Report: 'Wheels in motion' for Bill Goldberg's WWE return

It was 12 years ago that Bill Goldberg - one of professional wrestling's biggest ever performers - last stepped foot in a WWE ring, when he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20 inside Madison Square Garden.

Now 49 years old, the former NFL defensive tackle has aspirations for a return to the squared circle. The "wheels are in motion," with Goldberg reportedly in talks to make it a reality, according to TMZ Sports.

"I’ve got 50 more (matches) in me," Goldberg told WWE.com on June 1. "It just depends on the ability to keep it up to my standards. I love everybody to death and I greatly appreciate their opinions, but none of it matters except for mine, because I hold myself to such high standards."

Rumors of a return began running rampant when it was announced that Goldberg would be a pre-order bonus character for the WWE 2K17 video game. Sting - the face of World Championship Wrestling, who had never worked under Vince McMahon - debuted with WWE four months after appearing in the 2016 game.

Goldberg's first and only run with WWE was extremely short-lived, debuting the night after WrestleMania 19 in Seattle and finishing at WrestleMania 20. He did become the World Heavyweight Champion, though, defeating Triple H for the gold at Unforgiven. He also earned victories against The Rock, Chris Jericho, and Ric Flair along the way.

Goldberg's claim to fame in WCW was his unprecedented undefeated streak, that ran 173 matches before eventually falling to Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998.