Goldberg was one of WCW’s biggest names. He won the WCW Championship and main evented Starrcade twice. He went on to win three world titles in WWE, twice defend world titles at WrestleMania, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Now, one of the last legends left in the ring from the Monday Night War era is poised to officially retire. After rumors and reports suggested it, WWE confirmed on the June 23 episode of Raw that Goldberg looked at his Saturday Night’s Main Event showdown with Gunther as his final match. However, they also explicitly referenced that if he won and captured the World Heavyweight Championship, that would present an “interesting” scenario.
Goldberg’s Road To Challenging Gunther
At WWE’s most recent major event in Atlanta, the Bad Blood PLE from October 2024, Gunther went out of his way to disrespect Goldberg and his son at ringside. In so doing, the wheels started turning. Goldberg had already spoken openly about wanting one more match, and here, a clear opponent came into focus. Word is Goldberg spent the intervening months working out like crazy so he could look and perform like a much younger version of himself one last time.
Fast forward to June 2025 and Goldberg proclaimed himself Gunther’s challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship when WWE returned to Atlanta for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Goldberg May Well Lose To Gunther
The most straightforward narrative for WWE to play out would see Gunther defeat Goldberg, albeit in a competitive match. The Ring General might weather a storm, looking as though he’s on the verge of losing, only to pull out a victory in the end.
There are ways in which this resolution would make a lot of sense. Gunther’s a main event act in his prime. That’s not to mention that Goldberg has quietly been on a title match losing streak, dropping his last four championship bouts to Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Roman Reigns. It’s only fitting that he’d fall short at the age of 58 opposite peak Gunther.
Goldberg Could Pick up The Victory
While a lot of signs point to Goldberg losing to Gunther, there’s also a very simple counterargument. In his last night in the ring, working in front of his adopted hometown fans in Atlanta—the old homebase of WCW—wouldn’t it be a downer for Goldberg to eat a pin? And fans can only imagine the pop one more spear into a jackhammer might get, with the Hall of Famer picking up the one-two-three.
Goldberg raising the modernized, closest thing to the big gold belt so synonymous with his glory days in WCW and WWE alike, feels like the right moment to provide closure to a legendary career. Of course, it raises two major issues. As cool as the stand-alone moment may be, it’s not clear anyone would really want to see Goldberg have an extended reign as world champion at this age and with so many worthy title contenders on the full-time roster.
Seth Rollins Can Resolve The Goldberg Problem In Short Order
WWE finds itself in a darned if it does, darned if it doesn’t scenario. Gunther wins and the live fans in particular leave Saturday Night’s Main Event deflated. Goldberg wins and the World Heavyweight Championship picture is in rough shape.
Enter Seth Rollins.
As Mr. Money in the Bank, The Visionary has an opportunity to do something very similar to what he did when he bailed WWE out of a no-win situation at WrestleMania 31 a decade back, when a Brock Lesnar win would have been demoralizing but a Roman Reigns main event push was already getting major backlash. Goldberg can have his one last victory in a hard-fought match, then Rollins can steal the title.
After all, since winning the WrestleMania Saturday main event and allying himself with Paul Heyman, Rollins emerging as World Heavyweight Champion has felt all but inevitable. Rollins more recently teasing a WWE Championship cash-in when he interrupted the promo battle between John Cena and CM Punk may amount to little more than a red herring to throw fans off the scent of what’s really happening. Indeed, Rollins has been conspicuously absent from sticking his nose in Gunther and Goldberg’s business.
Goldberg’s triumphant moment, immediately followed by a cash-in feels a lot like WWE having its cake and eating it too. That’s not to mention an array of storylines waiting to play out, with a potentially babyface Gunther, a dethroned Jey Uso who hasn’t yet gotten his rematch, CM Punk, LA Knight, and Roman Reigns all lined up to chase the Seth Rollins as the new champion for months to come.