2-time Champion claims Goldberg was "very selfish" in WWE
Rene Dupree believes Bill Goldberg had difficulty understanding the wrestling business during his time in WWE.
The Hall of Famer performed on the same RAW roster as Dupree in 2003 and 2004. They appeared in a backstage segment together on the October 6, 2003, episode of RAW, which resulted in the Canadian sustaining a separated collarbone.
Dupree recalled on his “Cafe de Rene” podcast how he felt bad for the WCW icon after he was booked in an underwhelming feud with Triple H. However, he stopped having sympathy for Goldberg after realizing how selfish the latter could be from a business standpoint.
“I kinda felt sorry for Bill, but then as you get older and you hear other stories about the way he conducted business elsewhere… very selfish,” Dupree said. [38:55-39:06]
The 55-year-old often divides opinion among wrestling fans. He has even come in for criticism from people in the wrestling business, most notably Riddle. The RAW star tweeted in 2019 that the veteran is “unsafe, dangerous and a liability” in the ring.
Rene Dupree explains how he and Goldberg had different approaches
A second-generation performer, Rene Dupree grew up around the wrestling industry and joined WWE at the age of 18. By contrast, Goldberg only started wrestling aged 29 after playing football in the NFL.
Dupree, a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, believes his former co-worker only thought about himself due to his lack of wrestling know-how.
“[If] you’re giving me a hell of a payday, a six-figure payday, I will take care of myself to an extent, but at the end of the day you do what’s right for the company,” Dupree added. “I don’t think he ever understood how the business really worked. He understood how his business worked.” [39:26-39:41]
In February, the former Universal Champion lost to Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber, which would be the final match of his WWE contract. It remains unclear if he will ever return to the ring.
Please credit “Cafe de Rene” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.