Goldberg: Tony Khan reminds me of Dixie Carter, I don’t know if that’s good or bad

Goldberg sees some similarities between AEW founder Tony Khan and former TNA Wrestling boss Dixie Carter.

Earlier this year, Goldberg said he had talked with AEW a number of times in the past but wasn’t interested in joining the promotion because he thought their product was “too cheesy.” Khan responded by saying he has a lot of respect for Goldberg, but he was surprised by those comments because that wasn’t what Goldberg said to him during their conversations. Khan said Goldberg wanted to work in AEW.

The subject of AEW came up during Goldberg’s interview on the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Goldberg said it’s hard for him to judge the AEW product because he doesn’t really watch it — he only sees clips. Goldberg added that Khan reminds him of Dixie Carter but didn’t elaborate on what makes the two similar. Carter met with Goldberg when she was in charge of TNA, but he never signed with the promotion.

“I think we have a different perspective on it [why talks with AEW didn’t lead to anything],” Goldberg said. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard for me to really pass judgment on their production because I don’t watch it. I see clips of it. And it’s hard to give a rational breakdown of how they are if I don’t really watch it. So, I don’t really know. He reminds me of Dixie Carter, but a male version. I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing. But he reminds me of that scenario. And it’s just a different feel. It’s just different.”

Goldberg noted that he and AEW were never close on agreeing to a deal.

“No, I don’t think I was ever close to making a deal with him. I think it was much more a realistic transition when Sting was involved,” Goldberg said. “Because that’s why — I reached out to Sting because I wanted to be a part, I thought he and I could do a farewell thing at some point together. But it wasn’t about me. It was about Sting. And I didn’t want — I could never overshadow anything that he does, but I don’t want to convolute the waters. It would have been a nice crescendo, but it wasn’t about me. So the timing was kind of off on that one.”

Goldberg hasn’t wrestled since 2022, but he would love to return to the ring for a final match. He told Busted Open Radio last month that he has a torn rotator cuff that needs to be taken care of before that can happen.