What If Goldberg...

[BASSER911414]

What if Goldberg had won the Elimination Chamber at Summerslam and kept the title till Wrestlemania and lose it to Benoit.

I'm sure many would say that that is a long ass time to hold a title but just hear me out.

I sincerely think that Goldberg could have been a long term investment for the WWE if they had played their cards right. WCW pushed Goldberg from the start. A 173 win streak which he lost to Kevin Nash after being tasered. And it paid off. Goldberg was a monster and the biggest thing in WCW during their later years. By the end if there was someone I used to watch WCW for it was goldberg.

Anyway. Goldberg starts off with the Rock. Rock puts over Goldberg at Backlash then leaves. Goldberg cemented as a big player by taking out one of the faces of the attitude era.

Then after a small feud with Jericho which furthered his status he enters into a main event picture with hhh starting with the elimination chamber. goldberg dominated the entire match but it ended with hhh winning and beating up goldberg. hhh has won the most elimination chambers ever with 4 wins. and its no mystery that hhh didnt like jobbing a match. and especially with his influence and wanting to stay in the main picture he didnt have to job a lot. he had the whc most of the time if one can remember.

Carrying on if Goldberg had won the title at the elimination chamber especially with the dominating performance he demonstrated, goldberg would have been certified a monster. then for the next two months he feuds with evolution. hhh wants the title back but goldberg wins both times. all the while building up a streak as well. then he enters a feud with kane which he also come out of on top. goldberg builds up several feuds and always winning. then the royal rumble comes along. benoit enters at no.1 and wins the rumble. enter benoit and goldberg. up until no way out benoit is deciding which champion to face. goldberg and benoit are real friendly towards each other since they are old wcw vets. then no way out comes along. benoit finally makes his decision. he wants goldberg since they never had a one on one match ever in wcw and now he wants to know if he can beat him. a face vs face match at wrestlemania built on a form of mutual respect but at the same time determination to beat the other.

goldberg loses the match after a lets say 50 win streak. benoit forever remembered as the man who entered the rumble at no 1 and won like little others, fought and won against goldberg the man who nobody could beat, ended his streak and won the whc all in one night and that too at wrestlemania. this would have been better than his win against hhh thats for sure. and this also would have been better than the shit fest also known as goldberg vs lesnar.

goldberg can take some time off. after that returns and enters a feud with whoever has the title at the time. by this time im sure hed have retired. but this way he could have had an intense and awesome 3 or 4 years without damaging his wcw career.

what do u think???

PS: do u still think the wwe can use goldberg in some form or capacity??

 

[OutsidersEdge4]

Yes. The WWE is loaded with IC level talent, but lacks major, PPV headlining talent. IMO, they should consider putting Kevin Nash's legends contract to use.

 

[navyveteran]

If they want Goldberg back that guy needs to put on some more muscle mass. He has really slimmed down and gone for a more lean look as of lately. He'd have to really bulk back up to get in that monstrous physical shape he used to be in.

 

[Fanatic4Life]

Now this is a very interesting "what if". I always enjoyed that particular elimination chamber because prior to it was the Chris Jericho vs Kevin Nash hair vs hair match. This Elimination chamber had 6 HUGE superstars in it. Goldberg had a nice streak going up to this point and had some impressive victories over guys like Jericho and The Rock. They SHOULD have built his whole run and building up another streak. Obviously it wouldn't be as big as his legendary streak in WCW, but they still could have built on the idea.

He could have picked up the WHC in the chamber and successfully defended it while building a streak all the way to Wrestlemania. Hell, it actually could have helped do wonders for guys like Orton and Batista who were just getting their chance to shine. The only thing I would change is have Goldberg drop the title before wrestlemania 20 and not face Chris Benoit. As horrible as the match was? Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar was a dream match. The problem was Lesnar was leaving for the NFL and Goldberg opted to not resign, so neither man was really motivated to give it their all. Watching the match again recently? It looked like Goldberg was willing to do more than Lesnar as he was getting pissed at the fans. If Goldberg had a better run with the WHC? He may have resigned and put a better effort in the match. Plus I like Benoit overcoming two legends like Shawn Michaels and Triple H to win his first OFFICIAL WHC. The celebration with Eddie Guerrero is still one of the most beautiful and amazing moments in WWE history.

It's no secret the WWE dropped the ball with Goldberg. At first his push looked promising. However, Goldberg started getting frustrated with the wy he was being booked. I remember reading something about him getting annoyed with spending too much time on the mic when he felt he was more of a fighter than a talker kind of guy. I think that played a part in him deciding he wasn't going to renew his contract. He also later expressed his annoyance with Triple H having so much imput and power at the time. I think the WWE could def still use Goldberg. Hell, earlier this year there was talk of him wanting to do one more match/run because his son had never seen him wrestle before. I think they could do something with him being inducted into the HOF (for both his WCW and WWE success) and having one more match at Wrestlemania. The opponent would have to be someone who could work well with his smash-mouth style offense though...

 

[mikde_]

The problem was that during his WWE run goldberg was notorious for having a bad attitude and being difficult to work with so i believe that if his attitude was better then he would have had a longer more successful run with the company.

As for WWE dropping the ball with him, i dont really think that because after all they put him over huge! gave him wins over guys like the rock and triple h and gave him a short world title run not to mention a showcase WM match. But i can see what you mean, they could have built him up as more of a unstoppable monster but hey that dont really bother me too much.

If we wanna talk about dropping the ball then Sean O'Haire and his devils advocate gimmick getting stuck on velocity still pisses me off to this day.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Triple H was the better investment. Goldberg was fickle. Once everything stops going his way, he stops. You don't want your strap on a guy like that for too long. He was dangerous in the ring and dangerous to himself. There was an angle in WCW where he was supposed to smash a car window. Instead of using a metal tool they had for him, he used his actual hand, broke it, and was out of action, fucking up an angle. Shit even in the elimination chamber he had a gash on his calf because of his carelessness.

Goldberg at his peak was an amazing draw. In the WWE he was still very good but it wasn't the same.

I agree that purely from a storyline standpoint that's a great idea. Benoit can pull a great match out of anyone.

As for Goldberg coming back now. I don't think his heart is in wrestling and you really need passionate guys at the top. I would love to see him make a DVD or something though.

 

[berlinbrawler]

I don't know. Goldberg didn't really fit into WWE. Plus everyone, no matter who he was or where he came from, has always had to prove himself in the WWE first before receiving such a gigantic push. Making an exception for Goldberg could have caused trouble in the locker room. Shoving a ton of wins up his butt worked once in WCW. Doing it all over again was simply not fair to every single wrestler in existence.
Goldberg didn't deserve it. Goldberg, in WCW, was an accident. He lucked out. He was this big guy no one had any idea what to do with. So they gave him one pointless squash-match after another. After a long time of doing that, it actually caught on with the fans and he caught fire, so they just kept on doing that. So he mutated into this monstrosity, having never paid any dues and having zero appreciation for the product.
Assuming you could do that all over again in the WWE borders on arrogance. Building almost a year of programming around him because of a name value he built 5 years ago somewhere else... I don't think so.
Maybe you can tell. I was never a big fan.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Eh you really can't blame the guy for having a bad attitude. The writer's ideas for using him were terrible. Goldberg was already and established star and they didn't know how to bring him into their world.

Didn't know how to use him? He was a fucking main eventer. What do you do? Bury guys who busted their ass and DIDN'T wait for their contracts with Ted to expire? He got the belt, he beat HHH, he was a main eventer, booked in a big match at mania. You're so pathetic. I really mean that. WWE pushes him and it's STILL not right? At some point you just have to admit that Goldberg was in it for the money.

 

[TUFFY54]

What made Goldberg great in WCW killed him in WWE. He got over because he beat 150 plus guys in a row. That would get anyone over. For 90% of these wins, the match didn't go three minutes. Once he got to the WWE, fans wanted dream matches. They didn't wan't to see him go through a different midcarder every week.

The WWE was great to Goldberg. THE FIRST PERSON HE BEAT WAS THE ROCK. How much more of push can you give somebody. His next match was a win over main eventer Jericho. He lost to the top heel in the company at Summer slam due to cheating, and then won the belt at the next PPV. Not exactly shitty book for your first 6 months in a company.

Goldberg put the brakes on his own career when he only agreed to sign a 1 year deal. The WWE couldn't afford to risk everyone else's spots on someone that might not be there in 3 months. Thats why he didn't do anything after December of 2003.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

What made Goldberg great in WCW killed him in WWE. He got over because he beat 150 plus guys in a row. That would get anyone over. For 90% of these wins, the match didn't go three minutes. Once he got to the WWE, fans wanted dream matches. They didn't wan't to see him go through a different midcarder every week.

The WWE was great to Goldberg. THE FIRST PERSON HE BEAT WAS THE ROCK. How much more of push can you give somebody. His next match was a win over main eventer Jericho. He lost to the top heel in the company at Summer slam due to cheating, and then won the belt at the next PPV. Not exactly shitty book for your first 6 months in a company.

Goldberg put the brakes on his own career when he only agreed to sign a 1 year deal. The WWE couldn't afford to risk everyone else's spots on someone that might not be there in 3 months. Thats why he didn't do anything after December of 2003.

It wouldn't have gotten most people over. If all it took was a bunch of wins to get guys over wouldn't Vince just have like 8 guys pretty much never lose and BAM they're all as over as Cena. It was a character. It was a mystique. He came out, grunted, kicked ass, didn't say anything and left. He had the physique and intensity to justify what was happening. The emotional connection, not the wins, is what go Goldberg over.

The problem is, that's very one dimensional. After a while it's "getting oldberg". So then you have to book him to lose, which hurts the mystique, then you have to start fleshing it out and you realize Goldberg is just a big intense guy, not much depth. His initial run basically carried him the rest of his career.

I agree with the rest of your post. People who think Goldberg was treated unfairly in the WWF/E is blind.

 

[ratedrdestiny]

It still amazes me how many people say Goldberg was booked terribly in wwe or his run sucked. WWE does not has 60 wrestlers sitting around to be squashed. Every now and then even the top stars have to do the job. There were so many people that worked for wwe back in the days that would kills for the year Goldberg had in wwe. Had to get that off my chest. Now the original question I don't think it would have been that big of a deal if Goldberg was the one to drop the title to Benoit because Triple H was the man during that time so to beat him at mania meant more. Not to mention nobody was really buying Goldberg in wwe anyway. So a 50 match win streak for Goldberg probably would have done more harm than good for him. He was exposed in his first few ppv matches in wwe against rock and jericho that he couldn't hang

 

[TheBWO]

When Goldberg emerged on the WCW scene, I'm sure Vinnie Mac was already salivating because of his look--his muscles, his athleticism, etc. Once WCW folded, and VKM actually was able to purchase his contract, Goldberg---if anyone--should have realized that you're being taken over by an established company....a company that's ALREADY making money with the roster they have, so he should have realized first and formost that he's bound to LOSE to someone....that streak wasn't going to last forever. Not to mention, because he was champ in WCW, once again, was going to be competeing against guys who have been in this business for some time, have developed storylines (which means, how much sense would it have made for someone to job to GB when maybe a storyline was that particular guy getting the best of another guy?...it wouldn't make sense to even Goldberg). I think currently, Goldberg wouldn't be believable in any type of streak storyline. He's in his 40's, and while some guys currently on the roster might be able to job to him, (and god forbid, Cena does for an extended period of time), overall, I think they (the upper tier guys) would think it's unreasonable to have themselves job. Remember when they tried selling us on Flair making one last run at the title belt? and HHH was the champ? C'mon....we KNEW it wasn't going to be possible....Flair couldn't keep up that kind of schedule on the road. The same with GB. I think he could be in some high profile storylines (i.e. Undertaker), but overall....he would be stuck in the same rut as when Hogan came back after Wrestlemania 100 (or whatever number that was that he put a mask on).

 

[mrpops]

No. I hate the idea of having to suffer a Benoit vs Goldberg match. Benoit could wrestle, goldberg cant. It wouldve ruined wrestlemania 20 even if benoit did win the title. It wouldve been anti climatic like the shitshow we got from brock vs goldberg.

I cant imagine ruining the best triple threat in mania history, nor the insane build up and the giant cumgasm everyone had when benoit made that fucker HHH tap. Then of course the best moment in wrestling history when benoit hugged eddie in the ring with confetti flying. That was fucking epic. It was the ultimate underdog/inspirational story. That is entertainment!

 

[TUFFY54]

It wouldn't have gotten most people over. If all it took was a bunch of wins to get guys over wouldn't Vince just have like 8 guys pretty much never lose and BAM they're all as over as Cena. It was a character. It was a mystique. He came out, grunted, kicked ass, didn't say anything and left. He had the physique and intensity to justify what was happening. The emotional connection, not the wins, is what go Goldberg over.

The problem is, that's very one dimensional. After a while it's "getting oldberg". So then you have to book him to lose, which hurts the mystique, then you have to start fleshing it out and you realize Goldberg is just a big intense guy, not much depth. His initial run basically carried him the rest of his career.

I agree with the rest of your post. People who think Goldberg was treated unfairly in the WWF/E is blind.

I didn't really mean "anybody". I meant any jacked up, intense, looking guy they wanted to push as a monster. I certainly agree that he needed the physique and intensity to make it work.

There's a big reason why Vince couldn't do a streak like Goldberg's in the WWE. He doesn't have the wrestlers. If you remember, over half of the guys Goldberg beat were nobodies that were never seen again. WCW had about 200 wrestlers under contract on Turner's dime during the heyday of Nitro. They were so desperate to beat WWE that any indie guy with a couple good matches or big gym rat got a six figure deal and did almost nothing. Same type of shit they did for the WW3 match. Half of the guys in those things had never been seen on Nitro before. Vince has never had that many guys on his pay role. He has jobbers like Primo and Curt Hawkings, but WCW had dozens of guys like that. There weren't 173 people in the WWE for a guy to beat. Once a WWE streak got hot, they would go through all the upper mid card and main event talent in 2 months. He would never bury that many people for one angle. What do people remember about the streak? 173 wins against who? Bill DeMont started it. Mongo was after that. Hell, he wrestled an Armstrong on PPV. Raven was 50. Hogan was for the title. DDP challenged. And Nash ended it. Thats 7 out of 173. The majority of his wins were against the likes of Big Al, Roadblock, and Tombstone. Nobodies.

I agree that it became Oldberg soon after he won the belt. Watch Starrcade 98, and you'll see at least half the crowd cheering for Nash. WCW was so stupid because they wouldn't let the character change. They didn't make him change when he got stale. When the chants died down and the boos picked up, they just played the Goldberg chants over the speakers to make the louder. There are many times when you can so that not many people are chanting his name and it sounds deafening from the speakers. Fans noticed this and thought it was bullshit.

I just don't understand how anyone can say he didn't work in the WWE. He was only active for about 8 months out of that year. Out for a while with a bad ankle, and didn't do anything in 04 till Wrestlemania because of his contract coming up. In that time he main evented 6 PPV's and got wins over some of the biggest stars in wrestling. He even got a world title reign.

 

[GrandSword]

I'm actually a fan of Goldberg's and is the absolute poster child for the casual fan. This guy brought that realism and legitamacy to the casual fans back in the late 90s. He would come in beat a guy down, look for an armbar and then take the guy out with the spear and jackhammer.

He had all the elements that the WWE seems to have forgotten about.

1/ Awesome finishing move(s)

2/ a great entrance and entrance music

3/ a marketable catch phrase

4/ THE tattoo was super marketable

5/ and a great look and the IT factor.

When working with better ring guys he put on great matches. DDP match, Nash match, Hart, Sting, Hogan, HHH hell in the l;ast days of WCW his match with Steiner was awesome.

The casual fans loved this guy. The streak should have only been step one. WCW dropped the ball on him big time, and then he injured himself. He was one of the biggest names in the industry and could have been the next Hogan if creative realised that WCW needed to be centred around him instead of Hogan constantly hogging the spotlight.

I think WWE did a fairly good job with him and as someone already stated, if he had signed maybe a three year deal instead of just one, the WWE and Bill Goldberg could have made a shit load more money...

Oh and fuck Beniot to be honest...

 

[holdingholder]

Yeah I'm Tired of this "WWE misused Goldberg" crap. In his one year with the WWE, he destroyed the Rock, destroyed two supposed monsters in 3 minute warning,beat Jericho, destroyed 3 guys in the elimination chamber, beat up a shitload of guys trying to collect a $100,000 bounty,practically beat up all of Evolution by himself at Survivor Series(with a supposedly broken ankle), and was tossing dudes out like ragdolls in the royal rumble. His ONLY 3 LOSSES were by getting knocked out by a sledghammer in Elimination chamber, Taking an RKO, Batista bomb AND Pedigree in a 3 on 1 handicap match on Raw and after a low blow from HHH and a chokeslam from Kane with evolution interfering in a triple threat match.

Thats why I think Goldberg is one of the most one dimensional, over-rated overbooked characters of all time. And I think it would have been a mistake to give him such a lengthy title run and let him main event Wrestlmania .

 

[The Brain]

I don’t care for this what if scenario at all. Going into New York City in MSG, Vince’s favorite venue, for the 20th edition of Vince’s biggest event, and beating the son in law HHH and the golden boy HBK made Benoit finally winning the big one a truly special moment. Winning the title against Goldberg would have been a good moment for him but not nearly as special.

Edit: I posted before finishing by mistake.

The problem with Goldberg is he doesn't really want to be a wrestler. He likes to use wrestling to get back in the spotlight when his star begins to fade. He doesn't want to put in the time and effort it takes to be a wrestler. He likes it to make money and become famous. Early success created and ego maniac. It isn't even entirely his fault. He learned this business from watching all the backstage politics in WCW. That environment was all about getting as rich as possible by doing as little as possible. Not the way it works in WWE.

 

[mrfantastic111]

What makes you think that they were going to hand over the company's riches to a guy that built up all of his success in WCW? The guy waits a long ass time to goto WWE, only signs a 1 year contract, and then starts a bunch of drama backstage (Including a fight with Y2J). Goldberg was a pretty cool character, solely based on the streak. It was harder to book him once he went to WWE, mainly because building a new streak would of been pointless because he didn't need it to get over anymore (He'd already beaten the likes of Hogan and Sting). Also, as many of the posts before me have recognised, there isn't much you can do with a guy who doesn't wanna stick around past the next Wrestlemania. They got him in angles with the best WWE had, and he even beat Rocky and claimed HHH's World Title. If that's not a push, then I don't know what to say.

 

[relentless1]

I agree with most posters and will say that i am sure he wouldve gotten more of his wcw style push if he had signed on for more than a year, that being said, he couldve had a bit longer/ more significant title run while he was there

 

[CorporationRyan]

I don't think Goldberg would fit into the "PG" Era...Some might say he's to violent..which I think is a load of crap and If they did bring him back, I totally agree with (NavyVeteran) That he would have to gain alot weight and muscle. Well atleast we know he's not juicing anymore.

 

[RicoLen]

It's no secret the WWE dropped the ball with Goldberg. At first his push looked promising. However, Goldberg started getting frustrated with the wy he was being booked. I remember reading something about him getting annoyed with spending too much time on the mic when he felt he was more of a fighter than a talker kind of guy. I think that played a part in him deciding he wasn't going to renew his contract. He also later expressed his annoyance with Triple H having so much imput and power at the time.

HHH did a lot to ruin the attitude era. Nobody liked HHH's bookings, at least no one that had more drawing power, IE Angle, Austin, Rock, Goldberg, & Taker. The undercard was too cowed to say anything. Austin flat up quit, Goldberg didn't re-sign, Rock was quietly laid off because of his time in Hollywood, Angle and Taker were the only ones left and they weren't the vocal discontents that Austin & Goldberg were.

I'm still fairly amazed that The Rock ever came back. He wanted to keep going, if at a reduced schedule (sound familiar?) but WWE just didn't resign him, Vince must have done a good job at patching things up with him, but I've heard the Rock say in interviews that he was surprised that the WWE never attempted to resign him before his contract expired.

This is one of the biggest reasons of all that I can't stand HHH.

As for Goldberg? I definitely think he could and should return, for a 1 last run kind of thing. I don't really care to see him win the title, though it would be neat. I'd rather see him feud with Orton, Cena, Punk & Stone Cold.

However it looks like they're giving that spot to Kevin Nash, so... whatever.

 

[RicoLen]

The problem with Goldberg is he doesn't really want to be a wrestler. He likes to use wrestling to get back in the spotlight when his star begins to fade. He doesn't want to put in the time and effort it takes to be a wrestler. He likes it to make money and become famous. Early success created and ego maniac. It isn't even entirely his fault. He learned this business from watching all the backstage politics in WCW. That environment was all about getting as rich as possible by doing as little as possible. Not the way it works in WWE.

Goldberg has never wanted to be a career wrestler. He wanted to be a player in the NFL, but got injured. Boo on him eh?

He enjoyed wrestling, and there are a lot of haters that have a tendency to dump crap on him that's completely unjustified. Like him being an egomaniac, or that he didn't want to put people over, or that he can't wrestle. This is the John Cena argument, and you should know better.

Goldberg was green, keep that in mind. That's not his fault that he started wrestling and unlike other career wrestlers was instantly over and put into a position no one else has been in before or since, with the exception of Brock Lesnar. WCW screwed the pooch when they allowed Goldberg creative control over his character. Sorry but you don't give a noob like that creative control, period. That's just stupid business.

Think about it a minute. I've spent 8 years in software engineering, the first 5 I was a technician, and no one really listened to me much, and everything I said and did that was successful came through the filter of other, more experienced people that liked my ideas and helped me accomplish them. Then after I proved myself I was promoted to an engineer, and people trusted my judgment more because I'd put in my time and learned the ropes and had proven myself.

The only thing you can expect and should expect from Goldberg in his first 2, 3 years is to do his best to get over with the fans and not injure anyone. IMO after the Bret Hart incident Goldberg should have been suspended.

It's a case of shame on WCW for allowing Goldberg to punch the window himself. Management is there for a reason and it's to protect their assets. You simply don't let your employees do stuff like that. And had he been in the business longer, he would have known better himself, but he was green and trying to prove himself to his peers.

Fast forward to WWE. I don't believe his time was spent unwisely myself. I do think he had a pretty good run of things. Goldberg didn't have a problem losing to some guys, it just depended on their character, not the person, but the character, and some people got offended by that.

These days, if Goldberg were to come back to the WWE. The creative staff is still in PG-Era mode, and you won't get druggies getting wins over him, you won't get people pretending to receive oral, like HHH. Things are very different, and guys like John Cena are exactly the type of wrestlers that Goldberg was willing to put over.

Today, it would be a whole different story for Goldberg, and I really think it'd be a great time for him to be in the WWE.

EDIT: God****t. No sooner do I post this than I go out to the main forum and see Goldberg tweets I'm back and WWE can kiss my ass. ... So much for THAT what if...

 

[The Brain]

Goldberg has never wanted to be a career wrestler. He wanted to be a player in the NFL, but got injured. Boo on him eh?

He enjoyed wrestling, and there are a lot of haters that have a tendency to dump crap on him that's completely unjustified. Like him being an egomaniac, or that he didn't want to put people over, or that he can't wrestle. This is the John Cena argument, and you should know better.

Goldberg was green, keep that in mind. That's not his fault that he started wrestling and unlike other career wrestlers was instantly over and put into a position no one else has been in before or since, with the exception of Brock Lesnar. WCW screwed the pooch when they allowed Goldberg creative control over his character. Sorry but you don't give a noob like that creative control, period. That's just stupid business.

You’re right. Goldberg was green. The problem is he didn’t realize he was green. He got over instantly and because of that he thinks he’s better than he is. Goldberg got lucky. If there was ever a case of right place right time it’s Goldberg. He came into the business when wrestling was at an all time high in popularity. He also bore a striking resemblance to wrestling’s biggest and most popular star. Goldberg got over as quickly as he did because he looked like Steve Austin and Austin was reaching levels of popularity previously only achieved by Hulk Hogan. I believe if Goldberg broke into wrestling at any other point in time or if he did not look like Steve Austin he would have fizzled quickly and would not have made any impact. I don’t know why this guy gets the praise he does for ONE good year in the business. Take out 1998 and Goldberg is nothing.

You say Goldberg enjoyed wrestling and he probably did. I’m sure he enjoyed it but I very seriously doubt he was passionate about it. He enjoyed getting his face on tv. He enjoyed the tough guy reputation wrestling gave him. He enjoyed the paycheck. That’s about it. If he loved wrestling so much where was he in 2001? Why didn’t he show up for the Invasion angle? If he loved wrestling so much where was he leading up to WrestleMania XX? He was sitting at home letting Steve Austin do the work in hyping his match because he already fulfilled his contractually obligated dates except one, the last one being mania. He could have made some appearances before mania. Obviously hyping his match at the biggest show of the year (the 20th anniversary mind you) at Madison Square Garden didn’t mean much to him.

I’ve heard Goldberg is a great guy in real life. Good for him. That’s important and I respect that. I don’t have much respect for him as a wrestler. I respect that he got over and was wildly popular in 1998. I don’t respect that he thinks that one year gives him a free pass to write his own ticket in wrestling and come and go as he pleases. If he wants to come back and be a full time wrestler, fine. He needs to be on tv every week and do the house show tours just like everyone else. I have no interest in seeing Goldberg show up in WWE again for a handful of shows so he can stroke his ego and keep his name in the spotlight.

 

[RicoLen]

You’re right. Goldberg was green. The problem is he didn’t realize he was green. He got over instantly and because of that he thinks he’s better than he is.

Wait, put that in past tense. Well, sorta. He got over instantly and because of that he thought he was better than he was. Granted he does still think he's better than he is, but it's not at all the same thing anymore. Now, he thinks he's a Sting or a Hogan or an Austin, and he's almost right, therein lies both the problem and a very important distinction to make. He's still a guy with only about 7ish years in the business.

Goldberg got lucky. If there was ever a case of right place right time it’s Goldberg. He came into the business when wrestling was at an all time high in popularity. He also bore a striking resemblance to wrestling’s biggest and most popular star. Goldberg got over as quickly as he did because he looked like Steve Austin and Austin was reaching levels of popularity previously only achieved by Hulk Hogan. I believe if Goldberg broke into wrestling at any other point in time or if he did not look like Steve Austin he would have fizzled quickly and would not have made any impact. I don’t know why this guy gets the praise he does for ONE good year in the business. Take out 1998 and Goldberg is nothing.

You're entitled to that opinion. I don't buy it. I've never been a "Stone Cold" fan (love Austin, but that's kind of after the fact). I was one of those guys that watched his debut, watched his gimmick watched his wrestling abilities and ate up every bit of it. I was firmly behind WCW at this point in time. Because of Goldberg, not the other way around. I started watching WCW because all the old guys were there, but I was paying more attention to homework, and talking on the phone with my girlfriend, until Goldberg debuted, and over the course of about 3 months that changed. Because of Goldberg I became a huge fan (mark) for the guy, and so did all my friends. I don't doubt for some people, especially the WWF guys, that Goldberg was someone to watch on WCW because of his resemblance and the timing of things, but in WCW, those fans, the majority at the time mind you, that was not the case. It's revisionist history to say that. People were coming in watching Goldberg and thinking of WCW like it was MMA and WWF was fake "wrastling". /facepalm Sadly that's all too true.

You say Goldberg enjoyed wrestling and he probably did. I’m sure he enjoyed it but I very seriously doubt he was passionate about it.

You're right, he didn't like the backstage politics and the rest of the bullshit that tends to go along with pro-wrestling, especially at WCW, and even more at the top levels of the WWF(E). Don't blame the guy there either.

He enjoyed getting his face on tv. He enjoyed the tough guy reputation wrestling gave him. He enjoyed the paycheck. That’s about it.

Just like every other wrestler out there.

If he loved wrestling so much where was he in 2001? Why didn’t he show up for the Invasion angle? If he loved wrestling so much where was he leading up to WrestleMania XX?

Same place Jeff Jarrett, Sting, and so many others were, waiting for the WCW 'phoenix' to rise from the ashes and give them another place to go outside the WWF. Are you going to go on to say Sting isn't passionate about the business or that he didn't want to put over Steve Austin, etc? This is a logical fallacy.

I’ve heard Goldberg is a great guy in real life. Good for him. That’s important and I respect that. I don’t have much respect for him as a wrestler. I respect that he got over and was wildly popular in 1998. I don’t respect that he thinks that one year gives him a free pass to write his own ticket in wrestling and come and go as he pleases. If he wants to come back and be a full time wrestler, fine. He needs to be on tv every week and do the house show tours just like everyone else. I have no interest in seeing Goldberg show up in WWE again for a handful of shows so he can stroke his ego and keep his name in the spotlight.

Then call him John Cena and be done with it. He's paid his dues to be a main eventer, but he's also no Hall of Famer because he hasn't paid his dues for that. But don't try and tell me he doesn't enjoy what he's doing because he wouldn't have just signed up to work with a lot of those same guys again if he didn't.

You don't have to respect the guy as a wrestler, I don't respect HHH as a wrestler because he's the polar opposite of Bill Goldberg. HHH is all politics, asskissing, and making friends in the right places, and to hell with anyone or everything else. Goldberg is the exact opposite, and makes naive mistakes in the process, Bret Hart was the same kind of guy. The difference was one guy was born into the business and grew up knowing the ins and outs, and the other had to learn it while at the same time being one of the biggest if not the biggest draw in the company.

 

[The Brain]

Then call him John Cena and be done with it. He's paid his dues to be a main eventer, but he's also no Hall of Famer because he hasn't paid his dues for that. But don't try and tell me he doesn't enjoy what he's doing because he wouldn't have just signed up to work with a lot of those same guys again if he didn't.

You left out one very important part of my post when quoting me, the most important part from my point of view.

If he loved wrestling so much where was he leading up to WrestleMania XX? He was sitting at home letting Steve Austin do the work in hyping his match because he already fulfilled his contractually obligated dates except one, the last one being mania. He could have made some appearances before mania. Obviously hyping his match at the biggest show of the year (the 20th anniversary mind you) at Madison Square Garden didn’t mean much to him.

This is why I think Goldberg has no passion for the business. He made up his mind that he was done with WWE when his one year contract was up. That's fine. I have no problem with that. I would think anyone who took any pride or had any kind of passion for his work would have worked a few extra days leading up to the biggest show of the year to further hype his big match. Goldberg fulfilled his dates. He was within his rights to sit at home until mania. Congratulations for doing as little work as possible to collect your check. That's not the type of guy I want to see in WWE. Not being in that position it's easy for me to say, but I'd like to think if it were me I would say even though I fulfilled my dates I will add on a few more to help hype the biggest show of the year because it's what's best for the business and best for the fans. Goldberg only cared about what was best for Goldberg.