Saturday, July 12, 2025, feels like a fairly important day for World Championship Wrestling as one of its biggest stars wrestled their final match.
Goldberg erupted on the scene in 1997 and embarked on a winning streak unlike many we’ve seen before, and rode that all the way to a WCW World Heavyweight Championship title win over Hollywood Hogan at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
That building has since been demolished, but Goldberg was able to put a bow on his career in the same city at State Farm Arena for WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. My son and I got tickets to this show for “Big Bill’s” final match. He took on World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in the main event.
To be honest, we went to the show for Goldberg’s Last Ride and didn’t think much about it beyond that. As Goldberg addressed the crowd it kind of hit me that it was one more example of a wrestling legend stepping away from the business.
I don’t recall who it was, but someone on Twitter/X made mention of this being kind of an “end of an era” for WCW and I realized that was correct.
“The Icon” Sting taking his bow in AEW was a far bigger deal, but Goldberg’s feels like the last of the big name WCW talent that was still “active” in any meaningful way.
It really was cool seeing Goldberg finish up in the same city that hosted his most famous moment. It was even cooler that I was there for both of them. Coolest part? Getting to see it with my son.
Funnily enough, I wasn’t actually a massive Goldberg fan at his height. I wanted guys like DDP, Raven, and Saturn to beat him. I actually became a bigger Goldberg fan when he arrived in WWE in for his 2003/2004 run.
His best years were when he returned to WWE in 2016. That first Brock Lesnar match at Survivor Series 2016 was an insane moment in time, and gave us a big guys doing big guy things renaissance.
WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event in the ATL was a pleasant trip down memory lane for me. It was also a nice way to wish another wrestling legend well in retirement. Don’t know what’s next for him, but he did hint we may see the next generation of Goldberg, Gage, step in that squared circle down road.
I’ve been a fan long enough that I’ve seen tons of talent I like come and go, but this one hit me a bit differently. It truly felt like we were there closing a chapter on my home promotion World Championship Wrestling as we watched “Big Bill” ride off into the sunset.
40+ years old and grew up on Saturdays at 6:05 on TBS and Joe Pedicino’s wrestling block in Atlanta, Georgia. Collects toys and talks all types of pop culture in a variety of places. Husband and father of 2.