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During The Dirt Sheet segment on this week's WWE RAW, Gillberg made his surprise return to WWE programming for the first time since the iconic 'Festival of Friendship' segment on RAW back in 2017. While The Miz and John Morrison said they would be getting Goldberg for their show, it was the former two-time Universal Champion's parody version, Gillberg, who showed up. The fans were quite excited to see him after so long, and the segment itself became quite the sensation on the internet after it culminated on RAW.
Though Gillberg has been a part of the wrestling business for over three decades now, debuting back in 1990, many fans are unaware of the man behind this character. Born Duane Gill in 1959, Gillberg first appeared on WWE/WWF shows in the early 90s. Gillberg was given his current character as a means to poke fun at their rivals, WCW, where Goldberg's popularity was increasing.
Do share your favorite moments regarding Gillberg in the comments section below.
With that being said, let's take a look at five things that you probably didn't know about Gillberg.
#5 Gillberg has a life-long association and friendship with James Ellsworth
When James Ellsworth became a regular star on WWE programming back in 2016-17, several fans had compared him with Gillberg due to their similar physical appearance and mannerisms. However, not many fans were aware that Ellsworth and Gillberg go back a long way. In an exclusive interview with SK Wrestling in August 2020, Gillberg revealed that he knew Ellsworth since the day he was born as the latter's mother and uncle went to school with him.
Due to his WWE appearances being few and far between, Gillberg also worked at Ellsworth's school as a janitor to pay the bills. Since then, the two have been very close and consider each other as family. When the time came for Gillberg to hang up his wrestling boots, on the insistence of his family, he handpicked James Ellsworth for his retirement match in February 2020.
He did the job for me, yes, he did. He let me win. We did it in his league, ACW, and we did it for the light heavyweight title. The crowd stayed for twenty-five minutes after going, 'Thank you Gillberg.' Wrestlers jumped in the ring that I had started with and gave me hugs and all that. That means the world."
Though Gillberg has officially retired from wrestling, he revealed that he's still open to making appearances in a non-wrestling capacity, just like his segment from this week's WWE RAW.
#4 Gillberg started his own wrestling school back in 2010
After Gillberg decided to take it slow in his in-ring career, the thought of giving back to the wrestling business struck his mind. As a result, in 2010, Gillberg with his partners Rich Myers and Earl Hart decided to open Pro Wrestling Academy in Baltimore, USA. Both of his partners were his old friends who worked as carpenters when they started this venture.
The initial intake was 22 students who were trained in the basics of grappling and all the other essentials of pro-wrestling like body slams and armbars. Another reason why Gillberg wanted to open the school was to bring respect between the performers back into the business, which he believed was diminishing in recent years. The students were also given exposure by performing at various live events against opponents who are well-experienced in the art form.
However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the school shut down a few years later. One of the reasons that were attributed to the school's closure was a student's death during the training session.
#3 Gillberg is a record-setting champion in WWE
For most parts of his career in WWE, Gillberg performed as a comedic wrestler who wasn't a part of any elaborate storylines, neither did he wrestle any memorable matches on a frequent basis. However, what cannot be discounted is Gillberg's record-setting run as the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion for nearly 15 months. Yes, this title wasn't a major part of WWE's programming, yet it was a championship that several Superstars competed for back in the day.
Winning it after defeating Christian on the 23rd November 1998 episode of RAW, Gillberg would go on to have several successful title defenses against stars like Matt Hardy and Goldust. The reign was originally planned to mimic Goldberg's 173 undefeated matches streak in WCW.
In late 1999 and early 2000, the title was quite forgotten, with Gillberg hardly making any appearances on TV. He was relegated to defend it in inconsequential matches on live events. Gillberg dropped the title to a debuting Essa Rios on February 13, 2000, on an episode of Sunday Night Heat.
#2 Gillberg suffered a life-threatening heart attack back in November 2020
In one of the more tragic incidents in his life, Gillberg suffered a heart attack on November 25, 2020, and was put in ICU for a couple of days. However, he quickly recuperated from his condition and was out of the ICU on November 27. James Ellsworth shared this piece of news with the wrestling world after being notified by Gillberg's wife. Ellsworth said the following on Twitter:
“Please send your prayers to Gillberg and his family at this time. We hope he will be home soon and back to his normal, funny, goofy self. Take care, guys and God bless you all. Stay safe.
To cover the bills for his treatment, Ellsworth also started a GoFundMe page, through which several of his fans contributed. However, the most surprising development was when Gillberg made his stunning return to WWE RAW just several weeks after suffering from a heart attack.
His appearance on this week's episode has left many fans praising the legend for his fighting spirit. All of us here at Sportskeeda wish that he continues to stay in the best of his health.
#1 Golberg didn't like Gillberg during their first meeting in WWE
Goldberg and Gillberg have been linked with each other since the late 1990s when Gillberg started portraying a parody version of Goldberg. Working in different companies, the two never crossed paths until 2003, when the WCW legend finally made the move to WWE. During the build-up to The Rock vs. Goldberg match at Backlash 2003, a segment was booked where Gillberg made his way to the ring for a segment that also featured The Rock and Goldberg. Before the segment went ahead, the two met for the first time backstage.
During an interview with Lewis Nicholls, Gillberg revealed that it was obvious that Goldberg wasn't very fond of his antics and how he parodied the WCW icon during the height of his popularity. Gillberg introduced himself to Goldberg and said, "I guess you’ve been waiting to meet me."
“He goes, ‘Oh, yes, I have!’ He put his hand on my shoulder and that was about it. We had a little segment that night and he did a bunch of pictures with me. He was kind of cool about it but you could tell that he didn’t like me at all. All the boys always told me, ‘Goldberg really wants to kick your a**.’”
The two would go on to interact again at a wrestling convention in 2016, though a match between Goldberg and Gillberg will probably remain a dream for a legion of wrestling fans.
