Referee Charles Robinson says Goldberg rib injury was staged

Veteran WWE referee Charles Robinson has acknowledged that the widely reported broken rib he claimed to have suffered after taking a spear from Goldberg during the July 12 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event was fabricated, Robinson said on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast. The revelation overturns weeks of online debate that painted the moment as a dangerous blow sustained by a much smaller official.

The sequence unfolded after Gunther moved out of the way, leaving Goldberg to charge and spear Robinson, who had been officiating Goldberg's billed retirement match. The hit looked and felt real, Robinson told Van Vliet. "Normally, he picks you up, lays you down, nice and soft. He went right through me," Robinson said, describing the intensity of the contact. After the broadcast Robinson posted an image that he presented as an X ray and thanked Goldberg, which prompted a wave of online criticism accusing Goldberg of recklessness.

Robinson now says the X ray and the broken rib claim were intentional elements of a worked angle meant to heighten the moment for Goldberg. "My girlfriend and I were in the movie. I said, What can I do to put this over to make Goldberg feel...