As Bill Goldberg prepares for his final match this weekend against World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, his friend and fellow Hall of Famer Booker T is coming to his defense. On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T fired back at the online “haters” who criticize the legendary superstar.
A Bond Forged in WCW
Booker T explained that his defense of Goldberg comes from a place of genuine friendship that dates back to their time together in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
“Goldberg is a friend of mine. All right. We’ve been in the trenches for a very, very long time,” Booker shared. “He’s one of the guys that in WCW, we were boys… he knew, you know, I was gonna watch his back, and I knew he was gonna watch mine. I’m serious. I know if we ever got in a situation, I knew I didn’t have to worry about that with this dude.”
A Message to Young Wrestlers
Booker addressed the common criticism of Goldberg’s in-ring wrestling ability, using Goldberg’s massive success as a lesson for young performers in the business today. He argued that being a “great wrestler” isn’t the only path to the top.
“This business, you know, people talk about Bill Goldberg’s wrestling, and I stress to young people in this business, it is about wrestling, but it isn’t at the same time,” he explained. “And when you can parlay success like Goldberg did throughout his career, not being the greatest wrestler, that tells you, that should speak volume to you alone, young people.” He concluded with a passionate defense of his friend’s right to end his career on his own terms: “How you gonna tell a man that he can’t go out there and have his damn last ride?”
The World Heavyweight Championship match between Gunther and Goldberg is scheduled to main event the Saturday Night’s Main Event premium live event this Saturday in Goldberg’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The match is being billed as the final one in Goldberg’s Hall of Fame career.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
