Goldberg on return to WWE: 'I'm absolutely miserable'

Bill Goldberg (Inquisitr)
Bill Goldberg (Inquisitr)

Bill Goldberg may be at the top of the WWE at the moment, but it doesn’t mean he’s having a great time.

Goldberg, who is slated to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title at WrestleMania this Sunday in Orlando, Florida, described his most recent run with the company – his first in more than a decade – as “miserable.”

“I’ll be honest, I’m miserable. I’m absolutely miserable,” Goldberg told E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness during an interview last week. “Nobody get me wrong when I say I’ve been miserable throughout this, but I am. I’m miserable. I’m bloated 24 hours a day. I’m stressed 24 hours a day. I don’t sleep, but it’s a small price to pay.”

The 50-year-old star has been involved in three matches since he made his return to the WWE. Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar last November at Survivor Series, competed in the Royal Rumble in January – where he once again feuded with Lesnar – and defeated Kevin Owens earlier this month to capture the WWE Universal Championship.

While Goldberg is a veteran of the WWE, competing for the company in the early 2000s after his former employer WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon, returning to the ring has taken its toll on his body and regimen.

“People are expecting me to be able to do exactly what I did back then,” Goldberg told the podcast, hosted by former WWE stars Edge and Christian. “I am nothing but a machine now. I get up in the morning. I eat. I train. I eat. It’s the toughest thing I ever embarked upon, guys. I’m 13 years removed from the business. I can’t name a power wrestler who has come back 13 freaking years afterwards. And then, within 20 pounds of what he was back then.”

Then there was the issue of actually performing in front of sold out crowds on national TV.

“Well, I mean, let’s be honest, man. I forgot how to go through my pyro! I honestly, I swear to God, I actively, when I came back to the WWE, each and every time I went through Gorilla [position], I would remember another thing that I had forgotten in my preparation. I throw my punches. I throw my kicks. I pull my hamstring throwing a kick! Throwing a kick! It’s ridiculous.”

Goldberg’s initial return to the company came following his inclusion in the WWE 2K17 video game last year. From there on out, it has been a battle to get back to being not only in wrestling shape, but to recapture the classic Goldberg look.

“For me to be 237 [pounds] and have great cardio and then get the phone call that six weeks later, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do,” Goldberg said. Do you think I continued to do cardio every day? I had to shut cardio completely down and just eat, and eat, and lift, and eat. And so it’s a sacrifice.”

But, it hasn’t all been bad for the family man, who has retained his status as a fan favorite during his brief return.

“My family’s having fun, man,” Goldberg said. “And, hey, at the end of the day, if I want to smile, I’ll buy a car. That’s how I’m happy. I did, I bought one on the way back from [Survivor Series in] Toronto because I worked my ass off.”

UPDATE:

Goldberg clarified his comments on Thursday, saying that he was only referring to the toll that his training is having on his body at the age of 50. Goldberg called the overall experience of being back in the WWE as “awesome,” admitting that he has been “honored, humbled, truly appreciative and then some.”

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