Do you consider Goldberg to ever have been the "face" of WCW?

[AegonTargaryen]

In 1998, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to usher in "The Austin Era". Several factors helped the rise of Austin- innate talent and charisma, desire to excel, originality, WCW, departure of Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels' injury. It wouldn't be an overstatement that even for a period of 3 years(1998-2002), Stone Cold Steve Austin was the face of the WWF(and Co-Face with Rock).

Contrast that with Bill Goldberg. Here's a guy, solidly built, black trunks, intense, and at the time, had a unique entrance and style. But was he ever half as much the "face" of WCW brand as Austin was the face of the then WWF? People might say that he was huge back then, and they had him beat Hogan on Nitro and win the WHC. But, wasn't all that little more than Eric Bischoff's attempts at and obsession with beating Vince McMahon and winning the ratings game? Besides, was there even an organic build to Goldberg's WHC victory, besides that he was an intense guy who speared and jackhammered opponents and had an undefeated streak?

I don't think Goldberg was ever the "face" of WCW. I could say that Sting was, even though he was so multifarious that he wasn't the WHC for a prolonged time and yet they dubbed him as the "franchise". Ric Flair can be said to have been the face , and definitely Hulk Hogan. Goldberg was more of a fad. He had a good body, his entrance coupled with the grimaces and martial arts gestures was unique at then, and him defeating opponents within 2 mins was enjoyable because of the intensity and precision of his execution. But WCW was so loaded with talent(nearly 20 world champions, 20 talented mid-carders and dozens of lucha libres), and with Eric Bischoff constantly trying to beat Vince by way of acquiring WWF stars(especially Bret Hart), Goldberg was but a tip of the Iceberg.

So, my friends, Do you consider Goldberg to ever have been the "face" of WCW? If Yes, then for how long, and if you could somehow compare him with Rock and Austin as faces of the WWF, where do you think Goldberg stood in the WCW of that time?

 

[Catacomb]

you dont think goldberg was the face of wcw? were you alive back then? wwf was austin with taker kane mankind as supporting cast, wcw was goldberg with nash hogan sting as supporting cast. if you went to the mall in 1999 youd see austin shirts and goldberg shirts, maybe dx taker sting nwo, but always austin goldberg

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Is Daniel Bryan the face of WWE? No, it's John Cena. Same dynamic with Goldberg and Sting in WCW.

Sting headlined Starrcade 1997, WCW's most successful pay-per-view ever. That year, he was the second biggest merchandising draw in the industry after Steve Austin. His feud with the nWo positioned WCW as the top promotion in North American from 1996 to 1998.

Goldberg was hot in 1998 but despite revisionist history, he wasn't close to what Sting was in 1997. He rode the downward wave of WCW.

 

[r2d2ott]

Everyone had Goldberg merch when I was a kid, and all thought that Sting just ripped off Brandon Lee when he died. But I guess in retrospect, and with the joyous wonder of the internet, someone can remember whatever they want that was specific to them, and apply it to everyone else.

But then again, in 2014, everyone just likes to play loungechair booker of the past, and now think they know more behind the scenes tid-bits than they did 15 years ago. It's like a big fantasy wrestling league of people booking things that have already happened.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I guess it depends on your definition of "face". I would say Hogan was always the face of WCW from the time he arrived to when he left. He was just synonymous with WCW and wrestling in general. Even as a heel, he may not have sold as much individual merchandise in a year but he was still the guy you would think of if you thought of WCW.

If you are talking only faces, Sting probably held that title during Goldberg's time but while he was gone that title got shared by Goldberg who had huge fan support and DDP who fought (correct me if I'm wrong) next to Jay Leno and Karl Malone. He also had a huge part in the much hated Ready to Rumble invasion.

But all of this was a long time ago so I don't really remember that well and can't be bothered to look things up.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

In the UK we didn't get much WCW (think it was on Bravo or another obscure channel) so the attitude era WWF was all that was watched by kids like me at the time. From what I remember though, I always thought of the NWO and Sting as being the stars of WCW and Goldberg being like a seperate sort of enigma, don't think he was ever considered on 'that level' over here until nobody was left in WCW and it moved to a more accessible TV channel in the UK. Looking back, I guess it may have just been a case of him being really big with the WCW faithful but not having such a mainstream connection as the likes of Austin.

 

[TheJF]

Whilst Goldberg had a spell where he was over, I don't ever consider him as the "Face" of WCW. To me the "faces" of WCW were Flair, Sting and Hogan at different times. Goldberg would/could/should have been the "face" if his run had been longer and if the booking was better in WCW. All my opinion of course but that's how Inremember WCW

 

[tak161]

Without question, the face of WCW was Sting. He was the guy you thought of when you thought of WCW, Flair and Hogan came close, but Sting was the man. Goldberg was a flash in the pan for the dying years of WCW. He never had the success that Sting had or the immense following that sustained any and all obstacles. There was never any doubt, at least to me, that Sting was the Franchise and The Face of WCW.

 

[BigBombB]

Goldberg was, without a doubt, the last huge star that WCW produced and for a time was the main reason people tuned into the show. He was the only star that had enough momentum and fan support to be on the level of top WWF stars at the time. Hogan, Sting, and Flair were all significant names with pretty unshakeable fanbases but they were stagnant; Goldberg was the major player.

I think the point made about Sting is a valid one though, Sting was always synonymous with WCW and was certainly the top good guy that any wrestling fans would have associated with the brand. For that reason it would be tough to call Goldberg the face of WCW during his time there but, at the same time, that argument is a bit questionable. Guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had been around a lot longer when Austin was on top, they were far more synonymous with WWF than Austin was, yet I think because Austin became SO big he was considered the face of the company during that time over top of them. For the same reason I think it is perfectly reasonable to consider Goldberg the face of WCW during his big run until everything in WCW became so muddied that it would be tough to say who the top representative was.

 

[mlp420]

Absolutely. Goldberg was the top babyface in WCW from 98-2001. I don't know where the Sting and Ric Flair stuff comes from. Sting was never above Goldberg after 97 and Flair was an elder statesman by then.

 

[rbv13]

Not to go off topic but it has been mentioned here a few times. I never thought of Hogan as the face of WCW. Maybe I always viewed him as a over paid hired gun, just a WWF guy or even a star larger than the company. For whatever reason I never got into him as a WCW Guy.

 

[justtxyank]

Lots of crazy talk in this thread. As a huge Sting fan that always wanted Sting to beat Goldberg, I can admit that after about March 1998, Sting's popularity ebbed. He never again reached the heights he had in 1997 and while he never became UNPOPULAR, he was never the main draw in WCW again.

The idea that Goldberg wasn't the face of WCW is laughable. National magazines that were non wrestling were using him as the face of the wrestling industry alongside Austin. Goldberg was hotter than Austin at times in 98 and was headlining major entertainment magazines, getting interviews on late night shows, etc. He was definitely the face of the company.

Heck, after the early part of 1998, Sting would go large parts of the remainder of WCW's existence where he wasn't even in the top 4 or 5 of the company.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Goldberg was, without a doubt, the last huge star that WCW produced and for a time was the main reason people tuned into the show. He was the only star that had enough momentum and fan support to be on the level of top WWF stars at the time. Hogan, Sting, and Flair were all significant names with pretty unshakeable fanbases but they were stagnant; Goldberg was the major player.

Agreed that he was the last "huge" star that WCW produced, but I've to say that Booker T was also the last great star because he went on to accomplish more in WWE and wrestling over all in the 2000s than any of the other Ex-WCW superstars- from DDP to Buff Bagwell to Goldberg to Scott Steiner to Kevin Nash. (Not that I ever considered Buff Bagwell to be a huge star).

I think the point made about Sting is a valid one though, Sting was always synonymous with WCW and was certainly the top good guy that any wrestling fans would have associated with the brand. For that reason it would be tough to call Goldberg the face of WCW during his time there but, at the same time, that argument is a bit questionable. Guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had been around a lot longer when Austin was on top, they were far more synonymous with WWF than Austin was, yet I think because Austin became SO big he was considered the face of the company during that time over top of them. For the same reason I think it is perfectly reasonable to consider Goldberg the face of WCW during his big run until everything in WCW became so muddied that it would be tough to say who the top representative was.

Agreed about Austin becoming the face despite Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but if you think it this way, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were only able to become main-eventers and champions and have great rivalries and match-ups because there was no Hogan, and the steroid scandal causing Vince Mcmahon to go with smaller guys as champions for the first time in WWF history. Similarly, Hart and Michaels leave/get injured , and here's Austin. Sure, Austin at that point was ready enough to step up and become the "face". Again, Rock and Austin leave in 2002, HHH acts as a temporary face of the Raw brand(though I don't believe anybody has ever taken HHH as the face of the WWE. WHC, yes. But face? No). Here comes John Cena, he's the face.

So the Goldberg argument is not entirely valid because simultaneously with Goldberg, DDP, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, and Nash also became WHC, and then there was Bret Hart and Sting. In Stone Cold's time, the only really equivalent "face" of the company could be said to be The Rock. I suppose WCW wouldn't have turned out to be such a debacle had they gone in one direction(Goldberg as your Austin VS Evil Boss/Erich Bischoff/NWO) and not screw up so gigantically as they did.

 

[SoulTrain4]

No way in hell was Goldberg the "face" of WCW. Dude was in the main event for 2 years maximum. Only had the title once during all that time and once he lost it never regained the popularity he had before he got pinned.

He was a flash in the pan.

 

[jrush1978]

I think he was, but its all down to definition. Goldberg was obviously super hot for a short period of time. But i'd say from the time he beat Hogan at the Georgia Dome through the end of that year he was the face of WCW. I think time has lost on some of us exactly how huge Goldberg was for that short period of time.

 

[BigBombB]

Goldberg rivaled Austin at his peak, that is nothing to be overlooked. There were consistent Goldberg chants at WWF Raw. When WCW was acquired by WWF, Goldberg was the top name people wanted to see debut. And even though his WWF run was tainted by how much Vince wanted to squash everything WCW, he still had huge crowd support. He was hardly a flash in the pan, it was Austin, Rock, Goldberg...those were the top three guys, those were the people EVERYONE was talking about that paid even the slightest attention to wrestling.

 

[FlairFan2003]

WCW didn't let Goldberg be "The Face". After his World Title win in the GA Dome, who main evented the PPVs in July, Aug, & Sept in WCW ? Hogan, not Goldberg. His World Title took a back seat to Hogan's celebrity tag matches and NWO/WCW War Games of which Goldberg wasn't a part. It wasn't until Halloween Havoc that Goldberg got to Co-Main Event a PPV with a major title defense and well promoted feud vs DDP (sharing the spotlight with Hogan-Warrior II). Other than DDP, Goldberg never had a well developed or long term run vs anyone during that title reign except Kevin Nash (when he lost at Starrcade). To be champ from July-Dec and only get two well promoted main event PPV bouts (one in you which you lose the belt) is embarrassing. Flair headlined more PPV in the first four months of 99 than Goldberg did in six months as champ.

Should he have been the focal point of show longer ?? Yes, he was red hot, in 1998 other than Steve Austin there was no one in either fed more over than Goldberg. That's not too say Sting, Flair, Rock, Foley, etc were not WAY OVER, they were, Goldberg was hotter. Wasting him on mid card matches against a clearly falling down the ladder Curt Henning on PPV was an embarrassment, as was not giving any build or momentum to hype matches that should have been long term fueds but instead were one of wasted bouts vs Giant and Sting.

When WCW screwed up the ending of the Havoc PPV and Goldberg's match wasn't shown, they aired live in the main event lot on Nitro and it was the most watched match on either Raw or Nitro the entire year. He was that hot.

Was he "the face" of WCW for an extended time ? No, but he should have been, WCW dropped the ball, pushing him behind Hogan for nearly four months after he beat Hogan for the title, diminishing his title run and making his win look more like a fluke than an ascendance into the top tier.

 

[Kliq69]

WCW had 3 faces...

Flair before he left for WWF.
Sting until Flair came back.
Flair until Hogan got there.
Hogan until he left.
Then no-one as the company was in shambles and had promoted a bunch of midcarders to the main event.

 

[pipebomber]

Sting headlined Starrcade 1997, WCW's most successful pay-per-view ever. That year, he was the second biggest merchandising draw in the industry after Steve Austin. His feud with the nWo positioned WCW as the top promotion in North American from 1996 to 1998.

Goldberg was hot in 1998 but despite revisionist history, he wasn't close to what Sting was in 1997. He rode the downward wave of WCW.

what Goldberg was in 1998 is irrelevant to what Goldberg was in 98. It's not asking "Was Goldberg the biggest star WCW ever had?" Goldberg's popularity in 1998 vs Sting's popularity in 1998 is what matters. Goldberg had just debuted a few months before Starrcade 1997.

Yes Goldberg absolutely was the face of WCW at one point in time. I think you are looking back at WCW as a whole, and not just WCW during Goldberg's short run. I would agree that today, when I think WCW I think of Sting. I can also see where people say Hogan was the face of the company. But that's because of their longevity in WCW over Goldberg's. From the time when Goldberg won the World Heavyweight Championship to the time WCW was sold Goldberg was the face of WCW. He was their biggest name, biggest merchandise seller, their main guy.

 

[RedRegan1005]

I honestly think WCW never put themselves 100 percent behind Goldberg as the face of the company. They always seemed so afraid to let go of the older names like hogan and sting. They latched onto them and to me it always came across as them pushing Goldberg as great but never as their guy! Whenever it seemed like they might start pushing him as the face of the company they did something stupid and kicked his character in the crotch. Like having his streak ended by a stun gun.

 

[TheDancingSkaMan]

I am from Georgia near Atlanta. Even the most casual wrestling fans that I know still talk about Goldberg when I strike up a conversation about wrestling. Even some fans that have not watched wrestling since WCW closed down still talk about Goldberg. So, to answer your question. Yes. At some point Goldberg was the "face" of the company for sure in the eyes of the fans if not the bookers.