Goldberg Speaks On His Past Fight With Chris Jericho, A Possible WWE Return

The following are highlights of a new Phoenix New Times interview with Bill Goldberg:

Getting advice from Jim Ross before launching his podcast: "Well, yeah. Absolutely. I've been taking Jim's advice for the past 30 years. He and I go way back to my Oklahoma days. So why reinvent the wheel and why not talk to people who have tread before you? And he obviously knows what he's doing. And I'm not a radio personality by any stretch, but if you stop learning, you die, and I'm firmly a believer in that. So I'll take advice from everybody, doesn't mean that I'm actually going to act on it. But you gotta admit, when you're not an expert at something and are able to hear advice from different people and discern between the good advice and bad advice, you do that and go from there."

His podcast being different from others:"Yeah. At the end of the day, man, the reason I did the podcast is because I went through my Rolodex and thought, "There has to be a way to take advantage of all the cool people that I know." So, in the beginning, by not [featuring] wrestlers, I wouldn't be able to gain that much traction as the other guys, but I'm not at all like the other guys. I'm different.

I'm not a wrestler. I am a football player who looked at wrestling as a business. I do not live it, I do not breathe it, I do not eat it and shit it like everybody else does. And I truly believe that there's a lot more interesting content out there that I'm going to try turning these wrestling fans on to that's cool. I've been leading a pretty cool life and have some really cool friends."

Would he have Chris Jericho on as a guest? "Absolutely. Why not? We'll do a co-promoted podcast where it should be aired on both simultaneously. Yeah. No big deal. I'm 47 years old, man, I don't hold grudges with people. If he's got a problem with me, say it to my face. Other than that, shut up, you know?"

Jericho tweeting Goldberg is his "bro" and that anyone "trying to stir the shit can piss off":"Yeah, that's how I feel too, man. And I very much appreciate him saying that. Until I talk to him face-to-face, which I haven't done since the B.S. went down years ago, which...it was ridiculous. It was the furthest thing from a fight that I think I've ever seen. But he knows the truth and I know the truth, and the reality is we're grown men, dude, we've got bigger and better things to do than [dwell] on a ridiculous little subject that people seem to bring up every couple minutes."

Is he a tough guy or a softie at public appearances and Scott Hall: "Well, they know that I'm the antithesis outside of the ring of the character that I am inside, except for the fact that, you know, you piss me off or do something that's wrong then I'm going to show that other side of Goldberg. I mean, the reality is, I'm multi-dimensional in the person that I can become at the snap of a finger. But the most important aspect of my personality is the one that's caring and the one that tries to give back to people who have put me in a position that I'm already in.

The wrestling convention or the signings are not the place to show that I can punch somebody in the face. It's a place where the people can look at you as an idol, this big strong guy, but yet, at the same time, have a nice conversation with you, so you smile, put your arm around them and make them feel welcome. That's what you do at these autograph sessions. But, if Scott Hall mouths off to me, then they'll see the other side.

This would be a rematch that he'd never book, believe it. He'd never sign it, because this one would be done in the street or at my gym, which I'd rather take it there, you know?"

A possible WWE return: "I've expressed my desire...well, not my desire, my willingness to maybe consider it again, but I've said it once, I've said it 50,000 times, once they learn how to do business, then I'd consider it.

I'd love to do it too, man. I mean, like I said, I've said it before, I think the WWE and I will never see eye to eye, so I don't think [it] will be very logical, and I think the chances of seeing me elsewhere are between zero and zero, unless it's Japan or unless somebody comes out to be a competitor to [WWE's owner Vince McMahon], because I'm not just gonna do it to do it."

What's next for him:

"I've got a movie [Minkow] coming up in September [and] just got off a conference call with a new TV show. I'm pretty damn busy man. I'm as busy as I want to be. And at this time in my life, at 47 years old, I just want to be able to make my own decisions and live by it. So as long I'm still able to do that, then I'm good, man.

I don't need to vindicate anything because of my last match against Brock Lesnar, by no stretch of the imagination. Because I haven't seen anybody press [slam] him over their head yet. When that's a normal occasion, then I won't feel as though I accomplished very much. But I haven't seen anyone jackhammer The Giant [a.k.a. WWE's The Big Show] yet. So, if I'm the "flash in the pan," as a couple people have said I was, so be it. But this "flash in the pan" put asses in seats, money in a lot of people's pockets, and I was able to jackhammer The Giant at will."

Check out the complete interview at PhoenixNewTimes.com.

Goldberg On His Past Issues With Hall & Jericho, A Potential WWE Return, What's Next,

Bill Goldberg recently spoke with The Phoenix New Times to promote his appearance at the Clickjab Wrestling Fan Fest this weekend. Here are some highlights:

Getting advice from Jim Ross before launching his podcast:
"Well, yeah. Absolutely. I've been taking Jim's advice for the past 30 years. He and I go way back to my Oklahoma days. So why reinvent the wheel and why not talk to people who have tread before you? And he obviously knows what he's doing. And I'm not a radio personality by any stretch, but if you stop learning, you die, and I'm firmly a believer in that. So I'll take advice from everybody, doesn't mean that I'm actually going to act on it. But you gotta admit, when you're not an expert at something and are able to hear advice from different people and discern between the good advice and bad advice, you do that and go from there."

His podcast being different from others:
"Yeah. At the end of the day, man, the reason I did the podcast is because I went through my Rolodex and thought, "There has to be a way to take advantage of all the cool people that I know." So, in the beginning, by not [featuring] wrestlers, I wouldn't be able to gain that much traction as the other guys, but I'm not at all like the other guys. I'm different.

I'm not a wrestler. I am a football player who looked at wrestling as a business. I do not live it, I do not breathe it, I do not eat it and s--t it like everybody else does. And I truly believe that there's a lot more interesting content out there that I'm going to try turning these wrestling fans on to that's cool. I've been leading a pretty cool life and have some really cool friends."

Would he have Chris Jericho on as a guest?
"Absolutely. Why not? We'll do a co-promoted podcast where it should be aired on both simultaneously. Yeah. No big deal. I'm 47 years old, man, I don't hold grudges with people. If he's got a problem with me, say it to my face. Other than that, shut up, you know?"

Jericho tweeting Goldberg is his "bro" and that anyone "trying to stir the s--t can piss off":
"Yeah, that's how I feel too, man. And I very much appreciate him saying that. Until I talk to him face-to-face, which I haven't done since the B.S. went down years ago, which...it was ridiculous. It was the furthest thing from a fight that I think I've ever seen. But he knows the truth and I know the truth, and the reality is we're grown men, dude, we've got bigger and better things to do than [dwell] on a ridiculous little subject that people seem to bring up every couple minutes."

Is he a tough guy or a softie at public appearances and Scott Hall:
"Well, they know that I'm the antithesis outside of the ring of the character that I am inside, except for the fact that, you know, you piss me off or do something that's wrong then I'm going to show that other side of Goldberg. I mean, the reality is, I'm multi-dimensional in the person that I can become at the snap of a finger. But the most important aspect of my personality is the one that's caring and the one that tries to give back to people who have put me in a position that I'm already in.

The wrestling convention or the signings are not the place to show that I can punch somebody in the face. It's a place where the people can look at you as an idol, this big strong guy, but yet, at the same time, have a nice conversation with you, so you smile, put your arm around them and make them feel welcome. That's what you do at these autograph sessions. But, if Scott Hall mouths off to me, then they'll see the other side.

This would be a rematch that he'd never book, believe it. He'd never sign it, because this one would be done in the street or at my gym, which I'd rather take it there, you know?"

A possible WWE return:
" I've expressed my desire...well, not my desire, my willingness to maybe consider it again, but I've said it once, I've said it 50,000 times, once they learn how to do business, then I'd consider it.

I'd love to do it too, man. I mean, like I said, I've said it before, I think the WWE and I will never see eye to eye, so I don't think [it] will be very logical, and I think the chances of seeing me elsewhere are between zero and zero, unless it's Japan or unless somebody comes out to be a competitor to [WWE's owner Vince McMahon], because I'm not just gonna do it to do it."

What's next for him:
"I've got a movie [Minkow] coming up in September [and] just got off a conference call with a new TV show. I'm pretty damn busy man. I'm as busy as I want to be. And at this time in my life, at 47 years old, I just want to be able to make my own decisions and live by it. So as long I'm still able to do that, then I'm good, man.

I don't need to vindicate anything because of my last match against Brock Lesnar, by no stretch of the imagination. Because I haven't seen anybody press [slam] him over their head yet. When that's a normal occasion, then I won't feel as though I accomplished very much. But I haven't seen anyone jackhammer The Giant [a.k.a. WWE's The Big Show] yet. So, if I'm the "flash in the pan," as a couple people have said I was, so be it. But this "flash in the pan" put asses in seats, money in a lot of people's pockets, and I was able to jackhammer The Giant at will."

The full interview can be read at this link.

Wrestlemania 31: Roman Reigns Vs. ?

While we are only through two “Special Events” after Wrestlemania 30, I’ve read a few articles that had me thinking about Wrestlemania 31. I know there are plenty of articles that have been written about Roman Reigns already, but with The Shield on the path toward splitting up entirely I was thinking about who Roman could face at Wrestlemania 31 to give him an early career Wrestlemania moment. While one of the three men is already set up for a match with a different Superstar, I still thought it would be fun to entertain the idea of the match. So without further ado, here are three men that I believe should be the options to face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania.

The first Superstar that comes to mind as a legitimate opponent for Roman to face is Brock Lesnar. Two tough SOB’s duking it out on the grandest stage of them all. While some would be for the match and some would be against it, I think this would be a huge match that would make Roman look like a complete animal if he were to go over. Brock is a guy who is riding the biggest wave in wrestling history and any person who can take him down gets a major rub as well. These two have not met due to the fact that Brock’s schedule is very light and Roman hasn’t been a singles Superstar except for a few matches here and there. Roman would have to enhance his mic work for this feud to work because Paul Heyman will eat you alive if you can’t fire back at him. My only hesitation with this feud is that I’m not sure what reason Brock or Roman would have to face each other. Considering Brock is the bigger Superstar of the two, the best way that I could see Roman going after him is to come out and say he wants to take down the best. Take down the man who took down a legend. The Shield is the only other group that made the Undertaker disappear for an extended period of time. Roman thinks they’re equals, Brock and Heyman don’t, commence feud.

The next Superstar on the list would be Goldberg. Bill has been talking for the past year now about having one more match so his kid could see him wrestle, and not just on the WWE Network. He’s denied it on Twitter but he did in fact talk about working a match at WM30. Now, I’ve been thinking about this feud for a while and Roman would be a great opponent for Goldberg. He’s more legitimate than Ryback is, and he uses one move that Goldberg also used to, the Spear. Goldberg may have not been the best in ring technician but Roman has come so far that he could help carry the match and give it that big match feel. I would use the fact that Roman uses the Spear to start the feud. Goldberg would come back and say he’s seen Roman using the Spear for a while now without ever giving credit that he stole the move from Goldberg. Roman being the tough guy he is, says that he didn’t steal it, he does it better. I could only imagine the match, when these guys go to Spear each other. They would both counter it at first to help build the drama, the old guy outsmarting the young gun and the young gun being too quick for the old guy. Goldberg would finally hit it and Roman would kick out much to Goldberg’s surprise, and then Roman would finally hit it for the win. Although this match may never happen, it was a fun one to think about.

The final Superstar that I feel would be the best option, and credit goes to my fellow writer Mark Moore for mentioning the match in his article “Roman Will Reign”, is The Rock. What better way for Rock to finish off his in-ring career than by putting over one of his family members. I feel like this is the perfect scenario in that everybody wins. Roman gets a huge rub from one of the greatest Superstars ever, Rock gets to put over family and the fans don’t have to watch Rock vs. Cena III. I feel like this match would get a great reception from the crowd because it’s never been done before and the fans would know that Rock wouldn’t be going over. This is another situation where Roman would have to have his mic skills at their peak because The Rock can adlib and still pull out some great work. I feel like there’s no reason that this match wouldn’t work and since The Rock didn’t work WM30 like he intended to early on, he could close out his career against his cousin and proceed with his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

While Jim Ross has said that he sees Roman as the WWE Champion after Wrestlemania 31, I don’t quite think he’ll be there. He should still get a great Wrestlemania moment and what better way than facing one of these three men. What do you guys think? Do you agree or is there someone else that is more deserving of facing Roman? Sound Off Below!!!