Goldberg and his son at ‘Survivor Series.’ (WWE)
When Bill Goldberg returned to the WWE in 2016, he said that part of the reason was so that his son could see him perform in the ring.
After all, Goldberg had been retired from professional wrestling for the entire duration of his son’s life, and so Survivor Series was the first time Gage A.J. Goldberg saw his father performing in front of 17,000 screaming fans.
Now, at WrestleMania 33, Bill Goldberg’s son will witness his father perform in front of 65,000 people at the Camping World Stadium, in addition to millions more around the world watching on the WWE Network.
So who is Gage A.J. Goldberg, Bill’s son, and does he have any interest in professional wrestling? Might he become the next Charlotte Flair, following in his famous father’s footsteps? Here’s what you need to know about him.
1. Gage is 10 Years Old
Gage A.J. Goldberg is 10 years old, and he is turning 11 a few weeks after his father’s WrestleMania match.
Gage was born on May 10th, 2006. That’s a little over two years after Bill Goldberg’s supposedly-final wrestling match at WrestleMania XX. Goldberg married Wanda Ferraton in 2005, the year after he retired from wrestling.
Wanda Ferraton is a former stunt driver who Goldberg met on the set of his killer Santa Claus movie Santa’s Slay. Wanda and Bill were both in relationships at the time, and they both immediately ended those relationships so they could date.
“I had an awesome guy,” Ferraton said during an appearance on Jay Leno’s Garage. “And I broke up with him that night and said, ‘Nope. If I can feel this way about someone else that quickly, I’m not in the right relationship.’ It was that quick.”
2. Goldberg Paid Tribute to His Son During His ‘Raw’ Return
Bill Goldberg and his son during an episode of Monday Night Raw. (WWE/USA Network)
When Goldberg returned to Monday Night Raw in October 2016, he specifically gave a shout out to his son Gage, who was there that night.
“I never thought I’d be in this ring again,” Goldberg said during the show. “So thank you for the humble return. What makes it so special is that my wife and my son are here to see me live for the first time ever.”
After Goldberg’s segment, he grabbed his son from the audience and walked around with him, with Gage waving to the crowd.
Ever since then, Gage has been there for all of Goldberg’s major WWE performances at Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and Fastlane. Goldberg’s wife Wanda Ferraton is also always there.
Although it is thought that WrestleMania 33 will be Goldberg’s final match, he has said that he would continue to wrestle after this if only because of the joy of performing for his wife and son.
“Forget about what I’ve been through,” Goldberg said on The Ross Report this week. “It doesn’t matter. I’d do it all over again. The ability to put my son in the stands, and my wife in the stands again, I’d go through just about anything for that, and I certainly didn’t say that 13 years ago. My priorities have completely changed.”
3. Goldberg Brought the Universal Championship to His Son’s School
In an appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast The Ross Report this week, Goldberg said that he recently visited Gage’s school and brought the Universal Championship title with him, indicating that this was the most special moment for him since he returned to the WWE.
“The moment that I was able to take that title to his classroom and stand up in front of his class and speak to them and see him out in that class, you know, it brought a tear to my eye, man,” Goldberg said. “It was one of those things that you see other people doing and you wish that the stars would align, that something like that would one day happen to you as a father, and man, it happened. And it was something I’ll never forget.”
Goldberg also indicated that Gage has become more popular in school since his father returned to WWE and became the Universal champion.
In a recent Instagram post, Gage could be seen carrying around the Universal Championship backstage at a show.
4. Goldberg Says His Son Loves Wrestling
6/22/2015 …..Gage Goldberg hits his 1st home run!!!!!!!!!!!! http://t.co/fQZorPWuCy
Goldberg says that wrestling was not really a topic of conversation in his household prior to 2016.
In an interview on The Ross Report, Goldberg said that he didn’t repress wrestling in the house but that it just didn’t really come up, and his son had never gone back and watched any of his father’s wrestling performances.
“He had never really seen it before,” Goldberg said. “Never. He had never really seen my stuff on YouTube.”
However, Goldberg went on to say that his son is now obsessed with wrestling, and he constantly pretends to be performing at wrestling shows at home, acting out moves on his parents’ bed.
“Every day this kid comes home from school and takes all the stuff off our bed and plays everybody’s entrance music and destroys our California King with various moves that God knows who does,” Goldberg said. “One day it was literally for four hours straight. Full sweat, this kid.”
At Survivor Series in November, Gage actually ripped his shirt off and got in the ring with his dad after the match with Brock Lesnar ended.
“At the end of the day, it was hilarious,” Goldberg told ESPN. “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to write the story. I mean, I really couldn’t have. You hope and you wish and you dream for the right things to happen and everything to fall into place. But I never could have imagined for it to work out like this.”
5. Goldberg Has Said He Doesn’t Want Gage to Work for the WWE
So keeping in mind that Gage is obsessed with wrestling, might he pursue a career in sports entertainment like his father?
Well, if he does, Goldberg would apparently prefer it not be with the WWE. He told TMZ in 2015 that he does not want his son working for the company. At the time that Goldberg was asked this question, his son was interested in Muay Thai.
“One thing’s for sure: I’ll buy a company and have him work for me before he went to the WWE,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg had previously had unkind things to say about Vince McMahon, saying in a 2011 interview, “I can’t really say anything positive about the man. I’ts like working for a carny who’s driven only by his ego.”