(JTA) — Former World Wrestling Entertainment champion Bill Goldberg is planning a return to the ring following more than a decade in retirement.
Goldberg, a fan favorite known in the wrestling world by his last name, announced on Monday that he will appear next week on WWE’s flagship program “Monday Night Raw.” He will likely address a possible rematch with his old nemesis Brock Lesnar, which Wrestling Observer reports could happen on Nov. 20.
Goldberg, who for months has been promoting the upcoming video game WWE 2K17, talked to ESPN last week about a possible comeback.
“The biggest thing about being a wrestler — and being Goldberg gave me — was the ability to be a superhero for kids,” he said. “I want the ability to be that guy again, but there’s a compromise here. To be that guy at 49 years old, do you risk losing your legacy? Is it something that I am going to regret?”
On “Monday Night Raw” this week, Lesnar’s promoter Paul Heyman addressed Goldberg’s comments and challenged him to wrestle Lesnar. Goldberg answered the challenge on Twitter.
Bill Goldberg, the grandson of Romanian and Russian immigrants, had his bar mitzvah in his native Tulsa, Oklahoma. He originally wanted to go by the name Mossad — the name of Israel’s intelligence service — thinking that his own last name did not sound imposing enough.
After playing football in the National Football League from 1990 to 1995, Goldberg — who stands 6-4 and weighs nearly 300 pounds — became one of the WWE’s biggest superstars, winning multiple heavyweight championship belts.
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