Goldberg On What Went Wrong In His Match With The Undertaker At WWE Super Showdown, If He's Retiring

Former multi-time world champion and WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg was a guest on Booker T's The Hall Of Fame podcast. During his discussion with Booker, Goldberg wasn't shy about looking back at the match he had against The Undertaker at WWE Super Showdown 2019.

"I'm not going to make excuses, that's for sure. I'm just going to answer questions and give facts," Bill stated. "Facts are the reason why I had that match [with The Undertaker] and took that opportunity, was because it was an opportunity of a lifetime whether I was 22, 52 or 102, you know? Not that it was in Saudi Arabia but because it was against The Undertaker. He was the one guy that I never crossed paths with, and the heat – I knew going in it was going to be hot. In Georgia playing for The Falcons, or The Georgia Bulldogs, or the L.A Rams down in Los Angeles, it's hotter than hell and you know it's going to be hot. It's one of those things you accept."

Goldberg mentioned how with each new match he books, the preparation leading up to it varies. Bill ultimately regrets his attention to trimming down and getting in shape as opposed to weight training and getting bigger for Super Showdown.

"I had the perfect storm of crappiness because, for me, people don't know all the things that go into everything," Goldberg said. "At 52, going against The Undertaker and being Bill Goldberg in the short period of time that I had, I can either do one or two things – I can get in really good shape or I can try to get as big as humanly possible so I don't look like an old Bill Goldberg against The Undertaker. So, it's a compromise; it's always a compromise. This last time, though I didn't need the cardio, man, I didn't concentrate on getting big at all for the 4 weeks that I had. I just tried to get in shape. I didn't try to add a pound. I tried to lose weight this time. Every situation is different. It's like trapping for a different team. I liken everything to football because I'm a meathead and was born into a football helmet."

Goldberg also explained that his stiff connection with the ring post was something he and many others were expecting to happen. He apparently goes out of his way to try and make the spots he is a part of look as realistic they possibly can.

"But the ring post thing, hey man, that's a spot that a couple of the bookers came up to me and said, well, we called it," Goldberg said. "We knew you were going to do that because 50% of the time I have done that spot I have not had good results. Because here's the deal, I don't profess to be an entertainer on the level of Ric Flair that can go out and make people laugh. I mean, I can, but it's not my way of doing things. My way of making people's jaws drop is blurring the line of reality and fiction so everything I do has to be – it's like the kick I took from Dolph Ziggler.

"The first kick that I took felt really good because I had to react to it because it was planted on me. It was perfect," Bill continued. "That is the way I work, man, I am a reactionary guy. If I am going to be a Defensive Lineman that was an All-American, if I'm going to be a guy who played a couple of years in the NFL, if I am going to be a guy that was known to be a thrasher, I'm not going to run into a turnbuckle and miss it and act like it killed me. I can't do that, so I have to make it look as close as killing me as possible, and sometimes, unfortunately, the circumstances are such that I go a little overboard. And when you accelerate at an age, your body can't take that overboard as it used to.

Along with an intense heatwave, Goldberg noted how the timing between he and The Undertaker caused additional issues to take place during their match at Super Showdown.

"I can't bounce back from it like I used to, and then the perfect storm of the heat, and the perfect storm of The Undertaker not having the timing and not going at the same time at one point or something. Hey, at the end of the day, there's never been a freaking dude in the middle of the ring that I couldn't pick up, period. It was an unfortunate deal that I shouldn't have gone as hard as I went. And then there were a couple of people saying that he referee should have called it. Well guess what? The referee asked me 15 times how I felt and you know what I told him? Fifteen different answers. I felt different every single time that he asked me."

Goldberg followed up the poor performance against The Undertaker was a crowd-pleasing victory over Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam this past Sunday. When the subject of his storied career reaching it's final chapter was brought up, Goldberg seemed conflicted on where his future is going.

"No, [I'm not finished]," Goldberg said. "I mean, I'd be content if I never stepped foot in the ring again. But I don't know, it's not something I aspire to do but it is something I aspire to do. I don't know. I have no idea; I just don't."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Hall Of Fame podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Peter Bahi contributed to this article.