Goldberg Retires With Defeat To Gunther At WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

Goldberg's pro wrestling career is over, with the 58-year-old putting over World Heavyweight Champion Gunther on his way out.

Goldberg challenged Gunther for the World Heavyweight Title in the main event of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event from Atlanta's State Farm Arena on July 12. Goldberg managed to hit one final Spear and Jackhammer, but a storyline injured knee prevented Da' Man from making the cover immediately and Gunther kicked out as a result. The World Heavyweight Champion then snapped to his feet and locked in a Sleeper Hold, with Goldberg eventually passing out to end the match.

Post-match, Goldberg thanked his friends and family and the fans in Atlanta before Saturday Night's Main Event abruptly went off the air.

July 12, 2025 brought Goldberg's legendary career to an end after 28 years inside the squared circle.

Following the end of his NFL career, Goldberg began to train at WCW's Power Plant and eventually made his televised debut on the September 22, 1997 episode of Monday Nitro. This would lead to a storyline 173-0 winning streak for Goldberg, which saw him win the United States Title and later the WCW World Heavyweight Championship inside the Georgia Dome, before he suffered his first loss at the hands of Kevin Nash following a taser shot from Scott Hall in the main event of Starrcade 1998.

Goldberg would remain one of WCW's top stars until the promotion was purchased by WWE in March of 2001. He later debuted in WWE on the Raw after WrestleMania 19 in 2003. What followed, though, was an infamous one-year run in the company that ended at WrestleMania 20.

Following years of anticipation, Goldberg returned to pro wrestling in 2016 for a short run which kicked off with him defeating Brock Lesnar in 85 seconds at Survivor Series. Goldberg then won the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens and held the belt for 28 days before dropping the title to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33.

That match looked to be the end of Goldberg's career, but he returned in 2019 for a disastrous match in Saudi Arabia with The Undertaker. Goldberg continued to wrestle sporadically for WWE until Elimination Chamber 2022.

After another two years away from the squared circle, Goldberg appeared at Bad Blood 2024 for a confrontation with Gunther, with it emerging soon after that WWE would host Goldberg's retirement match at some point in 2025. This ultimately led to one final title match for Da' Man at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Goldberg ends his in-ring career as a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WCW United States Champion, one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion with Bret Hart, one-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWE Universal Champion.

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