WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Bill Goldberg may have the longest-running feud in professional wrestling, dating back to WCW's Starrcade pay-per-view in 1999. During that match, Goldberg went for a superkick and caught The Hitman with way, way too much of it. The blow to the head ended Hart's in-ring career, and he's gone on to say that the match cost him millions in future earnings.
Of course, Goldberg has participated in plenty of marquee WWE events over the years. He was Vince McMahon's break-in-case-of-emergency main eventer, and he has been a staple on the Saudi Arabia-backed super cards. There's a ton of money exchanging hands for those shows. So much so that Shawn Michaels was enticed to come out of retirement in 2018. Hart probably believes he could be involved in these kinds of matches if he hadn't sustained his injury back in 1999, and he maintains that the blow to the head has cost him significant paydays.
As recently as August 7, Hart has reiterated that he doesn't forgive Goldberg for what happened at Starrcade. On Talk Is Jericho's most recent episode, The Master Of The Jackhammer finally said that enough is enough. "There was absolutely no malicious intent [at Starrcade] whatsoever. None. Zero. So does it bother me? Yeah. I'll take it to my grave. But also, I gotta say, man. I am kinda at a turning point. I am done saying I'm sorry. I have said it a million times. I am not gonna continue to tear myself down. I'm done. I said I'm sorry. If he can't accept my apology, it is what it is. You gotta move on. And I've moved on. So I won't be breaching this subject too much more." (h/t and thanks to SECScoops.com for the transcription)
Situation Between Bret Hard & Goldberg Is Sad At This Point
For wrestling fans who grew up watching the Monday Night Wars, it's sad to see Hart continue to resent Goldberg. Their legacies will forever be intertwined because of one superkick, and it's a reminder that even the most simple-looking wrestling moves can be catastrophic. It also stinks that one of the best professional wrestlers of all time had his career ended by one of the top sports entertainers to have ever laced up a pair of boots.
It's a situation where WWE audiences can have sympathy for both sides. Goldberg has never been one to mince words, so if he says he's sorry, it seems he means it. One can also understand where Hart is coming from as well. Wrestling has been his whole life, and he had that taken away from him by a carelessly placed kick. Here's hoping these two find a way to reconcile sometime in the future, but for now, it sounds like Goldberg is done talking about what happened back in WCW back in 1999.
Sources: Talk Is Jericho, SECScoops.com