In the aftermath of Goldberg expressing frustration at how his retirement match was handled by WWE, AEW reportedly tried at one point to sell him on a final run with the promotion.

Peter Rosenberg slammed Goldberg over WWE retirement match complaints. Rosenberg criticized Goldberg after the star shared his frustration about his final match on The Ariel Helwani Show. The WWE Hall of Famer said he was upset that his post-match speech got cut off during the Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast.

Tony Khan reportedly wanted to bring Bill Goldberg into AEW for a "legitimate retirement run" that'd likely have played out longer than WWE 's one did. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp claims that Khan was ready to offer Goldberg terms before the former WCW legend decided to stick with Triple H and remain on WWE's side heading into 2025's farewell.