know, I hadn't trained in three months, I have COVID when I get the phone call to go [build to he and Reigns' match]," he said. "I literally had two weeks in the gym to get ready for this. So, it's — what people don't understand and it will come out in the documentary is that it's tough to do that as a 20-year-old. It's even more difficult to do it as a 30-year-old, a 40-year-old and it's almost impossible [as a] 55-year-old. It's -- I'm one of the .003 percent of humans on the planet that can pull something like that off."
Goldberg lost to "The Tribal Chief" in just under six minutes and is reportedly no longer under contract with the WWE, though he has left the door open to work with the company again in the future.
"I still feel as though I can wrestle. I still feel as though I can entertain. I have one more after this match, I have one more match on my contract and that's it. We'll see what happens. You never know," he told Ring Rules last October.
He's also addressed some of the criticism that has surrounded his latest WWE run, which has been plagued with some noticeably bad matches and booking (immediately getting thrust into world championship matches on a whim). He told Sports Illustrated earlier this year, "I have cemented a legacy. It's been tarnished a little bit. There is a huge risk every time I come back, and that's a challenge I've taken on. But looking at the whole, I am honored and privileged to be Goldberg in the WCW days, and I am still honored to be doing it today. I'm the last one that should pass judgment on his career. I try not to look back too often. I'm not a fatalist, but I don't like the end of anything. If looking back brings me closer to the end, I'd rather wait until it's over."