In 2016 the unthinkable happened when Bill Goldberg returned to WWE and battled Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Goldberg went on to have an extended run with WWE which included a Universal Championship reign, and a big rematch with Lesnar at WrestleMania.
This year Goldberg is set to become a WWE Hall of Famer, and it seems that his relationship with the company couldn’t be better.
But it wasn’t all that long ago that both sides were at odds, and both Triple H and Shawn Michaels weren’t too keen on the idea of Bill being inducted.
Former WWE writer Kevin Eck recently recalled some old quotes from an interview with SB Nation in 2010 which featured Triple H and Michaels saying some less than flattering things when asked about a possible induction for the former WCW stat.
“Bill’s trying to get into the Hall of Fame,” Triple H said at the time. “If there’s a rumor about him coming back, he probably started it. I’ve not seen any mention of his name.
” … We try to do a legitimate Hall of Fame. We try to honor the guys that deserve it. … So when you say, ‘What about Goldberg?’ no offense to Bill, but you’ve got guys like Bruno Sammartino that were legends with longevity that should be in there, but they’re holding out because they think they’ve got one more run. Just using Bill as an example, how many years did he wrestle? Not many.”
“To me, he’s not even in the ballpark,” Michaels said. “Not because he’s not talented, but greatness doesn’t happen in a few years. Greatness is established over a long period of time.”
Eck went on to write quotes like the ones above are why people should never take the WWE Hall of Fame seriously.
Obviously times have changed and after Goldberg drew money for the company with his last run, both sides are on much better terms.
.@Goldberg brings passion and intensity to everything he does…on the field, in the ring, and especially with his family.
His intensity and character made him one of the biggest stars in our industry…so #WhosNext?
The #WWEHOF. Congrats, Bill. pic.twitter.com/pu3OpYAwre— Triple H (@TripleH) January 15, 2018
