Goldberg to TNA! [Archive] - Universe Of Wrestling Forums

619_fan

07-29-2006, 06:09 PM

This is the interview to which I think he's referring to:

Alex Marvez interviews Bill Goldberg
Email: alex@wrestlingobserver.com
Bill Goldberg will make his first major splash in mixed martial arts when serving as an announcer for Saturday night’s World Fight Alliance King of the Streets pay-per-view show emanating from Los Angeles. But it might not be much longer until Goldberg is back in the ring – in pro wrestling, that is.
In the following telephone interview conducted July 18, Goldberg spoke about the WFA, pro wrestling, fatherhood and his burgeoning acting career.
My Scripps-Howard News Service column about Goldberg and the WFA can be found at http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=PROWRESTLING20-07-20-06. Goldberg’s web site is www,billgoldberg.com. The WFA’s web site is www.wfa.tv.
Q: How did you get involved with the WFA?
Goldberg: “It’s the CEO, Jemery Lappen. He picked up the phone and gave me a ring. Actually, Ken Shamrock first got me involved inadvertently. Jeremy used to represent Ken and I guess he said something nice when my name came up in a conversation somehow. And here I am.”
Q: How prepared are you to broadcast this match and how much do you think the experience you’ve gotten acting and working for History Channel will help you?
Goldberg: “The reality is they’ve got Barry Tompkins and Stephen Quadros. They’re the factual guys. Obviously, Tomkins has done boxing and is a pro at it. It’s the same for Quadros in the MMA world. I’m filler. I’m entertainment. I’m a guy who can mess with these fighters and stick a mike in their face and ask questions that 90 percent of the people out there wouldn’t ask. Most of these guys are friends of mine. I think (the WFA) got me involved because of my passion for the sport and hoping a little bit of my (wrestling) fan base will cross over. I’ve got some inside scoop on the guys. I’m going to enjoy it. It’s quite entertaining for me. I’ve been a fan of MMA ever since it started.”
Q: How far back in your life do you go with MMA, like when did you first become interested and start training?
Goldberg: “I started training when I was a freshman in college as an aspiring NFL lineman. I was always looking toward getting any edge I could in preparing myself to make the transition from college to the pros. I needed help get away from college offensive linemen, so I took aikido and then tae kwan do to get in shape and get my coordination a little better. I segued years later after my football career had ended and went into wrestling. I owned, to this date, the largest martial arts facility in the country in Atlanta. I won’t talk much more about it because my ex-partner is a thief and it went under. It was a 35,000 square-foot MMA arena. It was more equipped than any other gym like that in the States. It was unbelievable.”
Q: You’re also involved in a gym in Southern California, yes?
Goldberg: “I’ve still got that one. I’m part-owner of a gym called Extreme Power (Muay Thai gym in Oceanside, Calif.). A member of my crew, my teacher and partner Ruben Rowell (Jr.), is a traditionalist. It’s a Muay Thai and boxing gym. For an older guy like me who likes to stand and fight, it’s a lot of fun. I started taking lessons with this guy, I think, in 2001 when I started going overseas to wrestle in Japan. You can never be too prepared for the Japanese guys because 99 percent of them were (amateur) wrestlers or MMA guys. I always like being overly prepared. There’s no such thing as being over-prepared. And I took an interest in it. I enjoy athletics, to put it mildlym and it was quite challenging for me. Who would expect a 6-3, 285-pound guy to be able to kick you in the face and know Muay Thai? For me, it was quite enjoyable and a lot of fun.”
Q: We’ve talked for years literally about the possibility of you doing an MMA fight. What has kept you from doing so and what are the odds of you ever doing one?
Goldberg: “The thing that kept me from doing MMA fights, I’ve got more to lose that anybody who would step in the ring because of the persona I’ve built through wrestling. I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone on the planet. I don’t want to say I’m onto bigger and better things, but I’m doing a movie in L.A. right now and I signed a deal with Spike for another TV show. Being properly prepared and smart about it, I’d have to train for an extended period of time. It’s not a part-time business. I would say most of the guys who you step in the ring with have done just that for their entire life or the bulk of it. I’ve been hit in the head a lot, but I’m not stupid. I don’t want to enter into the ring as a pro as an amateur. I always took martial arts as a supplement to everything else I was doing, whether it would be football or wrestling. I’m just a big fan and enjoy it. I’m 39 and I’ve got a nine-week old boy at home. If I can make five times the amount of money to step into the ring to wrestle one night compared to getting into the MMA world and the Octagon or cage or whatever, the logical person is going to look at it and say it’s a no-brainer.
“These guys have gone at their craft for a long period of time. It’s their sport. I don’t want to insult it by comparing myself. Give me six months to a year and I would. To most of these guys, that’s a drop in the bucket that doesn’t compare at all to the amount they have trained. Give me six month to year and I would (compete), but I don’t have time. I’ve got a nine-week-old who has me up at 3 a.m. I study my lines and I work from 7 (a.m.) to 7 (p.m.). [Competing in MMA] is not my priority. Maybe if I were 21, it would be. Instead, I’m 39. I still think about it, so who knows? I’ve been a pro and would like to put another sport on my list. But I had to retire from football because of an injury. I think to do what I did in wrestling was a pretty tall feet. But I’ve got a reconstructed shoulder and have had two knee surgeries – and those are just the things that I’ve taken care of. God knows what I really need right now.”
Q: Where things stand with you and pro wrestling right now?
Goldberg: “Well, you never know. Someone is having an event on August 20 somewhere here in the states and I may be a part of it [Editor’s note: I am assuming Goldberg is referring to TNA’s Hard Justice pay-per-view show, which is actually planned for August 13, as it seems highly unlikely he would ever work for WWE again and appear on the August 20 Summer Slam pay-per-view show]. That’s pretty much all I can say about it. I am contemplating doing some things with TNA with the affiliation we both have with Spike. I love those guys (at Spike) very much. They’ve got me on a holding deal for programming in the future. I would love to help (TNA) out at the right time and right place, but it sure as hell would have to be for the right amount of money.”
Q: Have you spoken to Sting about his TNA experience?
Goldberg: “I spoke to Sting around Christmas time once I heard about his involvement. I respect Sting to the utmost. He’s a guy who played the most integral part for me making the decision to get into wrestling.”
Q: How much feel clock is ticking on a comeback?
Goldberg: “It’s not. I can reinvent myself. (Hulk) Hogan did. (Ric) Flair, the guy is 400 years old and he’s still in the ring. If you look at me right now, I’m in pretty decent shape comparatively and can still pick up 300 pounds and toss it out of the ring. As long as I’m able to do the things I do and I have the intensity in my eyes and my head and heart, it’s something I can do. This deal in August, I may try it to see if I have a good taste in my mouth with it. The clock is ticking, but hey, I try to reinvent myself every day. I don’t know anybody in the pro wrestling world who has reinvented himself as many time as I have. I guess I’m a new breed of guy. Look at the Rock. He’s definitely done a tremendous job. Hogan has done a tremendous job. Both of them paved the way for guys like me. I’m extremely appreciative of it, but I’ve got to live and learn that I can’t rely on my body my entire life. That’s why I’m doing this WFA thing. Hopefully, we’ll have a good relationship. I’m sure it’s going to take off and be a wonderful show. We’ve got a terrific card. Once you compare it to every other MMA event out there, I don’t believe we would fall into second place behind anybody with the card we’re having.
“So who knows? Tomorrow, I may try to be a pro landscaper. I’m aving fun. I love my family and my wife very much I thought she was the coolest thing in the world until I had my little boy. Every day is a good day.”
What has fatherhood meant for you and how much has it changed your life?
Goldberg: “It’s changed my life tremendously. There’s nothing cooler on the planet than a little kid. You can try to explain it to people, but unless you’ve lived it, you can’t put it into words. Brock Lesnar is a very good friend of mine and he gave me the best analogy I’ve ever heard. He said it was just like getting the coolest Christmas present you could imagine, then every day you get a new piece to it. It’s unbelievably awesome.”
Q: What movie are you currently filming?
Goldberg: “It’s called Justified. There was a Steven Segal film called Half Past Dead. This is like Half Past Dead 2. A rap guy named Kurupt was in the first one land he’s in the second one. I take Segal’s place. It’s a Sony picture.”
Alex Marvez's weekly pro wrestling column can be found in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Denver Rocky Mountain News, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Abilene Reporter, Boulder Daily Camera, San Angelo Standard-Times, The Oklahoman, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and a host of other newspapers that subscribe to the Scripps-Howard News Service.