10 Unknown facts about Goldberg

Will this happen again?Bill Goldberg the man who gave nightmares to his fellow wrestlers in the 1990s and early 2000s is celebrating his 49th Âbirthday today.He has appeared in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and WWE (1997-2005) and is known for his 173 match undefeated streak in WCW, though some wrestlers have termed the official figure as exaggerated.It is certain that majority of the IWC will be aware of his undefeated records, his moves, his movies and his accomplishments. So. let us take a look at some of the lesser known facts about 'The Undefeated'

#10 Animal Lover

He might have had an animal-like attitude inside the wrestling ring, but in real life, Goldberg is fond of animals and there are several images of him with the kittens.

He has three pet cats Moe, Larry, Curly and a pet goat called Goatberg. Adding to that, Goldberg is an animal activist and is the spokesperson of American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

After being appointed as the chairman of ASPCA, he foughtCongress and brought light on illegal animal fighting in the United States of America.

#9 Had his own Podcast

In the recent times, Stone Colds Podcast has attracted a lot of viewers and has been awarded as the best show in the 2015 WWE Slammy awards.

Likewise, Goldberg has his own podcast called Who's Next with Bill Goldberg. It’s a weekly event and consists of tales from his storied career, celebrity phone-ins, and fan conversations.

The podcast is exclusively for sportspersons and the podcast has seen several top sportspersons taking part in the show hosted by Goldberg. The list includes former WWE Stars Edge and Shelton Benjamin. Though the fas want more WWE stars in the podcast, Goldberg had maintained silence to the fans requests.

#8 Food Style

There is a general perception that one can have a great physique by eating meats and pro wrestlers consume a lot of non-vegetarian stuff. But Goldberg had other ideas as he kept himself away from meats and remained a vegetarian throughout his career.

Being an animal activist, Goldberg’ decision not to eat meat has been justified. There was a picture of him having pork that went viral on the internet. But, he went on to claim that the image was morphed.

#7 Ending Bret Hart\'s career

Back in 1999, at WCW Starrcade, Bret Hart defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. During the match, Hart was struck with a Thrust Kick to the head – which resulted in a severe concussion and it turned out to be the beginning of the Hit-Mans end.

Many claim the kick was botched by Goldberg. After this incident, Hart had few more injuries to his head and that forced him to call it a day from wrestling. Many feel that Hart and not Goldberg shouldbeblamed for his injury because of not taking any precautionary measures in spite of knowing about the injury.

#6 WWF\'s Spoof on Goldberg

When Goldberg was at his peak with WCW, WWF (WWE now) made a spoof out of him as they mocked Goldberg with a parody character called Gillberg.

Duane Gill appeared in WWE with the ring name Gillberg and he was a jobber, whose gimmick was to dress similarly to Goldberg and make fun of his entrance, moves and mannerisms. Once, the Rock called out Gillberg and made fun of Goldberg when there was a feud going on between the Rock and Goldberg.

Even the die-hard fans of Goldberg will love to see Gillberg imitate their favourite star.

#5 Only 5 losses in his career

In his entire career, Goldberg has lost only five matches and in all of those matches, the winners got an outside help en-route to victory.

Those unique set of names includesformer champions Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Booker T, Scott Steiner and Triple H. His undefeated streak was ended by Kevin Nash in 1998 which required an interference from Scott Hall and the help of a taser gun.

Goldbergs dominance during his prime was such that it took some monstrous booking decisions to make his loss and the end of his undefeated streak look beliveable to the fans.

#4 Backstage fight with Chris Jericho

Goldberg Jericho — Goldberg-Chris Jericho backstage fight

It’s no lie that the rivalries in WWE are scripted. But there are some rivalries and fights inside the WWE that took place when the cameras stopped rolling.

One such backstage fight is between Goldberg and Chris Jericho in 2003.The details behind the clash aren’t quite clear.

The rivalry dates back to their WCW days when Goldberg was not interested in having a storyline with Chris Jericho because he felt that Jericho was too small for him and, in real life, he would crush Jericho easily and the fans won't buy into a 10-15 minute fight between the two.

#3 Goldberg as Bill Gold

After signing a contract with WCW, Goldberg made his debut as Bill Gold.

Those were dark matches which took place before the main event to warm up the crowd and test new wrestlers something that wasnt televised.He had five matches as Bill Goldberg and his only loss as Bill Gold came at the hands of Chad Fortune, which was his final dark match.

The dark matches gave WCW an idea of the potential of Goldberg as a silent and ruthless destroyer – a trait that made his star power a rising entity in the now defunct promotion.

#2 Discovered by Lex Luger and Sting

After injuring his lower abdomen from his Pelvis, Goldberg was rehabbing at a gym in Atlanta where he attracted the eyes of WCW legends Lex Luger and Sting.

It was them, who convincedGoldberg to try wrestling and recommended him for WCW. Goldberg listened to them and the rest is history. It was a master stroke that catapulted Goldberg to unheralded heights.

Both Sting and Lex Luger went on feud with Goldberg and played their part in putting him over as an unstoppable force.

#1 Professional American footballer

Goldberg during his American Football days

Before having a career in professional wrestling, Goldberg played as the defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs and was drafted by the NFL side Los Angeles Rams.

He spent a full season there before moving to Atlanta Falcons in the early 1990s followed by a move to the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 expansion draft. During a preseason game, Goldberg tore his lower abdomen from his pelvis and gave up American Football.

Football’ loss turned out to be pro wrestling’ gain as Bill went on to have an enviable career inside the squared circle.

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