Backstage Update On Goldberg's WWE Retirement Match

While WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia generated plenty of headlines this past weekend, the PLE was arguably upstaged by wrestling legend, Goldberg. The former WWE and WCW World Champion revealed he had come to terms with WWE to hold a retirement match in 2025, though he didn't list a time, place, or opponent. That didn't stop fans from immediately speculating the match could happen at WrestleMania 41, and that the opponent would be none other than WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER.

On the latest edition of "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer addressed some of these rumors, starting by saying that GUNTHER is almost certainly set to be Goldberg's final opponent. However, Meltzer was less certain that the match would be taking place at WrestleMania. Though he noted that the match would make sense for a show of that stature, Meltzer went on to state that he had been told the match wouldn't take place at WWE's marquee show.

A potential Goldberg-GUNTHER match had seemed a strong possibility even before this news, following a moment at WWE Bad Blood, held in Goldberg's hometown of Atlanta. While in the ring for the unveiling of the WWE Crown Jewel Championships, GUNTHER insulted Goldberg in front of his son, Gage, leading to the latter attempting to attack the World Heavyweight Champion before being held back by security. Goldberg can at least take satisfaction in knowing that GUNTHER failed to win the Men's Crown Jewel Championship, coming up short at the PLE against Cody Rhodes.

With this announcement, Goldberg joins John Cena in becomes the latest WWE legend to announce 2025 will be the year he calls it quits. Unlike Goldberg, Cena's retirement won't be a one-off, as the wrestler turned Hollywood star will be doing a retirement tour throughout the year.