Road Dogg Comments On Bret Hart's Criticism Of Goldberg

At WCW's Starrcade pay-per-view in 1999, Bret "The Hitman" Hart defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. During the bout, Goldberg struck Hart in the head with a kick, which resulted in "The Hitman" suffering a severe concussion. Shortly after, Hart retired from the ring and since that day, Hart has laid the blame at Goldberg's door as to why his career was cut short, describing the three-time WWE World Champion as "dangerous" in a number of interviews. Reacting to Hart's repeated criticism of Goldberg, Brian "Road Dogg" James, WWE's SVP of Live Events, has weighed in with his thoughts. 

"I think you do have to get over it and go, 'it was an accident, man. Nobody meant to hurt anybody,'" James said on the "Oh, You Didn't Know?" podcast. "I know Goldberg ... I can't imagine him having malice in his heart when any of this stuff went down. I see that as an accident, and I see that worthy of forgiveness and I think in time, maybe Bret will do that ... In time, I think Bret will find forgiveness in his heart for even Goldberg."  

After his Starrcade match with Goldberg, Hart wrestled for WCW nine more times on television and at house shows before announcing his retirement from the ring with post-concussion syndrome. In 2002, Hart suffered a stroke after a bicycle accident. After recovering, Hart made a return to WWE, where he worked between 1984 and 1997, to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. "The Hitman" returned to the ring at WrestleMania 26 and defeated Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack match. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Oh, You Didn't Know" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.