WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg has not shied away from criticising the way WWE handled his retirement match (a losing effort against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event). At the same time, he's also torn into the company's CCO, Triple H.
In a new interview, the WCW icon reflected on his early relationship with The Game, revisiting their very real rivalry when he arrived in WWE in the mid-2000s.
"It was different at the time, because he and I couldn’t stand each other," Goldberg recalled. "We were both represented by the same agent, and we had a confrontation prior to me going to the WWE, and then, oh, by the way, he was married to Vince McMahon’s daughter."
"I mean it was kind of like me walking into an unwinnable situation," he said, "but I think business prevailed, and truthfully, at the end of the day, he’s a good guy."
That's a kinder response than you might expect, but in fairness, he's remained mostly very complimentary of Triple H, even when expressing unhappiness with the send-off he received from the company. There's been the odd grumble, but these two clearly don't have any heat.
In the same interview, Goldberg praised Brock Lesnar as his best opponent, despite their WrestleMania XX match being derailed by fans who knew that both men were set to leave the company. "The dynamic of having two absolute monsters in the ring together, I was more excited than anyone, because he was a guy that could take it if I hit him," Goldberg enthused.
Last July, Goldberg gave Triple H the credit for making his last match a reality. As you'll likely recall, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had promised Goldberg a retirement match, but reneged on their agreement shortly after the WCW icon put over Roman Reigns.
"I couldn’t have done any of that on Saturday night without [Triple H]," he shared. "That’s the truth, one thousand percent. My fans, I’m forever grateful for them."
"I’m greatly appreciative that so many people were happy with what they saw. It was a long road leading up to it and a lot of sacrifices were made. In some ways it was a success, in other ways it was a failure."
"My job is to be better than I was the time before, and you should never be satisfied with your performance. If I didn’t always think that things could be better, then I wouldn’t be who I am. That’s my take, and I’m sticking to it."
You can check out the full interview with Goldberg below.