For years, Mike Goldberg (affectionately known as “Goldie” to fans) was the voice of the UFC octagon. However, after being let go by the promotion earlier this year by new owners WME-IMG, Goldberg has become a hot free agent in the combat sports world. Bellator MMA has expressed interest, but have been reluctant to shake up their existing announce team. Now the WWE has reportedly shown interest as well.
Could Goldie jump to the world of pro wrestling?
According to a report by the ‘Dirty Sheets’ Podcast/Sportskeeda, Goldberg’s name has come up in the conversation to replace Mauro Ranallo. WWE also believes that his relationship with the recently re-hired Jim Ross could be a factor in Goldberg stepping in to replace Ranallo. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Goldberg has been in the WWE’s sights: he was approached back in 2005 as well. Speaking to The Score the following year, Goldie said “I was approached by WWE, being an old Hulk Hogan guy, I was honored by that.”
At the time, however, Vince McMahon reportedly soured on the idea due to Goldberg’s name, given WCW/WWE star Goldberg’s tepid run that finished up with a heavily criticized match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX in 2004.
The big sticking point here could be workload. As part of the UFC’s A-team of announcers (himself and Joe Rogan), Goldberg worked one to two events a month. With the WWE, that workload could easily triple — a considerable strain on the 52 year old Goldberg, who has a family and likely a number of options on the table. While the Dirty Sheets’ report suggests that preliminary talks have happened with Goldberg’s reps, he simply remains a name on the wishlist so to speak. However, his addition — coming from a mixed martial arts at a time when MMA techniques have become more and more part of the pro wrestling repertoire — would certainly be beneficial for the WWE.
