Former WCW President Eric Bischoff has weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding Bill Goldberg’s retirement match, stating that he was “shocked” by Goldberg’s negative reaction to his sendoff. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Bischoff defended WWE’s handling of the situation, arguing that the company was “pretty generous” in how they presented the Hall of Famer’s final match.
The conversation turned to Goldberg when Helwani mentioned that the former champion had been on his show the previous week and seemed very upset about his post-match speech being cut short. Bischoff acknowledged that he saw the interview but questioned the root of Goldberg’s frustration.
Was It a Timing Issue?
Bischoff first approached the situation from a television production standpoint, suggesting that the time constraints of a live broadcast were likely the culprit. He posed several questions that would need to be answered to fully understand the context.
“My first thought is, I would like to know why. Because, for example, did they go over in their match?” Bischoff asked. “I mean, you have a finite amount of time when you’re doing a live show and you have to get commercials in… So did Bill’s time get cut short because the match went too long? Or was the match before him? Was it a timing issue? I’d have to know why it happened before I could really pass any kind of judgment on it.”
“They Did Him a Righteous”
Despite the speech being cut short, Bischoff believes that, overall, WWE gave Goldberg a fantastic and respectful sendoff, especially considering the stage and location. He was surprised that Goldberg didn’t see the bigger picture of the presentation.
“I was shocked that he was upset. Because, to me, without knowing how he felt behind the scenes, I’m thinking, ‘wow, they did him a righteous,'” Bischoff stated. “I mean, they basically served him up on a silver platter for the fans… the build-up, the Doug Dellinger thing. I mean, they gave him a lot.”
Bischoff acknowledged Goldberg’s disappointment but felt it was a small part of a much larger, positive experience. “I understand he didn’t get the promo that he wanted at the end. He didn’t get to say his goodbyes the way he wanted to. I understand that,” he said. “But if you look overall at what they did for Bill Goldberg, in Atlanta, too… I think they were pretty generous.” He concluded, “Not a lot of guys get a send-off like that… I know a couple hundred of them that would have loved that opportunity.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Ariel Helwani Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
