WWE Hall of Famer JBL has weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding Goldberg’s retirement match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. He offered a veteran’s perspective on Goldberg’s complaints about his farewell speech being cut short, explaining the realities of live television and how the situation could have been avoided.
Agreeing to the Terms
Goldberg recently stated in an interview that he was upset with his send-off, but JBL pointed out on his Something to Wrestle guest appearance that Goldberg agreed to the match on network television weeks in advance and that negotiations about timing should have happened then.
“Apparently, he sounds like he’s very upset about it… you know, I understand, it’s your last match. You have a lot of pride in that and but you agreed to it, yeah, you agreed to it. What a four weeks out. I understand. You know, should it? Should it have been a bigger build? Well, they had Atlanta coming up, and, you know, maybe they had that in mind the whole time. I have no idea, but don’t, don’t agree. So, okay, I’ll do it, but I’m not going to do it this way. You know, when you agree to do it a certain way, and then it happens that way. I’m not sure at that point that you can blame them for pitching it.”
The Reality of a “Hard Out”
JBL then broke down the logistics of a live broadcast on a network like NBC, explaining that “hard outs” are non-negotiable. He detailed how performers are given time cues and that if Goldberg had wanted more time for his speech, he should have communicated that so it could have been taken out of the match time.
“That’s a set cue, and so you know, when you get up there, you’ve got a certain cue that somebody’s going to give you… they tell you beforehand exactly what that cue was when you have 10 seconds left, when you have half a minute left, when you have a minute left. So soon as you start talking, you have a cue. There’ll be a person that will be standing right there… giving you time cues… and you’re right. There’s not an option there. You don’t extend that. That’s not a PLE, where you can extend it for another 30 seconds. That’s a hard out that you have to have… If I’m wanting to cut a longer speech… I’m gonna take it out of the match… They’re going to sit there and most likely just say, that sounds great. How much time do you want? That’s the conversation that goes on.”
JBL also discussed whether he can see Goldberg wrestle one more time. “I think we could. I don’t think, obviously not in WWE. I think we could [see it outside of WWE]. And, you know, he apparently sounds like he’s very upset about it… So, yeah, I think we could. I think he’s so upset about it that… what they did with him here, because you showed what Goldberg is, not was, but showed what Goldberg is. I think his legacy goes down as one of the greatest draws of all time.”
Goldberg has stated that he will “spill the beans” and make his full feelings known in the coming weeks. Fans are now waiting to see if the WWE Hall of Famer will have one more match in a different promotion.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
