Goldberg Discusses Sting's Influence On Him, Wanting To Be Part Of His AEW Retirement

Goldberg and Sting only had a handful of matches across their shared WCW tenure, despite being two of the biggest stars at the time, but the men began a friendship long before stepping into the ring together. Appearing on the "Steve and Captain Evil" podcast, Goldberg credited "The Icon" for inspiring him to get into pro wrestling.

According to Goldberg, he will not be part of Sting's retirement, despite apparently trying to make that happen, but fondly recalled how "The Icon" changed his perception of wrestling. "He was a normal dude who went out and did abnormal things. Wrestling is like being in the circus. So, I never looked at it with much respect, but after I watched him from afar I realized that I had the ability to do it." He continued, praising Sting's character and how he tried to make his friend proud. "He had self-respect and commanded respect; it's really hard to describe. Steve Borden — Sting — is one of the best human beings on the planet and he set an example for me, and I just tried to grab the torch and run with it and make him proud. I had the best time of my life in the ring with Sting."

Additionally, Goldberg recalled going to a NASCAR series with Sting years before he shifted his career to wrestling, after the two became friends because he trained at a gym owned by the AEW star. "Sting took me to NASCAR when WCW sponsored NASCAR eight years before I got into the business. We were just friends, I used to train at his gym — he and Lex Lugar owned a gym when I was with the Falcons, I used to go in and bend all of his bars."

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