WWE legend, not John Cena, to retire this year as reigning & defending world champion? Chances explored
With 17-time world champion John Cena on his farewell tour in 2025, fans have been pondering the imminent retirements of several other legends. One of them is WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg. The WWE Universe has had a polarizing reaction to the idea of the multi-time world champion's potential return, given his track record in recent years.
Nevertheless, a program with Gunther seems to be the likeliest scenario and one fans have been receptive to the most. A marquee SummerSlam match between The Ring General and Da Man seems to be the way to go. Cena has also declared himself the Last Real Champion. However, to prove his point, he would need to retain his title through all his matches in 2025.
With Gunther making his aspirations known regarding regaining the World Heavyweight Championship, could his and Goldberg's potential SummerSlam encounter have the title on the line? If Da Man wins, he could even attempt to retire with the coveted gold like Cena. However, it is unlikely to happen.
On RAW, Gunther laid out a challenge for the winner of Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul, which is scheduled for Saturday Night's Main Event. Gunther will get his shot on the June 9 episode of RAW, the one following Money in the Bank. For the sake of argument, let's say the Austrian wins the World Heavyweight Championship. He could be confronted by Goldberg after a few weeks of teases.
It is also possible that Gunther vs. Goldberg ends up happening in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions 2025. Da Man defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt to win the Universal Championship in 2020 at WWE SuperShowDown in Riyadh when no one even gave him a chance.
With Goldberg's stunning record when it comes to world championships, the Hall of Famer defeating Gunther is a possibility, but one that has the slimmest of chances of materializing. Gunther vs. Goldberg will likely be the latter's final match, given his age and the fact that The Ring General is perhaps the perfect final opponent for The Icon.
The Austrian Anomaly is known for his ability to work fantastic matches with almost anyone on the roster. He could not just give Goldberg a great farewell match but also add a major name to his ever-growing list of victims.
If WWE is looking to shift to a one world championship structure, given that Roman Reigns is not the part-time champion anymore, Goldberg winning the world title and retiring with it is possible. However, the chances of the angle materializing are slim. As of now, this is mere speculation.
Goldberg's world championship wins in WWE since 2016
Goldberg made a return to WWE after a gap of 12 years to face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016. He shockingly defeated The Beast Incarnate within two minutes on the show. He went on to face then-Universal Champion Kevin Owens for his title at Fastlane 2017 and defeated him with help from his fellow WCW alumnus Chris Jericho.
Da Man lost the Universal Title to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33, ending their feud and kickstarting Lesnar's 500-plus-day reign with the gold.
Goldberg once again won the Universal Championship at WWE SuperShowDown 2020, defeating "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. He lost the title to Braun Strowman a few months later at WrestleMania 36. Could history repeat itself as Goldberg potentially looks to take down another dominant foe in Gunther and win another world title? That remains to be seen.
