5 stars who took real-life shots at Goldberg in recent years
Goldberg is one of the most divisive stars pro wrestling has ever seen. The man is one of the industry's biggest success stories, but throughout his career, he has also garnered a lot of haters.
Over the years, quite a few wrestlers have taken exception to Goldberg and what he does. The hate has been on both a professional and personal level, with said competitors going on record multiple times to express their dislike for him.
From Chris Jericho's burial of Da Man in his book to the real-life feud both he and Triple H shared, there are countless stories of the WCW icon and his peers not getting along.
What made the dislike for Bill even worse was his return to wrestling and sporadic appearances since. Fans started to turn on him pretty early into his comeback, and it only went further south every time he made a return to challenge a top star. Recent years have seen many wrestlers take shots at him, both subtle and straightforward.
On that note, here are five stars who have called Goldberg out in some way, shape or form in recent times.
#5. On our list of wrestlers who took shots at Goldberg recently: Riddle
The beef between Goldberg and Riddle is well-documented. The two men have mentioned their dislike for each other multiple times. In a recent interview with TalkSport, Riddle revealed why he does not like the former undefeated champion.
"The thing for me is, and one of the reasons I was never a fan of Goldberg in the beginning when everybody was like 'oh, he's so good!' I was like 'no, he's terrible, he's hurting people' and there's nothing else. He just has three-minute matches. When people say 'who was your favourite wrestler?' I really don't have one. I just liked really good wrestling. That's why I fight and I do that. So for me, I don't care how much money he makes, I'm just glad people were entertained. But, stick to your wheelhouse, bro. And stop headbutting doors before you wrestle."
It's safe to say the pair are and will never be bros. The animosity between them is palpable and both men have made no secret of it either.
#4. Randy Orton
There goes another 2 million @Goldberg twitter.com/ToBeMiro/statu…
Like Goldberg, Randy Orton is a certified legend of the business. He is also a full-time WWE Superstar, so he is probably not the biggest fan of part-timers making more money than him, as he suggested in a tweet back in 2019.
Orton saw the former Rusev's tweet saying Goldberg was back in WWE, and decided to take a dig at the Master of the Jackhammer. He replied to the tweet saying, "There goes another 2 million."
It is possible that the whole thing might have been banter. However, the fact that The Viper chose to tweet it at a time when fan animosity towards Goldberg was high speaks volumes.
#3. Seth 'Freakin' Rollins
If only I had pulled out the Jackhammer...
Who can forget the absolute shambles of a Hell in a Cell match between Seth 'Freakin' Rollins and 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt? Wyatt's alter-ego survived countless Stomps and no-sold everything he did, and the match was panned as one of the worst matches in wrestling history.
A few months later, Goldberg defeated the hitherto invincible Fiend with a poor Jackhammer to wrest the Universal Championship away from him. The WWE Universe was furious that a part-timer had just defeated the biggest star in the company and made sure to make their voices heard.
Rollins joined the party and tweeted something that made his feelings known. Given how he has gone on record to express his disappointment with his match against Wyatt, him tweeting "If only I had pulled out the Jackhammer..." surely came from a place of frustration and resentment.
#2. CM Punk
CM Punk has always been someone who has spoken his mind and never minced his words. Many have been the subjects of his verbal attacks, and Goldberg was a recent one.
Speaking to the media after AEW Revolution, Punk mentioned wrestling legend Bret Hart and how much he adores him. He then took a shot at Bill, the man who ended The Excellence of Execution's career, and subtly suggested that he wasn't worthy of his Saudi Arabian paydays.
"I love Bret Hart. Bret Hart's career was cut short. And it's a god d**n tragedy because there's people who go over to Saudi Arabia and they get paid millions of dollars. And that should of been Bret, ya know?"
The Voice of the Voiceless' comments didn't name-drop anyone, but it's pretty obvious that he is talking about the WWE Hall of Famer ruining Hart's career. And speaking of Hart...
#1. Bret Hart
No one hates Goldberg more than Bret Hart. His career was cut short due to a stiff kick he received from the powerhouse that gave him a concussion and forced him to retire.
Over the years, Hart has taken shot after shot at Goldberg without backing down. There are so many instances to pick and detail here, but we'll go with his latest criticism of him on Lucha Libre Online.
"I think, for me, it's always been a bit of a sore spot; it always makes me kind of mad that some guy is flying all the way over to Saudi Arabia and making 3 million dollars in a match and the same guy is the guy that kicked me in the head and never thought about me or what he cost me and my family and what he did to me," Hart said.
It looks like The Hitman will never forgive his former rival for ending his career. The resentment seems too intense to go away, and that means he'll continue to criticize his former WCW colleague for a long time to come.