Bret Hart has held onto deep resentment towards Bill Goldberg for the infamous career-ending kick delivered at Starrcade 1999, and the wrestling icon remains vocal about his grievances with his former rival. Nevertheless, every story has two perspectives, and the former NFL star has finally chosen to address the ongoing accusations.

Due to the kick, Bret Hart suffered post-concussion syndrome, which forced him to prematurely hang up his pro wrestling boots. Bret Hart went on record and said that Goldberg’s work rate was “0/10.” 

In a recent conversation with Tim Green for his Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, the former WCW star, Goldberg, addressed the Bret Hart story. Reflecting on his early days in the wrestling business, Goldberg acknowledged being inexperienced at the time he was paired with the Canadian Star. He expressed profound respect for Hart’s wrestling prowess and viewed him as a mentor figure.

“Bret Hart, I was a baby in the wrestling business. I was in WCW. They had a rocket in my butt as far as trajectory is concerned character-wise. Bret Hart had just left WWE and we all know about Bret Hart being one of the best wrestlers in the history of the world. I obviously was looking for as many mentors as humanly possible.”

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”This guy was, he was one of the best ever and so I was enthralled with him. I didn’t idolize him by any stretch, I don’t idolize anyone, but I put him up on that pedestal as to be someone to very much learn from. They put us together and I did learn a lot from the guy. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

Speaking candidly about the infamous incident, Goldberg assumed responsibility for the accident but emphasized that he would never intentionally harm anyone. The WWE Hall of Famer expressed frustration at Bret Hart’s continued animosity towards him and stated that he wants to kill Bret Hart.

“Then we had a match and unfortunately, during the match, something went wrong. I kicked him in the head. It was very stiff, and it was an accident. I never maliciously would try to hurt anyone. Well, let me rephrase that. I would never hurt anyone in a situation like that where they give me their trust.”

”Because wrestling is like a dance. You can’t perform properly if both people aren’t doing their thing and I didn’t do the thing right. He caught it in the head and it ended his career. I’ve never lived it down. I’m not a malicious person and I would never take advantage of anybody, especially in a physical sense like that.”

”So it was a complete accident, but to this day, he thought or he thinks that either I did it on purpose or I was so horrible at what I did that it just happened. So that’s the Bret Hart story. I’ve heard it for 15 years and I’ve heard about him bitching and moaning about me kicking him on the head. I can only say I’m sorry so many times and I can only be remorseful for so long. So that’s where we are. I still want to kill him.”

Fans wonder how the wrestling world would have been different had Bret Hart still been able to wrestle. Regardless, Bret Hart had previously forgiven Goldberg for what he did as well, but that doesn’t mean Hart still won’t harbor a grudge.

Do you feel Bret Hart should finally move on from Goldberg? Let us know in the comments section below!

Subhojeet Mukherjee

Subhojeet, a professional wrestling fan for over 20+ years, found his passion during the Monday Night Wars. With expertise honed over decades and a broad spectrum of interests including TV, movies, anime, novels, and music, he offers insightful analysis and coverage. Respected in the industry, Subhojeet keeps fans informed and engaged with his knowledge and perspective.

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