This Saturday is a big day for wrestling. So many events are taking place this weekend, but one of the bigger stories is the retirement match of Bill Goldberg as he challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. While Saturday Night’s Main Event will be a historic night for this reason, WWE might be forcing Goldberg’s retirement match for the wrong reasons.

If you were around for the 1990’s, you remember the name Goldberg. He became a household name in WCW for his undefeated streak, mauling through his competition in a matter of minutes and a couple of moves. Goldberg’s intensity set him apart from the rest and everyone who has tried to duplicate the Goldberg model hasn’t come close, like WWE’s Ryback and AEW’s Jade Cargill experiments. There truly hasn’t been one like the original.

Goldberg made his name in WCW, but had a brief run in WWE in 2003 and culminated at WrestleMania XX in 2004 against Brock Lesnar, when both men were rumored to leave WWE, leading the Madison Square Garden audience to hijack their farewell match.

Goldberg returned in 2016 to redeem that Lesnar match from twelve years prior. Goldberg and Lesnar’s feud was centered around the Universal Championship, putting a sour taste in the mouth of fans because of two part-timers having a stronghold on Monday Night Raw’s most coveted prize. This was the same gripe when Goldberg would take it off The Fiend, Bray Wyatt’s alter ago, handing Wyatt his first loss under the new persona and derailing Wyatt’s momentum.

Aside from the Universal Championship pursuits, Goldberg hasn’t had a really solid program since his return in 2016. Goldberg hasn’t competed since February 2022, losing to Roman Reigns at the Elimination Chamber premium live event, failing to capture the Universal Championship for a third time in his career.

We won’t even go into great detail about his forgettable match against The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia, widely regarded as one of the worst matches of all-time in both careers.

Needless to say, Goldberg’s second run in WWE might not be fondly remembered.

But Goldberg will wrestle his final match this Saturday, and notably, this will be the first under the TKO and Paul Levesque era.

Levesque, better known as Triple H, has not utilized Goldberg in a match since taking over creative. Goldberg was seen more as an attraction for Vince McMahon, since he is a bigger name, while Triple H’s focus has primarily been on the talent in his building every day, with the exception of the occasional part-time wrestlers to elevate others on the roster. Using Goldberg at the marquee events isn’t in Levesque’s formula.

Using Goldberg in this spot is likely coming to fruition for two reasons.

1 — Honoring the Legend

Goldberg is a recognizable name. He did help move the needle for WCW and popularizing the Monday Night War. Every legend imagines having a send-off match to close the book on their career. Whether wrestling is “never say never” or this is truly the end, we get these storybook moments. WWE might feel obligated to give Goldberg that send off.

2 — if not WWE…

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If WWE wasn’t giving Goldberg his farewell, Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling would have seized the day and jump on this opportunity. Khan has the monetary resources with his family to make splash signings for appearances, so Goldberg would have been one. And how fitting would it be for Goldberg to wrestle his final match on a Turner network?

But with Saturday Night’s Main Event, the NBC and Peacock special is in Atlanta, Goldberg’s adopted hometown. This is the same city Goldberg won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Hulk Hogan in the Georgia Dome. Will lightning strike twice for Goldberg when he wrestles Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship this Saturday? It’s very unlikely, but it doesn’t mean that WWE can’t give Goldberg his final moment in the sun.

For storyline purposes, maybe WWE is forcing Goldberg’s final match as a favor or to prevent AEW from having that moment in their archives. Maybe Gunther should be in a different program with a full-time superstar. However, “The Ring General” will have bragging rights for retiring Bill Goldberg in Atlanta. In that event, this develops Gunther’s character and Triple H made it make sense for the never-ending story of WWE television.