William Scott Goldberg, better known simply as Goldberg to his bros, has been busy in 2019. He hosted season two of Forged In Fire: Knife Or Death, which is, in fact, a real show. He also wrestled in a WWE ring — twice, even! — for a grand total of 11:25. He is actually one of only three male WWE Hall Of Famers to have a WWE match in 2019 (the other two being Triple H and Kurt Angle). And if you ask him, he’s still not retired!
One person who is retired from in-ring competition, however, is Bret Hart. Hart’s career was cut short thanks to a concussion he received from a stiff kick to the head from Goldberg at WCW Starrcade 1999.
It’s been 20 years since that fateful night, but Hart certainly hasn’t let it go: Just last month, Hart gave an interview to Sean Mooney in which he stated Goldberg didn’t belong in the WWE Hall Of Fame, in part because of all the injuries he caused in the ring. Goldberg was asked about the incident, as well as Hart’s continued animosity toward him, at a recent Inside The Ropes live event, and he pulled no punches about his feelings:
“It was an honor and a privilege [to work with Hart], and I very much looked up to him and listened to everything he said… I would have loved to have worked a little more with Bret Hart, and I would’ve loved more than anything to not have kicked Bret Hart in the head. You know, what happened happened. There have been things that have been said on the internet by Bret or by other people that I was malicious or he should not have been in the ring with me, and I’m really sorry man, but if I really wanted to hurt the guy, he would never have gotten up. No joke. He never would have gotten up. But accidents happen and he was an idol of mine, still is, and that’s one thing I forever be remorseful for is the misplaced kick. He did kind of know it was coming, but there are a couple things in my career that I wished I could have changed. That was one of them. The length that I had an angle with him and my ‘inability to be professional enough’ to pull the kick, but it meant very much to me to be believable.”
Ah, the classic “I’m sorry you got hurt but you’re lucky I wasn’t trying to hurt you on purpose” apology. That will certainly go over well!
