3 WWE Superstars Goldberg wanted to work with and 3 he didn't
Whether you like Goldberg’s menacing persona or not, there is no denying that the WWE Hall of Famer is one of the most believable characters that the wrestling industry has seen in the last 25 years.
After swapping the football field for the squared circle in 1997, the former NFL star produced an impressive winning streak in WCW (173 consecutive victories, but the figure is believed to be inflated) and went on to become a WCW Triple Crown Champion.
Goldberg had a disappointing one-year run in WWE in 2003-2004, culminating in a win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX. Twelve years later, the WCW legend made his return at Survivor Series 2016, where he defeated Lesnar again in a match that lasted just 86 seconds.
Since then, Goldberg has become a two-time WWE Universal Champion, thanks to victories over Kevin Owens in 2017 and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in 2020, and he received his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
A man who often divides opinion, Goldberg has faced a variety of opponents throughout his wrestling career, but he has not always seen eye-to-eye with some of his colleagues.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at three WWE Superstars who Goldberg wanted to work with, as well as three people he did not request to work with.
#6 Goldberg wanted to work with Roman Reigns
In December 2017, it looked as though Goldberg’s in-ring career might have come to an end. His last match prior to that date came in April 2017 at WrestleMania 33, where he lost to Brock Lesnar, and rumors suggested that he could be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Although there have been exceptions, notably Kurt Angle, a Hall of Fame induction usually spells the end for a Superstar’s in-ring career, so it was safe to assume at that point that Goldberg was unlikely to make another comeback.
Interestingly, around this time, Goldberg told Chris Van Vliet that, should he ever return to WWE as an in-ring competitor, he would like to face Roman Reigns.
“Roman Reigns would have to be the guy. There’s no question about it. I like him and everything, all the comparisons throughout the years… how people can compare us through the years, we’re two completely different people.” [H/T ProWrestling.com]
Goldberg returned to the ring against The Undertaker in 2019 (more on that shortly) and he was due to face Reigns at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 before “The Big Dog” pulled out of the event.