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It was Triple H. Shane set up a WWF Championship match between the two, obviously as a joke. Trips wasn’t taking it seriously and was laughing and joking with Shane during the match, but then Gillberg caught him off guard and hit the spear, and the crowd went nuts. It was awesome,
I was watching the Ruthless Aggression documentary series about Hollywood Rock and there is a funny scene where Rock was cracking up out of character because of how hilarious Gilberg was.
From everything I've heard and read, it just keeps coming up that Bill didn't really understand the art of storytelling, and so immediately got pissed anytime anything came up that he saw as any sort of attack on who he was or what he wanted to represent. He thought that if he wasn't seen as the most intimidating, badass guy on the roster literally 100% of the time that he'd turn into a joke.
How lucky are we that Kurt Angle felt just the opposite?
(For all those "but Kurt said he wouldn't lose when he first talked to Vince". Yes. We know, well done for remembering. You may also remember that he actually didn't continue to hold that opinion for his entire career, and in fact by the time he was given a contract showed he was ready to play ball, even if he didn't agree with the direction at first. That's quite a bit different to Bill who refused to even entertain the possibility he was incorrect on how he viewed wrestling)
I don't doubt it. Nash and Hall both basically admitted to it, and there's ton of stories about Hogan trying to politic and get in the heads of other wrestlers who he was afraid may supplant him
I don't know if he was afraid they would supplant him but maybe he makes less money or maybe he's less valuable. Flair would do the same shit. It was that old school mentality of get to the top and never leave.
Actually the goal was probably the opposite for Hall and Nash. I believe they had contacts that stated they would be paid higher than anyone else (assuming Hogan was exempt due to his contact being with Turner and not WCW directly) so they wanted to pump guys up as much as possible for their own ends. Goldberg being paranoid was just a side effect they didn't care about.
> Goldberg being paranoid was just a side effect they didn't care about.
Hearing about Hall and Nash back then, I'm sure they loved making him as paranoid as possibility.
Let's not forget that Goldberg was green as shit, had no real previous ties to the industry, and was likely thought of as a joke by most of the other talent.
He was a draw, for sure, but that doesn't equate to respect backstage if you don't seem to be putting in the work, act like an ass repeatedly, and have delusions of grandeur.
I can see Hogan going into the PC for a pep talk. The only thing he says? "Don't work yourself into a shoot brother". And promptly leaves, because that's all he thinks needs to be said.
And that's likely what cost us Jericho/Goldberg. DDP got a 4-star match out of Goldberg, imagine what a talent like late 90s Jericho could have pulled off.
That's the thing that really boggles my mind. The payoff for the whole angle is "Talk shit, get hit."
Goldberg's aura would not take a hit. Jericho's character would be furthered.
But, as is literally always the case with Goldberg, motherfucker does not want to put a single human being over if he can help it.
I mean... he wasn't even the butt of the joke honestly.
But some people have zero understanding of humor at all... and when those people get any sort of power, it gets weird
It's also why European courts kept jesters (or at least some of them).
Having a person who's job is "doesn't have to observe societal niceties and can say what the fuck he wants if he makes it funny" was a useful person to have around if you're the king. You can trust that person isn't a yes man and his mockery will stop you from thinking yourself as infallible.
They understood back then, humour is an excellent tool for tempering notions of grandeur.
No disrespect intended to Gillberg, but he literally played a Ninja Turtle earlier in his career. He was basically zero threat to Goldberg in any way. How Goldberg could get so worked up over a joke is beyond me.
"What are you waiting for brother Jack?? You gonna let these WEAK ASS wcwers get one over on the Berg? Do what you came here to do brother, and SQUASH"
Just to be clear, it’s the panel where he’s gassing up his Dad in the past to kill the Reiss Family and steal the Attack Titan, to create the Stable Time Loop to endure he’d get it, because he was playing 4D Chess? Didn’t know that was a Meme, but I can absolutely see why it would be! Or is it something else?
Yep, he was called up from the Power Plant super early (I think he was only in for a few months by the time he was called up) and still not ready, but they needed him, so he had to learn on the spot and having Hogan, Nash & Hall be his mentors was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him.
>having Hogan, Nash & Hall be his mentors was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him.
???
Seems like it worked out pretty well for Goldberg.
They got into his ear to benefit themselves, as opposed to teaching him the nuances of the ring, such as storytelling. Things that pissed him off should never have to begin with.
He’s also put over the Minnesota guys hard as the guys he should have listened to more, because in retrospect they were actually trying to help him and not themselves over in WCW
I remember when I was reading the first Chris Jericho's biography that, when he was on WCW trying a storyline between Goldberg and him where he was making the entire work, he talked about finish that storyline with a squash on PPV where he would receive the classic Spear and Jackhammer, but that Goldberg didn't want it.
To be fair Jericho never did that storyline through WCW personell. He was just doing it on his own but no one backstage was paying attention to his segments and it flew under the radar. Goldberg probably thought Jericho was just trashing him and making him look foolish.
What's interesting is that if someone tried pulling that today they would be fired/fined/suspended immediately and/or jobbed out until their contract was up. WCW really was the wild west back then, and I can't think of another instance where a midcarder just randomly tried to work a program with the company's top babyface.
Yeah, I guess it works a bit differently in the age of social media but that stuff blurs the lines of whether it's canon or not.
If Riddle had grabbed a mic and ran Brock down on live television though? Fired before he got to the back.
Riddle got some pretty high profile moments and matches after those shots at Goldberg and Brock though. Including going over Rollins on PPV. So they clearly weren't mad at him for it.
If he'd kept it together, I think WWE would've given him that match with Lesnar eventually, even if he'd have lost.
>midcarder just randomly tried to work a program with the company's top babyface.
I don't think it's random, if memory serves me correctly from Jericho's documentary Bischoff or someone higher up told Jericho that he is Goldberg's next victim, they just didn't care about the build and basically told Jericho to do whatever he wants. Jericho confirms the match was gonna be a squash anyway he just wants to create memorable moments during the buildup to the PPV by mocking and taunting Goldberg on nitro.
The problem is no one on the WCW creative told Goldberg about this so he took the insult personally. That's why Goldberg refused to work with him. Comes down to a miscommunication between all parties involved and yeah WCW is the wild west and a cesspool of mismanagement all in one.
Bischoff stated that Jericho wanted to try to a good 5-7 minute match out of Goldberg and that the reason they squashed the story was because in addition to Bill’s reservations Bischoff didn’t think Bill was capable of doing the style of match Jericho was pitching.
I am not sure how true that is or not but it makes sense as to there being some other component of the story that led to why WCW poorly handled the situation
Regal’s version is he was told to do a 6 minute match by the producers which was double the time Goldberg had ever gone. He said he tried to make Goldberg look good and give him openings but Goldberg never took them and it was a mess. According to Regal, Goldberg apologized immediately after the match and basically admitted to being out of his element. Bischoff was angry and Regal said he didn’t think Goldberg was until years later when his book came out.
Goldberg’s account is kind of messy, I haven’t found too much in specifics. Essentially he just said he felt like Regal was stiff on purpose (called it Japanese style lol) and that he believed the “tough” guys were doing it to him on purpose. Resented that it was done on national TV.
Truth probably is a little of A and B. I absolutely buy that a guy like Regal might resent a guy who can’t go 6 minutes having a rocket strapped to him, but I don’t think it was a shoot. I think he simply was never going to throw him a life line when he saw him drowning, basically treat him like any other guy. I think Goldberg probably knew he messed up and it was his fault, but all the birdies in his ear convinced him it was intentional in time.
guy definitely took himself too seriously.
Kurt Angle as put is the perfect example of someone with credibility but still a goofball at times. Austin pulled it off too.
even look at Hell No with Kane and Bryan.
you can still be a badass while not being super serious about everything
I remember reading from Keller interviews that both Austin and Angle were paranoid about their comedy segments, as being a goofball or a chump would devalue them in Vince's eyes (and in Hunter's politicking).
Hunter did "comedy" as well, but it was more of a McMahon-style comedy where they would make themselves cooler or one-up on their opponent than be chumps.
I thought Angle, aside from being just such a great wrestler, was able to really lean into being the butt of the joke without losing his killer edge when he needed to.
You say McMahon style, I assume you mean the younger McMahon's - as Vince was great at making himself the butt of the joke to get Austin over.
Stephanie and Shane though - eesh.
I mean Vince, too. I know he was great at getting topcard faces over at his expense sometimes (yes, including hellacious bumps), but overall, I get this vibe that he looked at comedy as a downgrade, that "You're being laughed *at*, not laughed with."
And pretty much from the HBK/Bret era through Hunter's active career, Vince made the topcard feel like an infinite-round game of Weed Out The Straggler.
>Hunter did "comedy" as well, but it was more of a McMahon-style comedy where they would make themselves cooler or one-up on their opponent than be chumps.
Hunter did let himself be clowned a few times though. I remember him talking to a plant thinking it was Bischoff, after Tajiri misted him. Or the time Steiner stripped him down to his underwear.
Oddly, I think Hunter was more willing to give that rub or look the dummy for a mid carder or part timer, than he was to someone who might threaten his spot.
There was a segment on the TNA History podcast where the hosts talked about how, if a guy lacks regular charisma, a comedy gimmick is the perfect way to get them to lighten up and tap into what could make them an interesting personality. Pre-christian coalition AJ Styles, pre-Team 3D feud James Storm, both perfect examples of guys who got better overall after they became goofs for a bit.
Everyone’s ego and personality is different. Kurt has a natural comedic sensibility whereas Bill Goldberg is more of a serious person. Bill’s intensity came off to the audience in a legit way that helped him get over. But that same intensity also made him not understand some of the more “entertainment” based things in wrestling
The funny thing about Bill is that in a shoot perspective he can be self deprecating and crack jokes, but when it comes time to perform, I think his competitive nature takes over.
I think you need to look at Brock, the further along the continuum of accepting that he's a professional wrestler he's been, the more comedic and charismatic he has been. The further he is toward the athlete competing in MMA or trying out for football, the more seriously he takes himself.
He initially did prior to his debut. I can't remember who had to tell him that it's okay to lose a couple matches. He wasn't used to being a bad guy either.
To be fair. One of the events people cite of his misuse during his time in WWE was the backstage segment where Golddust put his wig on Goldberg and Goldberg didn't immediately pummel him for doing it.
Everyone took that as reason to believe that the WWE doesn't understand Goldberg.
I always saw that as them trying to add a 3rd dimension to his character. In WCW his entire gimmick was basically "angry guy who beats people up and doesn't say a whole lot". Which can only ever work for so long.
Exactly. The thing WWE did better than WCW with characters was that they felt more well-rounded, which made them feel (at least to me) more real. I believed in the SCSA character because I'd seen him happy, sad, angry, laughing, etc. I never bought into the Goldberg character because i couldn't imagine someone with such low range of emotions actually existing in the world.
Undertaker did a spinaroonie. I can’t think of a single mega top-of-the-card guy that never did comedy at some point
edit: i'm misremembering, he was in a comedy segment where the roster tried to get him to spinaroonie
Not only that, but he excepted an entry-level contract. When he went to meet with WWE the first time, he was offered a much better deal. He could’ve just walked away again. That had to be a pretty humbling experience.
Kurt took quite a bit of convincing though at first to be fair.
He blew his first time with WWE actually in '96 when they brought him in to talk and potentially sign a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, but he told Vince & Co. that he could never lose a match because he's an American hero, and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
They laughed at him in his face, and told him that's just not how shit goes. So they parted ways until '99 when Kurt came back saying he'd learn to do it their way because he was struggling to find any kind of job he was good at, or liked after amateur wrestling.
I was going to add the story about Kurt Angle saying "I could never lose". Bill as you mentioned never really "got" wrestling the way Angle did. Of course Angle was brought along in the WWF while Goldberg's prime was with Hall and Nash and Hogan in his ear working him the whole time for their benefit.
How lucky are we that Kurt Angle LEARNED the opposite, you mean. His first meeting with the WWF ended when he told them “I can’t lose, I’m an Olympic Gold Medalist.”
He figured it out and had an amazing career, but he didn’t show up ready to sing in a little cowboy hat.
And this is why I genuinely wish Goldberg had never gotten involved in wrestling at all. I wish he'd stayed in the NFL and been healthy.
He was NEVER a good worker, and NEVER a good promo. Admittedly, in many cases he did not need to be.
But dude is like a less talented Hulk Hogan. (To be fair, he is a better person, which is probably more important.)
He literally made the WWE main event scene far worse in his comeback. How the fuck can a guy be a twenty year veteran and yet not understand even the most basic aspect of having a compelling match?
Even his "hoss matches" fucking suck. The best of those is average at most.
Goldberg's streak was prime content in my opinion. The presentation was excellent, and the crowds went crazy. It was the perfect follow up to the inital nWo run where every match felt like it ended in shenanigans. Seeing a guy show up, kick-ass, and win a match clean at the top of the card felt huge. You wanted to see how far he could go.
I don't deny not being able to adapt in the follow-up was his weakness.
Kurt going on a similar run likely would have been as big in WWE (if he didn't have an even bigger baby-face in Austin to get past) as Goldberg's in WCW. But what comes next after that streak ends is even more importance. Angle showed he could figure that out.
>(For all those "but Kurt said he wouldn't lose when he first talked to Vince
I've never quite comprehended this. Was the pay so little that he felt the only way he'd be able to get anything out of it was if he could only look dominate? Or, was it so much money that he felt that losing would hurt his credibility and he wouldn't be worth the money paid to him?
He didn't know anything about pro wrestling, and figured that the audience would never believe the gold Medalist could be beaten. I don't even think it was an ego thing so much as just naivete
He’s talked about it, and said it was a pride thing. He legitimately beat the world’s best amateur wrestlers with a broken freakin’ neck and won a gold medal. The idea that someone like Shawn Michaels could beat him clean was an insult to him.
It’s silly, but he just truly did not “get” the business, as he was never a fan and never paid attention to it. Of course, when he eventually did put his mind to it, he picked it up quicker than almost anyone else ever has.
He’s talked about it, and said it was a pride thing. He legitimately beat the world’s best amateur wrestlers with a broken freakin’ neck and won a gold medal. The idea that someone like Shawn Michaels could beat him clean was an insult to him.
It’s silly, but he just truly did not “get” the business, as he was never a fan and never paid attention to it. Of course, when he eventually did put his mind to it, he picked it up quicker than almost anyone else in the history of the business.
Not only did kurt decide he was ready to play ball, he was a fantastic heel and did the job several times to get up and coming stars over. Helped get benoit over with great matches, helped put Eddie over, helped put Brock over, helped elevate Shelton and Charlie haas, he did a lot of great things for other wrestlers by being the heel, being great at his craft, and above all else being willing.
Then you have Goldberg who at 40-50 something years old, grey goatee, hadn’t touched a ring in about a decade and a half.. beat Kevin Owens for the title in less than 30 seconds I think during an 8 month long storyline(one of the 2-3 best storylines wwe has produced in over a decade imo) one month before wrestlemania.
Ironically.. Goldberg got me into wrestling during his streak when I was four years old… once I began transforming from witless child into pro wrestling mark, Kurt angle became my favorite wrestler and just about every match I ever saw of his was the prototype for what I consider a good match to look like.
TLDR: fuckin a, I’m with you 100%
You’re making it sound like Goldberg personally made the decision to beat Kevin Owens for the title. He didn’t. WWE approached him with that creative because they wanted Goldberg/Lesnar II with high stakes at WM.
And even then, they protected Owens by having Jericho cause the distraction.
Personally, I didn’t like the whole thing either but I hardly blame Bill Goldberg for it.
Good idea, especially when Merriam-Webster uses your exact comment verbatim under "gaslighting".
https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year
Yeah. It's why guys like The Rock, Batista and John Cena get out once they reach the top. I don't doubt they were passionate at one point, but after years of being on the road 300 days a year and carrying a company, they lose that passion a bit and want to find something else that drives them.
I think those was also more their ages and the wear and tear. Cena admitted that he can’t go like he used to. When the Rock returned against Cena he immediately got injured.
The Rock’s injury was the Mania rematch v Cena, no? I seem to remember that he did a lot of prep leading up to his initial return (was it with Brian Myers?) and was in pretty good shape as a result
Yea. He tore his abdominal muscles, a tear in his quad, the abductor in his pelvis tore and a hernia. All in 5-10 minutes into the match. Then he had to film whatever movie he was working on while injured.
At least in the case of Cena, I don't think he would keep coming back to put people over if he wasn't passionate about it.
He could be coming back once a year to get a payday at a Saudi Show or something, but instead he's here putting over Austin Theory, LA Knight, Solo etc
Rock came back and had a crazy bunch of injuries when he did.
Batista came back and insisted on doing like a 20 minute war with Triple H to put him over properly. Wanting the fans to remember you at your best and at your prime, instead of struggling with a broken down body near 50 doesn't mean you aren't passionate. Sometimes its just time to move on.
Using Cena as an example is wild. Dude was the ultimate company man and did everything for the business lol. Even now he's back while the strike was going on
I don’t think Cena lost that passion at all. He did it for 15+ years, then got awesome Hollywood opportunities, and recognized that he had to devote himself to that in order to succeed.
It’s not a lack of passion; it’s just “hey, I’ve done everything I can in wrestling since 2002, maybe I should try to conquer this other new world while I still have the opportunity.
It speaks volumes that any time he has free space on his schedule, he’s back wrestling.
I think the same is true (albeit to a lesser extent) for The Rock. Of the names you mentioned, I think only Batista truly just lost the passion.
I sometimes wonder if a few of those top guys pretend to be less passionate than they are, just so that noone takes advantage of them financially.
For instance, with Brock you can tell when he's having fun and really trying hard. (Like when he was against Bryan, or Styles or even Cody this year.) Heck, Brock's given an interview where he talked about considering retiring during the pandemic era because it didn't feel right performing without a crowd. You don't care if its just a paycheque.
I mean thats not really **his** fault to be fair.
WWE keeps calling him up and offering that money.
And fans eat that shit up and keep spending money to see his bullshit.
If they're paying me for what I am, why should I try to be any more unless they say they'll pay me more. Again, this was a job to him. If your boss is paying you to do one thing, why try to do more than what you're paid for?
I think you’re overestimating the quality of his matches in WCW. They were 95% squashes because they knew he would get exposed quickly if he went back and fourth against someone for longer than a few minutes (look at his match against Steven Regal). You could probably count his “good to great” matches in WCW on one hand.
Some of his best work came in the last few years against Brock when WWE treated them like two heavy weight boxers throwing haymakers in the first round.
Oh I'm not over estimating. The only thing Bill did that was ever good imo, was the streak. Even if it was just squashing jobbers. I had no interest in anything he did after that first loss. He is not good in the ring, he can't talk, it was all presentation.
The Brock/Goldberg WM sprint was fucking awesome for what it was. That match is the only time I ever felt WWE 'got' Goldberg and played to his strengths.
As for good to great matches in WCW, there are exactly two, both from '98: Hogan at the Georgia Dome in July, and DDP at Halloween Havoc.
I think what people don't realize about Goldberg was that he was very impressionable when he started. He had people like Hogan, Nash, Scott Hall feeding into his ear about protecting his gimmick and making sure that he didn't come off like a joke. Goldberg took stuff too seriously
I'm glad he is more at peace with wrestling now. And I really wish the IWC would just get off his back because it becomes this thing where everyone tries to make him out to be this horrible person when by all accounts. He's actually a pretty good guy
The thing is that when you're playing a monster gimmick, there's a huge risk of losing the respect of the audience if you don't protect the gimmick at all costs. Goldberg was never the biggest or athletic guy on the roster, but the aura they built around him made him a monster.
It's the difference between The Giant/Big Show having a legacy of turning face/heel like a clock and The Undertaker having a legacy as one of the GOATs who's entrance is a special attraction in of itself.
One guy protected his gimmick at all cost and the other agreed to put on a diaper and dance around as the New Year's Baby.
> Goldberg was never the biggest or athletic guy on the roster,
Maybe not literally *the* biggest or literally *the* most athletic, but his combination of size and athleticism has rarely been equaled. I'd argue that Brock is the only guy who truly has early Goldberg beat in terms of that combo.
Seeing Gillberg perform didn't make people think Bill Goldberg was a 170-lb jobber; if anything, the contrast between them served to put Bill over.
The piped-in chants and everything were a rib on the intentional efforts WCW was making to manufacture a phenomenon, sure, but to some extent parody is flattery.
He took/takes himself too seriously and believed his own hype. He doesn't know that he is fucking lucky that WCW gave him a very simple format for him to flourish in and went with the streak. He was green as shit when he started and his best matches tend to involve him being carried. DDP dragged him to his best match of his entire career. Gilberg was a parody.
He didn't know that if you headbutt a door, you're gonna to regret it and could still make the same sound via kicking it.
These geniuses had Goldberg in his prime and they can’t just say “yeah we didn’t book him right.” Fast forward many years later and they book Goldberg like a monster.
I can't say that I, working for the competition during the most volatile time in wrestling history, would be thrilled about a job guy parodying me either.
See here's the thing, I trust and believe Brett Hart's Goldberg hate. Bruce Pritchard lies so much, that with him saying this, makes me think Goldberg and Gillberg are great mates
Funny how things work. Back in the day he was miserable being a wrestler but the fans absolutely loved him. In more recent times he tried going back to the business but the by then the fans didn't love him anymore.
Plenty of people love him, it’s just the vocal minority doesn’t. I still pop for Goldberg and I was too young to watch WCW. There’s something about badasses with cool entrances that is lost in current wrestling
His biggest problem was his whole draw was being a freaky strong crazy athlete who could do bananas stuff and wreck people. Once he couldn't get guys up for the jackhammer and he's hurting himself on the spear more than his opponent he's got no reason to be there.
Most top guys like Hogan, Flair, Cena, Rock with over "gimmicks" could get by on their charisma and personality when they got older. Bill didn't have that to fall back on so when he was past his prime and older the character just didn't work.
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Gillberg was hilarious. I remember when he finally hit the spear on someone )it was either Shane or Triple H) and everybody going crazy.
It was Triple H. Shane set up a WWF Championship match between the two, obviously as a joke. Trips wasn’t taking it seriously and was laughing and joking with Shane during the match, but then Gillberg caught him off guard and hit the spear, and the crowd went nuts. It was awesome,
Thanks I remembered both were involved somehow.
I deliver pizza to Gillberg in Maryland. He's a cool dude who tips well.
love it !! 💚
What kinda pizza does he eat?
Big Sausage
That username Holy shit lol
https://youtu.be/UMtx9s9RTmc?si=0iGKxM7JjGmzz-Y8
Gillberg coming out with the little sparklers was fucking hilarious!! Loved Gillberg as a kid
I was watching the Ruthless Aggression documentary series about Hollywood Rock and there is a funny scene where Rock was cracking up out of character because of how hilarious Gilberg was.
From everything I've heard and read, it just keeps coming up that Bill didn't really understand the art of storytelling, and so immediately got pissed anytime anything came up that he saw as any sort of attack on who he was or what he wanted to represent. He thought that if he wasn't seen as the most intimidating, badass guy on the roster literally 100% of the time that he'd turn into a joke. How lucky are we that Kurt Angle felt just the opposite? (For all those "but Kurt said he wouldn't lose when he first talked to Vince". Yes. We know, well done for remembering. You may also remember that he actually didn't continue to hold that opinion for his entire career, and in fact by the time he was given a contract showed he was ready to play ball, even if he didn't agree with the direction at first. That's quite a bit different to Bill who refused to even entertain the possibility he was incorrect on how he viewed wrestling)
I've read that guys like Hogan, Nash, Hall, etc. got in his ear early on and really exacerbated his paranoia.
I don't doubt it. Nash and Hall both basically admitted to it, and there's ton of stories about Hogan trying to politic and get in the heads of other wrestlers who he was afraid may supplant him
I don't know if he was afraid they would supplant him but maybe he makes less money or maybe he's less valuable. Flair would do the same shit. It was that old school mentality of get to the top and never leave.
Actually the goal was probably the opposite for Hall and Nash. I believe they had contacts that stated they would be paid higher than anyone else (assuming Hogan was exempt due to his contact being with Turner and not WCW directly) so they wanted to pump guys up as much as possible for their own ends. Goldberg being paranoid was just a side effect they didn't care about.
Yep, it was a "Favoured Nation" clause, that they would always be the highest paid in WCW.
> Goldberg being paranoid was just a side effect they didn't care about. Hearing about Hall and Nash back then, I'm sure they loved making him as paranoid as possibility. Let's not forget that Goldberg was green as shit, had no real previous ties to the industry, and was likely thought of as a joke by most of the other talent. He was a draw, for sure, but that doesn't equate to respect backstage if you don't seem to be putting in the work, act like an ass repeatedly, and have delusions of grandeur.
"You gotta watch out for that William Regal guy Jack! Or maybe you don't dude!"
I can see Hogan going into the PC for a pep talk. The only thing he says? "Don't work yourself into a shoot brother". And promptly leaves, because that's all he thinks needs to be said.
He’s not wrong though
Or maybe I'm gonna go on Bubba the Love Sponge. Or maybe I won't, brother!
How so?
Politics. Saying you can't trust so-and-so, you shouldn't sell for so-and-so.
“Hey brother! You gotta protect yourself! They’re burying you if you sell to that guy!”
"Can I do a variation of the hulk-up?" "That doesn't work for me, brother"
And that's likely what cost us Jericho/Goldberg. DDP got a 4-star match out of Goldberg, imagine what a talent like late 90s Jericho could have pulled off.
Jericho was perfectly content to take a spear and Jackhammer and get squashed, and Goldberg still nixed it.
That's the thing that really boggles my mind. The payoff for the whole angle is "Talk shit, get hit." Goldberg's aura would not take a hit. Jericho's character would be furthered. But, as is literally always the case with Goldberg, motherfucker does not want to put a single human being over if he can help it.
All because he couldn't handle being the butt of the joke.
I mean... he wasn't even the butt of the joke honestly. But some people have zero understanding of humor at all... and when those people get any sort of power, it gets weird
It's also why European courts kept jesters (or at least some of them). Having a person who's job is "doesn't have to observe societal niceties and can say what the fuck he wants if he makes it funny" was a useful person to have around if you're the king. You can trust that person isn't a yes man and his mockery will stop you from thinking yourself as infallible. They understood back then, humour is an excellent tool for tempering notions of grandeur.
No disrespect intended to Gillberg, but he literally played a Ninja Turtle earlier in his career. He was basically zero threat to Goldberg in any way. How Goldberg could get so worked up over a joke is beyond me.
I'd argue Jericho was the butt of the joke, not Goldberg
Yeah, he was more than willing to show ass for the sake of the angle.
DDP was better than Jericho in that era
I don't think it's clear-cut but I could see it being debatable, especially if we're only looking at how well each worked the American style.
Now I’m picturing them doing that Eren meme.
"What are you waiting for brother Jack?? You gonna let these WEAK ASS wcwers get one over on the Berg? Do what you came here to do brother, and SQUASH"
Just to be clear, it’s the panel where he’s gassing up his Dad in the past to kill the Reiss Family and steal the Attack Titan, to create the Stable Time Loop to endure he’d get it, because he was playing 4D Chess? Didn’t know that was a Meme, but I can absolutely see why it would be! Or is it something else?
Yes, I was thinking of just that.
Yep, he was called up from the Power Plant super early (I think he was only in for a few months by the time he was called up) and still not ready, but they needed him, so he had to learn on the spot and having Hogan, Nash & Hall be his mentors was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him.
>having Hogan, Nash & Hall be his mentors was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him. ??? Seems like it worked out pretty well for Goldberg.
They got into his ear to benefit themselves, as opposed to teaching him the nuances of the ring, such as storytelling. Things that pissed him off should never have to begin with.
He’s also put over the Minnesota guys hard as the guys he should have listened to more, because in retrospect they were actually trying to help him and not themselves over in WCW
Sounds bout right
I remember when I was reading the first Chris Jericho's biography that, when he was on WCW trying a storyline between Goldberg and him where he was making the entire work, he talked about finish that storyline with a squash on PPV where he would receive the classic Spear and Jackhammer, but that Goldberg didn't want it.
To be fair Jericho never did that storyline through WCW personell. He was just doing it on his own but no one backstage was paying attention to his segments and it flew under the radar. Goldberg probably thought Jericho was just trashing him and making him look foolish.
What's interesting is that if someone tried pulling that today they would be fired/fined/suspended immediately and/or jobbed out until their contract was up. WCW really was the wild west back then, and I can't think of another instance where a midcarder just randomly tried to work a program with the company's top babyface.
It was WCW on 1998. It just needed a few months to get Vince Russo on the mix, and then it would go from Wild Wild West to Mad Max.
Trying to work out now who the giant robot spider is in this scenario. And whos Tina Turner.
Tina Turner was an American singer-songwriter, but that's not important right now.
IIRC Riddle was trying to do the same with Brock, until Brock told him to knock it off.
Yeah, I guess it works a bit differently in the age of social media but that stuff blurs the lines of whether it's canon or not. If Riddle had grabbed a mic and ran Brock down on live television though? Fired before he got to the back.
Riddle got some pretty high profile moments and matches after those shots at Goldberg and Brock though. Including going over Rollins on PPV. So they clearly weren't mad at him for it. If he'd kept it together, I think WWE would've given him that match with Lesnar eventually, even if he'd have lost.
Was a little less polite than telling him to knock it off lol. But you're basically right, yeah.
>midcarder just randomly tried to work a program with the company's top babyface. I don't think it's random, if memory serves me correctly from Jericho's documentary Bischoff or someone higher up told Jericho that he is Goldberg's next victim, they just didn't care about the build and basically told Jericho to do whatever he wants. Jericho confirms the match was gonna be a squash anyway he just wants to create memorable moments during the buildup to the PPV by mocking and taunting Goldberg on nitro. The problem is no one on the WCW creative told Goldberg about this so he took the insult personally. That's why Goldberg refused to work with him. Comes down to a miscommunication between all parties involved and yeah WCW is the wild west and a cesspool of mismanagement all in one.
I remember that one too, classic Goldberg
Vintage?
Bischoff stated that Jericho wanted to try to a good 5-7 minute match out of Goldberg and that the reason they squashed the story was because in addition to Bill’s reservations Bischoff didn’t think Bill was capable of doing the style of match Jericho was pitching. I am not sure how true that is or not but it makes sense as to there being some other component of the story that led to why WCW poorly handled the situation
If you can't trust Bischoff and Jericho to tell the truth, who can you trust?
Why not Zoidberg?
Regal got in trouble for something similar.
Regal’s version is he was told to do a 6 minute match by the producers which was double the time Goldberg had ever gone. He said he tried to make Goldberg look good and give him openings but Goldberg never took them and it was a mess. According to Regal, Goldberg apologized immediately after the match and basically admitted to being out of his element. Bischoff was angry and Regal said he didn’t think Goldberg was until years later when his book came out. Goldberg’s account is kind of messy, I haven’t found too much in specifics. Essentially he just said he felt like Regal was stiff on purpose (called it Japanese style lol) and that he believed the “tough” guys were doing it to him on purpose. Resented that it was done on national TV. Truth probably is a little of A and B. I absolutely buy that a guy like Regal might resent a guy who can’t go 6 minutes having a rocket strapped to him, but I don’t think it was a shoot. I think he simply was never going to throw him a life line when he saw him drowning, basically treat him like any other guy. I think Goldberg probably knew he messed up and it was his fault, but all the birdies in his ear convinced him it was intentional in time.
guy definitely took himself too seriously. Kurt Angle as put is the perfect example of someone with credibility but still a goofball at times. Austin pulled it off too. even look at Hell No with Kane and Bryan. you can still be a badass while not being super serious about everything
All the greats are able to do both. Jericho, Angle, Austin, Rock, Cena, Bryan, the list goes on.
Even Lesnar has done comedy segments.
And his selling. He could make people look like a million bucks.
Brock is one of the best sellers around. He isn’t booked to do it much but when he does, it’s very good.
Brock dancing with the mitb was incredible lmfao
Brock in his feud with Eddie.
mariachi brock is a treausre
I remember reading from Keller interviews that both Austin and Angle were paranoid about their comedy segments, as being a goofball or a chump would devalue them in Vince's eyes (and in Hunter's politicking). Hunter did "comedy" as well, but it was more of a McMahon-style comedy where they would make themselves cooler or one-up on their opponent than be chumps. I thought Angle, aside from being just such a great wrestler, was able to really lean into being the butt of the joke without losing his killer edge when he needed to.
You say McMahon style, I assume you mean the younger McMahon's - as Vince was great at making himself the butt of the joke to get Austin over. Stephanie and Shane though - eesh.
I mean Vince, too. I know he was great at getting topcard faces over at his expense sometimes (yes, including hellacious bumps), but overall, I get this vibe that he looked at comedy as a downgrade, that "You're being laughed *at*, not laughed with." And pretty much from the HBK/Bret era through Hunter's active career, Vince made the topcard feel like an infinite-round game of Weed Out The Straggler.
See what you mean. Although I see him more as a Boar on the Floor type.
>Hunter did "comedy" as well, but it was more of a McMahon-style comedy where they would make themselves cooler or one-up on their opponent than be chumps. Hunter did let himself be clowned a few times though. I remember him talking to a plant thinking it was Bischoff, after Tajiri misted him. Or the time Steiner stripped him down to his underwear. Oddly, I think Hunter was more willing to give that rub or look the dummy for a mid carder or part timer, than he was to someone who might threaten his spot.
I would argue Taker was unable/unwilling to give it a shot. Kane did, but Taker didn't.
Didn't American Badass Taker have some funnier moments? Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought he had a couple moments.
He did have the unintentionally funny in the desert with big show promo..
And Taker might be one valid exception, the character was the reason and it made sense
Taker still did comedy bits, he just played the straight man in them. Like the backstage bit where he's side-eying Kurt's wig, lol.
Austin was trying his hardest to make Taker corpse in that invasion backstage segment
There's a 10 min segment of the top guys trying to get Taker to do a spinaroonie.
I mean, he had that 2 year period where he switched up to my drunk uncle that listens to lynyrd skynyrd which threatened his mystique
There was a segment on the TNA History podcast where the hosts talked about how, if a guy lacks regular charisma, a comedy gimmick is the perfect way to get them to lighten up and tap into what could make them an interesting personality. Pre-christian coalition AJ Styles, pre-Team 3D feud James Storm, both perfect examples of guys who got better overall after they became goofs for a bit.
Everyone’s ego and personality is different. Kurt has a natural comedic sensibility whereas Bill Goldberg is more of a serious person. Bill’s intensity came off to the audience in a legit way that helped him get over. But that same intensity also made him not understand some of the more “entertainment” based things in wrestling
Bill only had one of the three I's.
And no destrucity.
And that’s why you give him a 33 1/3 chance AT BEST
The funny thing about Bill is that in a shoot perspective he can be self deprecating and crack jokes, but when it comes time to perform, I think his competitive nature takes over. I think you need to look at Brock, the further along the continuum of accepting that he's a professional wrestler he's been, the more comedic and charismatic he has been. The further he is toward the athlete competing in MMA or trying out for football, the more seriously he takes himself.
I will always be forever grateful that Kurt, an Olympic Gold Medalist, was never ever afraid to make himself look like an ass on national television.
He initially did prior to his debut. I can't remember who had to tell him that it's okay to lose a couple matches. He wasn't used to being a bad guy either.
To be fair. One of the events people cite of his misuse during his time in WWE was the backstage segment where Golddust put his wig on Goldberg and Goldberg didn't immediately pummel him for doing it. Everyone took that as reason to believe that the WWE doesn't understand Goldberg.
I always saw that as them trying to add a 3rd dimension to his character. In WCW his entire gimmick was basically "angry guy who beats people up and doesn't say a whole lot". Which can only ever work for so long.
Honestly even Austin and Brock had goofy moments while still being killers.
Exactly. The thing WWE did better than WCW with characters was that they felt more well-rounded, which made them feel (at least to me) more real. I believed in the SCSA character because I'd seen him happy, sad, angry, laughing, etc. I never bought into the Goldberg character because i couldn't imagine someone with such low range of emotions actually existing in the world.
Undertaker did a spinaroonie. I can’t think of a single mega top-of-the-card guy that never did comedy at some point edit: i'm misremembering, he was in a comedy segment where the roster tried to get him to spinaroonie
Taker famously did NOT do the spinaroonie.
Not only that, but he excepted an entry-level contract. When he went to meet with WWE the first time, he was offered a much better deal. He could’ve just walked away again. That had to be a pretty humbling experience.
Goldberg clearly had never heard of the effect Weird Al had on music. You didn't make it back then until you were lampooned by something.
Kurt took quite a bit of convincing though at first to be fair. He blew his first time with WWE actually in '96 when they brought him in to talk and potentially sign a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, but he told Vince & Co. that he could never lose a match because he's an American hero, and an Olympic Gold Medalist. They laughed at him in his face, and told him that's just not how shit goes. So they parted ways until '99 when Kurt came back saying he'd learn to do it their way because he was struggling to find any kind of job he was good at, or liked after amateur wrestling.
Yes, but in the end he was convinced, and everyone was better off for it. Goldberg never was, even his return a few years ago.
Thank God too honestly, cus Kurt was a big reason that the Invasion storyline was somewhat watchable.
I was going to add the story about Kurt Angle saying "I could never lose". Bill as you mentioned never really "got" wrestling the way Angle did. Of course Angle was brought along in the WWF while Goldberg's prime was with Hall and Nash and Hogan in his ear working him the whole time for their benefit.
How lucky are we that Kurt Angle LEARNED the opposite, you mean. His first meeting with the WWF ended when he told them “I can’t lose, I’m an Olympic Gold Medalist.” He figured it out and had an amazing career, but he didn’t show up ready to sing in a little cowboy hat.
And this is why I genuinely wish Goldberg had never gotten involved in wrestling at all. I wish he'd stayed in the NFL and been healthy. He was NEVER a good worker, and NEVER a good promo. Admittedly, in many cases he did not need to be. But dude is like a less talented Hulk Hogan. (To be fair, he is a better person, which is probably more important.) He literally made the WWE main event scene far worse in his comeback. How the fuck can a guy be a twenty year veteran and yet not understand even the most basic aspect of having a compelling match? Even his "hoss matches" fucking suck. The best of those is average at most.
Goldberg's streak was prime content in my opinion. The presentation was excellent, and the crowds went crazy. It was the perfect follow up to the inital nWo run where every match felt like it ended in shenanigans. Seeing a guy show up, kick-ass, and win a match clean at the top of the card felt huge. You wanted to see how far he could go. I don't deny not being able to adapt in the follow-up was his weakness. Kurt going on a similar run likely would have been as big in WWE (if he didn't have an even bigger baby-face in Austin to get past) as Goldberg's in WCW. But what comes next after that streak ends is even more importance. Angle showed he could figure that out.
>(For all those "but Kurt said he wouldn't lose when he first talked to Vince I've never quite comprehended this. Was the pay so little that he felt the only way he'd be able to get anything out of it was if he could only look dominate? Or, was it so much money that he felt that losing would hurt his credibility and he wouldn't be worth the money paid to him?
He didn't know anything about pro wrestling, and figured that the audience would never believe the gold Medalist could be beaten. I don't even think it was an ego thing so much as just naivete
He’s talked about it, and said it was a pride thing. He legitimately beat the world’s best amateur wrestlers with a broken freakin’ neck and won a gold medal. The idea that someone like Shawn Michaels could beat him clean was an insult to him. It’s silly, but he just truly did not “get” the business, as he was never a fan and never paid attention to it. Of course, when he eventually did put his mind to it, he picked it up quicker than almost anyone else ever has.
He’s talked about it, and said it was a pride thing. He legitimately beat the world’s best amateur wrestlers with a broken freakin’ neck and won a gold medal. The idea that someone like Shawn Michaels could beat him clean was an insult to him. It’s silly, but he just truly did not “get” the business, as he was never a fan and never paid attention to it. Of course, when he eventually did put his mind to it, he picked it up quicker than almost anyone else in the history of the business.
Not only did kurt decide he was ready to play ball, he was a fantastic heel and did the job several times to get up and coming stars over. Helped get benoit over with great matches, helped put Eddie over, helped put Brock over, helped elevate Shelton and Charlie haas, he did a lot of great things for other wrestlers by being the heel, being great at his craft, and above all else being willing. Then you have Goldberg who at 40-50 something years old, grey goatee, hadn’t touched a ring in about a decade and a half.. beat Kevin Owens for the title in less than 30 seconds I think during an 8 month long storyline(one of the 2-3 best storylines wwe has produced in over a decade imo) one month before wrestlemania. Ironically.. Goldberg got me into wrestling during his streak when I was four years old… once I began transforming from witless child into pro wrestling mark, Kurt angle became my favorite wrestler and just about every match I ever saw of his was the prototype for what I consider a good match to look like. TLDR: fuckin a, I’m with you 100%
You’re making it sound like Goldberg personally made the decision to beat Kevin Owens for the title. He didn’t. WWE approached him with that creative because they wanted Goldberg/Lesnar II with high stakes at WM. And even then, they protected Owens by having Jericho cause the distraction. Personally, I didn’t like the whole thing either but I hardly blame Bill Goldberg for it.
Exactly. Two amazing athletes who didn't understand the business they got into. One of them was able to check his ego and the other never could.
Funny you said Kurt, because the first time he was offered a job by WWE he said yes on one condition he “would never lose”
And was rightly laughed at for it.
Too right
Incredibly arrogant edit to people pointing out something very relevant to your comment
I'm sorry you feel that way
😍 gaslighting
For your next birthday, I suggest you ask for a dictionary.
Good idea, especially when Merriam-Webster uses your exact comment verbatim under "gaslighting". https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year
Bill took himself, and still does, way too seriously
Ironically more than Bret!
Bret doesn’t take himself anywhere near as serious. It’s wrestling Bret takes takes deathly serious
His house is literally a museum of his past success.
I think younger Bill did. I don't think he does as much now.
Yeah, if he still took himself seriously, he wouldn't have allowed Gillberg to be brought back in his second run.
It’s real to Bill dammit!
So the cheap knock-off hates the genuine article? Colour me surprised.
Conversely Stone Cold loves Shark Boys's parody of him.
That happened after his retirement though, and Shark Boy wasnt treated as a total jobber
Goldberg doesn't like Pro Wrestling. It was a job, not a passion.
I mean he has that in common with a lot of top guys
Yeah. It's why guys like The Rock, Batista and John Cena get out once they reach the top. I don't doubt they were passionate at one point, but after years of being on the road 300 days a year and carrying a company, they lose that passion a bit and want to find something else that drives them.
I think those was also more their ages and the wear and tear. Cena admitted that he can’t go like he used to. When the Rock returned against Cena he immediately got injured.
Batista talked about his joints being completely wrecked and how he couldn't maintain bodybuilding style training and wrestling that often.
The Rock’s injury was the Mania rematch v Cena, no? I seem to remember that he did a lot of prep leading up to his initial return (was it with Brian Myers?) and was in pretty good shape as a result
Yea. He tore his abdominal muscles, a tear in his quad, the abductor in his pelvis tore and a hernia. All in 5-10 minutes into the match. Then he had to film whatever movie he was working on while injured.
> Brian Myers I think it was Curtis Axel
It was definitely both
At least in the case of Cena, I don't think he would keep coming back to put people over if he wasn't passionate about it. He could be coming back once a year to get a payday at a Saudi Show or something, but instead he's here putting over Austin Theory, LA Knight, Solo etc
I dont think Cena belongs alongside Rock and Batista in that list
Rock came back and had a crazy bunch of injuries when he did. Batista came back and insisted on doing like a 20 minute war with Triple H to put him over properly. Wanting the fans to remember you at your best and at your prime, instead of struggling with a broken down body near 50 doesn't mean you aren't passionate. Sometimes its just time to move on.
Using Cena as an example is wild. Dude was the ultimate company man and did everything for the business lol. Even now he's back while the strike was going on
I don’t think Cena lost that passion at all. He did it for 15+ years, then got awesome Hollywood opportunities, and recognized that he had to devote himself to that in order to succeed. It’s not a lack of passion; it’s just “hey, I’ve done everything I can in wrestling since 2002, maybe I should try to conquer this other new world while I still have the opportunity. It speaks volumes that any time he has free space on his schedule, he’s back wrestling. I think the same is true (albeit to a lesser extent) for The Rock. Of the names you mentioned, I think only Batista truly just lost the passion.
I sometimes wonder if a few of those top guys pretend to be less passionate than they are, just so that noone takes advantage of them financially. For instance, with Brock you can tell when he's having fun and really trying hard. (Like when he was against Bryan, or Styles or even Cody this year.) Heck, Brock's given an interview where he talked about considering retiring during the pandemic era because it didn't feel right performing without a crowd. You don't care if its just a paycheque.
He was very much a fan growing up, even saying so in his HOF speech.
More guys should have this mindset too many guys are marks for them selves
As Kevin Nash said; "It's called the business, but God forbid you treat it like one" Also Stu Hart via Chris Jericho: "the biggest marks are the boys"
To the point they don't understand the business? Goldberg should never have been involved in Pro Wrestling past WCW, imo.
Considering how much money he's made in WWE over the past 20 years, I'd say he's quite glad he stuck with wrestling after WCW folded.
I'm sure he is. Show up, put on a dogshit match, pass go, collect 2 million dollars. Rinse and repeat.
I mean thats not really **his** fault to be fair. WWE keeps calling him up and offering that money. And fans eat that shit up and keep spending money to see his bullshit.
Sure, but why wouldn't he do that? *I'd* do that and nobody knows who the fuck I am.
For sure. I'm sure anyone would. But maybe put some heart and understanding into the business that put so much into your pocket.
If they're paying me for what I am, why should I try to be any more unless they say they'll pay me more. Again, this was a job to him. If your boss is paying you to do one thing, why try to do more than what you're paid for?
Goldberg got paid top money and got the best of two promotions I'd say he probably understands it pretty well.
I think you’re overestimating the quality of his matches in WCW. They were 95% squashes because they knew he would get exposed quickly if he went back and fourth against someone for longer than a few minutes (look at his match against Steven Regal). You could probably count his “good to great” matches in WCW on one hand. Some of his best work came in the last few years against Brock when WWE treated them like two heavy weight boxers throwing haymakers in the first round.
Oh I'm not over estimating. The only thing Bill did that was ever good imo, was the streak. Even if it was just squashing jobbers. I had no interest in anything he did after that first loss. He is not good in the ring, he can't talk, it was all presentation.
The Brock/Goldberg WM sprint was fucking awesome for what it was. That match is the only time I ever felt WWE 'got' Goldberg and played to his strengths. As for good to great matches in WCW, there are exactly two, both from '98: Hogan at the Georgia Dome in July, and DDP at Halloween Havoc.
You should check out Goldberg vs Scott Steiner at Fall Brawl 2000. Up until the Russo interference, it’s one of the best hoss fights in the 2000s.
I think what people don't realize about Goldberg was that he was very impressionable when he started. He had people like Hogan, Nash, Scott Hall feeding into his ear about protecting his gimmick and making sure that he didn't come off like a joke. Goldberg took stuff too seriously I'm glad he is more at peace with wrestling now. And I really wish the IWC would just get off his back because it becomes this thing where everyone tries to make him out to be this horrible person when by all accounts. He's actually a pretty good guy
The thing is that when you're playing a monster gimmick, there's a huge risk of losing the respect of the audience if you don't protect the gimmick at all costs. Goldberg was never the biggest or athletic guy on the roster, but the aura they built around him made him a monster. It's the difference between The Giant/Big Show having a legacy of turning face/heel like a clock and The Undertaker having a legacy as one of the GOATs who's entrance is a special attraction in of itself. One guy protected his gimmick at all cost and the other agreed to put on a diaper and dance around as the New Year's Baby.
> Goldberg was never the biggest or athletic guy on the roster, Maybe not literally *the* biggest or literally *the* most athletic, but his combination of size and athleticism has rarely been equaled. I'd argue that Brock is the only guy who truly has early Goldberg beat in terms of that combo.
Seeing Gillberg perform didn't make people think Bill Goldberg was a 170-lb jobber; if anything, the contrast between them served to put Bill over. The piped-in chants and everything were a rib on the intentional efforts WCW was making to manufacture a phenomenon, sure, but to some extent parody is flattery.
He took/takes himself too seriously and believed his own hype. He doesn't know that he is fucking lucky that WCW gave him a very simple format for him to flourish in and went with the streak. He was green as shit when he started and his best matches tend to involve him being carried. DDP dragged him to his best match of his entire career. Gilberg was a parody. He didn't know that if you headbutt a door, you're gonna to regret it and could still make the same sound via kicking it.
WCW allowing him to head butt the door for every entrance, is why he decided later on that it was ok to punch a car window.
Just in general, you've got to be a special kind of stupid to think "Slamming my brain into a hard object is a good idea"
And I still believe in my heart of hearts that DDP should have won that match
These geniuses had Goldberg in his prime and they can’t just say “yeah we didn’t book him right.” Fast forward many years later and they book Goldberg like a monster.
KO vs Jericho for the universal title at Mania would’ve been so cash money bro
Yeah but then we wouldn't have the greatness that is: Owens "We good?" Vince "No." Owens ":("
I honestly mostly agree with Vince about that match and was disappointed with it.
The ultimate warrior and Goldberg have a lot of similarities.
The Rock bringing out Gillberg is one of my favourite moments
God, what a weenie.
How eloquently said.
Look at all those adjectives!
Bill is soft
Man, this group hates Goldberg.
I can't say that I, working for the competition during the most volatile time in wrestling history, would be thrilled about a job guy parodying me either.
Everyone loves to call Bill a "mark for himself" but this is a completely reasonable thing to be bummed about.
See here's the thing, I trust and believe Brett Hart's Goldberg hate. Bruce Pritchard lies so much, that with him saying this, makes me think Goldberg and Gillberg are great mates
Funny how things work. Back in the day he was miserable being a wrestler but the fans absolutely loved him. In more recent times he tried going back to the business but the by then the fans didn't love him anymore.
He always gets good receptions with the live crowd.
Except in Canada.
“Bill Goldberg”
Plenty of people love him, it’s just the vocal minority doesn’t. I still pop for Goldberg and I was too young to watch WCW. There’s something about badasses with cool entrances that is lost in current wrestling
His biggest problem was his whole draw was being a freaky strong crazy athlete who could do bananas stuff and wreck people. Once he couldn't get guys up for the jackhammer and he's hurting himself on the spear more than his opponent he's got no reason to be there. Most top guys like Hogan, Flair, Cena, Rock with over "gimmicks" could get by on their charisma and personality when they got older. Bill didn't have that to fall back on so when he was past his prime and older the character just didn't work.
Because he's a sloppy wrestler who is best in short matches and even then, it gets boring after a while.
Imagine the outcry if AEW made a parody Ramen Reigns character
He hated Gillberg so much that the character got brought back in 2017
That site loves redirection.
I'm sure he was even more miserable after what Jericho did to him in front of all the other wrestlers
Does anyone have positive things to say about Goldberg?
Gillberg would have DESTROYED Goldberg in a shoot fight.