5 matches that prove Goldberg can't wrestle

Goldberg. That one single word invokes memories of domination and destruction in the minds of every professional wrestling fan who watched WCW in the late 1990s. After all, he was the biggest superstar that the now defunct company had on their books.

A homegrown talent, so to speak, Goldberg's domination can be summarised through his streak where he went 173-0 in professional wrestling bouts according to legend. That number is completely fictional, of course, and the reality is nowhere close to such legendary proportions. But, this seems to describe the wrestling legend well.

Goldberg was all about the way in which he was portrayed but lacked any sort of substantial skill beneath all the hype. You know all those "You can't wrestle!” chants we hear on a weekly basis for Roman Reigns? Well, they should actually be aimed at ‘Grandpa Bill’. Roman Reigns is actually a damn fine wrestler. Goldberg? Not really.

It's pretty easy to see evidence of this fact if you go back and look at Goldberg matches through the years. After all, the reason he was given short dominating victories was that he just fell apart when it came to longer matches.

Here is a list of 5 matches that prove Goldberg can't wrestle:

#5 Goldberg's WCW debut

Back in 1997, Goldberg made his TV debut on an episode of Monday Nitro against Hugh Morrus after just three dark matches. This match did absolutely nothing for anyone in attendance at the show as the future WCW World Heavyweight Champion came in with no fanfare and left with no fanfare after picking up a victory.

In between was a weird match where only two notable things happened. Goldberg did a weird standing flip to show off his athleticism and his opponent – a rather large professional wrestler – hit a perfect Moonsault during the course of the bout.

Goldberg did little of note in the bout and it served as a blueprint of what was to come in the future. Glorified squash matches week after week while padding his win numbers to a ludicrous degree.

#4 Goldberg's WWE debut

The night after Wrestlemania XIX the professional wrestling was shocked when one Mr Bill Goldberg arrived to interrupt The Rock who was in the midst of cocky Hollywood heel run with the company.

The entire WWE Universe lost its collective mind and the anticipation was extremely high for Goldberg's debut in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. Goldberg vs The Rock at Backlash 2003. The kind of debut match reserved for legends.

Unfortunately, the reality fell way short of expectations. Going just 13 minutes, the company absolutely trashed The Rock's offence – after all, The Great One was off to Hollywood for good – as Bill kicked out of The People's Elbow before hitting two Spears and a Jackhammer to pick up the win.

A grossly uninteresting debut.

#3 Goldberg vs Sid Vicious – I Quit Match at WCW Mayhem 1999

The epitome of an I Quit match is supposed to be that you beat your opponent so badly that they have no choice but to give up. In order to have an interesting one, both competitors need to be on an equal footing and the match needs to go down to the wire.

When Goldberg faced off against the monstrous Sid Vicious in an I Quit match at WCW Mayhem 1999, it was just dumb. An 8-minute snooze where Goldberg just punched and headbutted Sid's head to cause his opponent to bleed profusely with the referee then calling the match to a halt without the words I Quit ever being uttered.

The blame for this doesn't lie squarely on the then WCW United States Champion's shoulders as Sid was an equally terrible wrestler leading to this silly match.

#2 Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar – Wrestlemania XX

Possibly the worst match in Wrestlemania history?

Back in 2004, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar were the two biggest, baddest men on the WWE roster and they were slated to clash on The Grandest Stage of Them All at Wrestlemania XX in what was sure to be an instant classic.

But, then the match happened and it was pure garbage. See, the crowd had gotten to know before the match that both men would be leaving the company and just trashed the whole affair with chants of "You sold out!"

Regardless of this, it was a pretty terrible match. Going just 15 minutes, you could tell that neither man was interested in putting on a good show and not even the presence of Stone Cold Steve Austin – who was the special guest referee – could save it.

#1 Goldberg ending Bret Hart's career

Goldberg's lack of skill in professional wrestling came to the front in a match against Bret Hart where a particularly bad kick he aimed at the legendary Candian's head gave Hart a concussion and led to his retirement shortly after.

Honestly, how much worse does it get than ending the career of a bonafide legend well before his time was up?