Everybody is excited about Goldberg’s return to wrestling next week. Fans of wrestling from the Monday Night Wars, and subsequently, the Ruthless Aggression Era are anxious to see him come and make a huge impact; whereas Goldberg’s own critics are anxious to see him fail.
Sure, Goldberg wasn’t the best worker of all time; but he was probably WCW’s biggest draw and also the main reason that the company was able to compete against Vince McMahon, in terms of television ratings.
His streak of 173 consecutive wins will probably never be broken, and he’s sure to help Raw bounce back from the low ratings that have been plaguing the red brand. But before we see Goldberg vs Lesnar Part II, presumably at Survivor Series; let’s look at 5 facts that WWE does not want you to remember.
#5 Goldberg did not win 173 matches in a row
Perhaps no wrestler in history has received the kind of push that Goldberg did, right off the bat. The streak began with his very first match, and would not end until he was 173-0, when Nash and Hall would screw Goldberg at Starrcade 98. But here’s the question that wrestling fans have been asking themselves for years.
Did Goldberg actually wrestle 173 matches? According to a lot of wrestling fans and journalists around that time, the number was exaggerated to make the record seem more legitimate. Actually, the number was far, far lesser. It is because of this inaccuracy that hardcore wrestling fans do not really take this streak very seriously.
#4 Goldberg ended Bret Hart’s career
The year is 1999. WCW is losing the Monday Night War. And now it’s time for the company’s biggest annual pay per view- Starrcade. The main event pits the black and pink Bret Hart against Goldberg. The two of them are all set to tear the house down.
And Goldberg lands a thrust kick to the side of Bret Hart’s head which leads to severe concussions, and eventually Hart is forced to retire forever. In fact, Hart later said that because of Goldberg’s inexperience, there were several other spots during the match where Hart hurt his head.
Moreover, he also commented that he felt sad that someone as good natured as Goldberg was responsible for ending his career. Little wonder then, why Bret Hart is so critical of wrestlers who are unsafe.
#3 Gillberg
Duane Gill will never go down in history as one of the most memorable characters in the business. But during the height of the Monday Night Wars, he would parody WCW’s biggest star- Goldberg, and play a character called ‘Gillberg’ on screen. Check out the similarities between the two characters.
Gillberg used to go ‘Who’s First’, as a parody of Goldberg’s catchphrase ‘Who’s Next?’, as he would go on a losing streak to mimic Goldberg’s winning streak. Even Gillberg’s entrance was a play on Goldberg’s own dramatic entry. Today, as WWE has a lot invested in Goldberg, Gillberg is certainly a memory they want to eliminate for good.
#2 Goldberg vs Lesnar was booed heavily by fans
It’s being advertised as the clash of The Beast vs The Myth. It’s being called a clash of Icon vs Icon. But this isn’t the first time we’ll witness a showdown between Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. The first bout had already taken place at Wrestlemania XX in 2004, when Goldberg went 1-0 up on Brock Lesnar.
What WWE isn’t keen on reminding us is that the first time it happened, hardcore fans had booed the two wrestlers out of the building. Even before the bell rang, the crowd had started booing, because they knew that the two of these men were on their way out.
It also didn’t help that both wrestlers didn’t really put their hearts into the match, which turned out to be quite a snoozefest. One would assume that because the circumstances are different now, the two men will put more heart into the match.
#1 Goldberg isn’t the biggest WWE fan
Goldberg remembers his WCW run rather fondly. But at the same time, he’s not the biggest fan of his run with WWE. Goldberg (much like Sting and other WWE stars) was very apprehensive about coming to WWE because of the adult nature of the company back then.
Now, as the current product is much more ‘family oriented’, these wrestlers are more keen to wrestle for the company. Goldberg left WWE when he did because he wasn’t coming to work with a smile on his face, and has also claimed, not too long back, that he’d rather buy a company than let his son work for Vince McMahon. Hmmmm....
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