explain how Goldberg's run in WWE was badly booked?

[pepentorresHHH]

Whenever the discussion of goldberg's run in the wwe comes. All or at least most here say that it was terrible and even goldberg has criticed it but was it so terrible??
I was there for his entire 1 year run and I personally believe it wasn't that bad, I would even call it good....
He beat the rock in his debut, went through the midcard all summer until he was put into the title picture, lost at summerslam finally!, but then won the title at unforgiven, retained at SS and taking out all of evolution and then only lost the title at armageddon because it was a thriple threat and thw whole of evolution got involved, he looked impressive at the RR and then feuded with brock lesnar and beat him on his way out.....

Doesn't sound so bad right? I would say it was great, he always looked great and dominant while he was there....

So give me your opinion on if wether his run was terrible and why or did you always thought he was correctly booked and why!

Discuss......

 

[Matth3w]

I enjoyed his run up until he lost at Armageddon. Should've been to Kane, not HHH though. Kane was dominating without his mask in these early stages.

Anyway, when the $100,000 bounty was made by HHH, I enjoyed others trying to crush him until Batista got the rub. But I also hated the way he got defeated at Summerslam.

So, he was booked pretty strongly, but HHH always somehow ended up looking better. The highlight of his WWE career was definitely costing Lesnar the title.

 

[Zuper-Man]

He didn't have a bad run at all. His character was very protected, losing only to Triple H via underhanded tactics. He was never going to be, as Bobby Heenan used to say, "Da Man", in WWE. So relative to his run in WCW, it wasn't that spectacular. All the crying about being misused is just Goldberg being a total mark for himself. This guy ran thru The Rock, albeit a departing Rock, in his debut. He kicked Evolution's ass pretty much at will. Triple H, who was practically untouchable during that time, was beaten multiple PPVs by Goldberg. Even when Goldberg did lose in the elimination chamber, he kicked everyone's ass until he got sledged by Hunter. The reason it ended sort of badly was because he wanted to leave. Creative teams aren't magicians; they did the best they could by booking a last minute, circumstantially anti-climactic, but otherwise would-be-epic battle between Goldberg and Lesnar. Goldberg was lucky enough to go over in that match yet he bitches about his run. Maybe it was the lack of padded victories and canned chants that made him dislike the WWE so much. Personally, I thought he was booked too good.

 

[I_got_bant_for_idiocy]

his run wasn't bad..... but compare his run to his wcw days it was bad!!!!!!!
goldberg in wcw was wooooooow... goldberg in wcw is greater than wwe > 2006-present !!! that few years goldberg had in wcw was history thats why his wwe career is spoken on!!!! we expected him to take wwe to the next level but the wwe booking cant write for stars that came from different wrestling companies they fucked that up with him and NWO and ECW ...

 

[RkoMachine]

The people that say his run was bad are the same people that bitch about everything wwe has to offer!

People used to love Orton but now he's the "next Cena" you cant please everyone (as my grandpa used to always say)

When you actually sit and think about it his run was actually pretty good, was it his wcw run? no! but if wwe tried to repeat that you would get the same people bitching that goldberg was destroying young talent!

cant please everyone

 

[pag_v1]

His run in WWE was good, people always bitch about Sting saying WWE never used WCW characters properly etc, WWE used Goldberg properly, and he was still Goldberg. I mean sure there were small differences, i.e he had to wrestle a lot longer instead of just mowing down everyone, and maybe talk a bit more, but it was still Goldberg.
The changes should have been expected going from WCW to WWE, those that bitch about his WWE run, must have expected WWE to just re-use the WCW storylines for him or some crap, at least WWE kept the character intact, but gave him a challenge in that he couldn't just beat everyone straight up, like HHH. I was glad he lost his first title bout, was good to see him in chase mode. And he looked like good in defeat at Summerslam in the Elimination Chamber. Only thing i didn't like with Goldberg was the Brock Lesnar match at WM, i mean sure they were both leaving but why bullshit the fans who paid good money to see a decent match, but either way that's history.

His debut against Rock was good, and Rock made him look even better when he beat Rock at Backlash, credit to Rock, have always liked how Rock was willing to put anyone over as long as it was done well. The Bounty was a good storyline. His re-ignited feud with Jericho was also good, the HHH feud while a little long was also handled well, especially in the years that HHH never seemed to want to lose the title. As mentioned looked good in the RR, and the feud with Brock was built up good, shame how the match went but, eh, overall Goldberg had a very good WWE run.

People may view his WCW run as better, and as a whole it might have been, but i think it sticks out more also because it was a fresh idea, "The Streak" had never been done like that before, and kudos to WCW for pullign that off at the time, but anyone upset that WWE didn't re-use that storyline because it was Goldberg, even Goldberg himself needs to get over it. I would liek to see him comeback for that one more match, that he hinted at a couple of years back anyway, lets hope he does before he is too old.

 

[avi01]

He had as good as a run that someone could had under the circumstances. He had a year contract, with a limited appearances. So the wwe has a big name they know will not be here in a year time but he still got to beat the Rock (Rock put him over big time), Y2J, he was the one who ended HHH very long run as world champion. So yes he lost the title 2 ppvs later, so what? He was leaving at wrestlemania and actually his number of appearances contracted was very limited by then, what more could wwe do? Have him win the rumble and headline wrestlemania? Of course not. Still he was put it one of the most anticipated match of that wrestlemania vs. Lesnar. The time that match was booked, Lesnar had not announced his decision to leave yet, so this was a match against one of the very top guy. Don`t forget all the guys he squashed on the way. I can`t believe how many times Goldberg complained about WWE putting down his character down...he should get over himself, he got as good as a run he could expect. Sure it is nothing compared to his run in WCW, anybody with a little objectivity would know this was never going to happen, not because it is WWE using a WCW guy , no because of the circumstances alone, it was never going to happen.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

Personally, I never understood anyone saying he had a less than stellar WWE run, sure it ended in a lousy way in front a smarky NYC crowd, but even still his last match was a win at one of the biggest WMs what else could they have done better with the guy?

The luster he had in WCW of being an unbeatable killing machine wasn't going to last in WWE, hell it was already gone by the end of his WCW run. Outside of getting dominated by HHH, who I should point out was nauseatingly booked to beat EVERYONE during that time period, Goldberg actually got the best treatment of any non-WWE made star in the longest time I can remember, since maybe Ric Flair in the early '90s.

 

[harrythem]

From the start things didn't seem to go Goldbergs way in WWE. Yeah he beat The Rock but, Rock seemed to have left his heel mannerisms at home and outsmarted him a few times from the start. Same story with Jericho.

Overall problem was he was made to sell far too much in matches that were too long for such a limited talent as Goldberg. If you remember the fans reaction at SummerSlam when he ran through a few guys really quickly it was quite clear that THIS was the Goldberg fans wanted to see, not the WWE version

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

Here's why people say his Run wasn't booked properly;

Goldberg can't talk his way out of a wet paper sack, and his first feud was with one of the greatest talker the industry has ever seen. since the first match was also going to be the last match the feud had to be built on talking, which we've established that Goldberg cant do... STRIKE ONE

Goldberg can't put on a decent match to save his life and his main feud was with Triple H who, love him or hate him, can put on a hell of a match when he wants too and when he has someone who is competent to work with, which Goldberg wasn't... STRIKE TWO

The extent of his story telling ability is saying "WHO'S NEXT?" Goldberg was famous for beating a hand full of Jobbers about 10-15 times each, with a few "names" thrown in there to pad the list, and if the match went beyond two minutes he was lost. His longest "feud" in WCW during his famous "run" was with Chris Jericho and he wasn't even involved in it. Who's Next? Bill, why should I care about your current story and who your fighting at the show that I have to pay to see when you don't even care? Who's Next? how about whats going on right now, Bill... STRIKE THREE AND YOUR OUT!!!

Goldberg was hot for about 18 Months between 1997-1998. He fizzled out in early 1999 and NEVER can close to those levels again. By the time he debuted in WWE in 2003 he hadn't been seen in well over two years and wasn't even close to relevant anymore, much like when they brought the Ultimate Warrior back in 1996. his time was passed, he was a flash in the pan, a very bright flash that drew a lot of money for a while, but he was NEVER going to be on the same level as Hogan, Austin or Rock.
The reason that Goldberg's year in WWE was a failure was because it wasnt 1998 anymore... end of story

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Here's why people say his Run wasn't booked properly;

Goldberg can't talk his way out of a wet paper sack, and his first feud was with one of the greatest talker the industry has ever seen. since the first match was also going to be the last match the feud had to be built on talking, which we've established that Goldberg cant do... STRIKE ONE

Goldberg can't put on a decent match to save his life and his main feud was with Triple H who, love him or hate him, can put on a hell of a match when he wants too and when he has someone who is competent to work with, which Goldberg wasn't... STRIKE TWO

The extent of his story telling ability is saying "WHO'S NEXT?" Goldberg was famous for beating a hand full of Jobbers about 10-15 times each, with a few "names" thrown in there to pad the list, and if the match went beyond two minutes he was lost. His longest "feud" in WCW during his famous "run" was with Chris Jericho and he wasn't even involved in it. Who's Next? Bill, why should I care about your current story and who your fighting at the show that I have to pay to see when you don't even care? Who's Next? how about whats going on right now, Bill... STRIKE THREE AND YOUR OUT!!!

Goldberg was hot for about 18 Months between 1997-1998. He fizzled out in early 1999 and NEVER can close to those levels again. By the time he debuted in WWE in 2003 he hadn't been seen in well over two years and wasn't even close to relevant anymore, much like when they brought the Ultimate Warrior back in 1996. his time was passed, he was a flash in the pan, a very bright flash that drew a lot of money for a while, but he was NEVER going to be on the same level as Hogan, Austin or Rock.
The reason that Goldberg's year in WWE was a failure was because it wasnt 1998 anymore... end of story

Son, you're right on the money. What killed me the most is when you'll hear Goldberg himself say, "they didn't push me properly" I don't know what made Bill think they were gonna have him running roughshod over the top WWE guys, especially with the way the other top stars from WCW had been treated up until that point.

 

[Gavschenko]

imo he was booked great but the bad thing about him coming in and doing so good is booker t went from main eventing wm 19 to Intercontinental champ after goldberg beat the rock booker t did shit all after

 

[RicSpade]

I would have to agree with most of the posts to an extent Goldberg actually had a semi-decent run, but I think the first big match with the Rock stopped him, and here is why, think about how most Goldberg matches go, he usually comes in the other guy gets some offense, and then Goldberg comes in spear, jackhammer Da Man wins again.

But here is the problem and it was obvious when he won the world title and he faced guys like a Bret Hart or a DDP. Goldberg is seriously limited when it comes to skills in the ring, so for him to put on an actual Wrestling match is almost near to impossible, don't believe me? Go watch Goldberg vs DDP from Halloween Havoc. that's where I first realized unless he is carried the whole match, he doesn't have much to work with. Its much like a Ultimate Warrior or a Hulk Hogan or a John Cena, when your limited you either have to up the ante and make yourself a little more different then what you were to work a match, or people see your flaws, and to me this was the problem with Goldberg in WWE and the end of WCW.

 

[Pedigree1]

Goldberg was booked very well but Good ol Bills problem was no mic skills to speak of!! I dont think he could outtalk doink the clown let alone the rock.. Problem number 2 he thought he was above everyone in the locker room at the time HHH Lesnar Angle!! And last problem was he couldnt wrestle!! Spear Jackhammer couple of kicks and punches thats about it!! People on here complain about Cenas five moves of doom but Cena can actually wrestle!!! Goldberg cant and has had that hollier than thou attitude!!

 

[punkrules]

goldberg is only complaining cause he thought he should be the top guy there and mow everyone down like he did in wcw, and i still don't understand why vince signed him after he almost killed bret hart at starrcade with a kick

 

[Kizzani]

Goldberg was booked fine in WWE, the problem was Goldberg was/is a terd. He came to the ring in almost every match was a squash, like a fake version of Mike Tyson. They gave him a undefeated storyline, once you lose that story you need to rely on Mic skills and Ring work Both of which Goldberg lacked. I can find a match with so many wrestlers that I can say "what a good match" can't remember a single Goldberg match that way.

 

[Decarow]

He was booked pretty good. It was HIM that didn't pull it off. There was nothing wrong with the booking at all. But he didn't have the talent to sell it. He can only be that monster takes people out in 2 minutes. They already had that monster in WWE at that time, one that actually had wrestling talent-- Brock Lesnar. Neither could talk, but atleast Lesnar had Heyman. Unfortunately the two met each other at WM20 and had a worse match than Kane vs Great Khali at WM23.

 

[finoj05]

Goldberg meeting Goldust

This was his 2nd week if I remember correctly. Made him look like a goof.

Goldberg's booking wasn't bad just because of his wins and losses (and how they were done) but by lots of the little details like this. They put him in situations where they knew he wouldn't excel at. A good booker writes the talent into situations where they look the best, not less-than or silly.

Goldberg was at his best when he didn't speak and went out there and rammed people into the ground. If you have to have him speak his first night out, your not being creative. They put him in the ring with The Rock his first match in when he would have drew a similar PPV number facing Stevie Richards in his debut match. After beating The Rock, it just came off like they were shoving him down people's throats and he wrestled a long match that he wasn't accustomed to doing and took the appeal out of his work his first night out.

It was WWE's job to capitalize on Goldberg. Never heard any stories about him being hard to work with or not doing what he was told. They knew what they were getting and should have booked accordingly. WWE has this way of thinking of this "one size fits all" attitude toward booking certain characters, which is why Paul Heyman is so respected because he actually books for the talent, not plugging guys into roles he already set up.

 

[ejc8710]

I gotta say it was another case of wwe not giving the fans what they wanted you know once Goldberg went to the wwe We where all hoping we where gonna see Austin Vs Goldberg But Never happend come on the 2 biggest stars of the late 90s and you didnt make that match happend :/ Its the same thing wwe did with Ric Flair And Hulk Hogan back In 91/92 yea I know they had a house show match but that should have happend at WM8

 

[willross]

For a guy only doing a one year run and feuding with 3 of the biggest stars in the company at the time, holding the World Title, being one of 4 main events at one of the biggest wrestlemania's in history.....he got more than most people got. He had a run anyone should be happy with, just because he didn't have a 190 match win streak doesn't mean he had a bad run

 

[New Hot Fed]

Here's why people say his Run wasn't booked properly;

Goldberg can't talk his way out of a wet paper sack, and his first feud was with one of the greatest talker the industry has ever seen. since the first match was also going to be the last match the feud had to be built on talking, which we've established that Goldberg cant do... STRIKE ONE

Goldberg can't put on a decent match to save his life and his main feud was with Triple H who, love him or hate him, can put on a hell of a match when he wants too and when he has someone who is competent to work with, which Goldberg wasn't... STRIKE TWO

The extent of his story telling ability is saying "WHO'S NEXT?" Goldberg was famous for beating a hand full of Jobbers about 10-15 times each, with a few "names" thrown in there to pad the list, and if the match went beyond two minutes he was lost. His longest "feud" in WCW during his famous "run" was with Chris Jericho and he wasn't even involved in it. Who's Next? Bill, why should I care about your current story and who your fighting at the show that I have to pay to see when you don't even care? Who's Next? how about whats going on right now, Bill... STRIKE THREE AND YOUR OUT!!!

Goldberg was hot for about 18 Months between 1997-1998. He fizzled out in early 1999 and NEVER can close to those levels again. By the time he debuted in WWE in 2003 he hadn't been seen in well over two years and wasn't even close to relevant anymore, much like when they brought the Ultimate Warrior back in 1996. his time was passed, he was a flash in the pan, a very bright flash that drew a lot of money for a while, but he was NEVER going to be on the same level as Hogan, Austin or Rock.
The reason that Goldberg's year in WWE was a failure was because it wasnt 1998 anymore... end of story

There was MORE good wrestlers in WCW and Goldberg faced a lot of them and he more than matched blow for blow with them. DDP was as much a great talent in the ring as HHH and he and Goldberg tear the house down! Kevin Nash had a great match with Goldberg at Starrcade in possibly the best big men match i've ever seen.

The difference was in the WWF you had to wrestle "WWF-style" wich is mainly kick and punch and every wrestlers have to wrestle the same. And it has to be pretty damn fast-past. Goldberg came from a company where it was more psychology-based(except the Cruiserweights), where you take your time in the ring to tell a story. And Goldberg's work was more like that. He would analyse his opponants like a Great White and then boom! he would strike. And then the match would continue, the opponant would think he had the upperhand and boom another strike by Goldy! It was in the goal to sell that invincible persona. And for that you have to be protected and in the WWF/E they don't bother with stuff like this. Because it has to be like a videogame, move quickly. One guy throw a punch, another throw a punch, then the other throw a punch. Hell if people think Goldy don't sell, well in the WWF/E every wrestlers don't sell.

As for the promo bit, we've seen a lot of legends not being great at promos and they made a lot of money. And a lot in the WWF too. Just look at Kane. He was the invincible monster for years and it worked.

Also Austin's run lasted from 97 to 99! I would call it a flash in the pan too. Rock had an even shorter run. And even then he wasn't as much on top as Austin was. Hogan had a great run in the 80s and his character was even more one dimensional than Goldberg. It was more successful because he had a promoter in Vince that was a good businessman(contrary to Bischoff in WCW) and grabed his opportunity when it was in front of him, didn't go ruin his company. Goldberg was the golden goose, booking him was like printing money and if WCW would have been as business-savy as the WWF, he would have had a non-stop dominance from 97 and on and WCW would still be here today.

 

[czar76]

The run in WWE wasn't bad overall it just wasn't what many wanted it to be. Those of us who were WCW fans knew that he would not be used in the same way in WWE. it didn't come as a suprise that he was booked in a much different light then he had been. That was the problem. In WCW Goldberg was a monster. It wasn't until the shaddy booking that came toward the end that his character suffered.
WWE couldn't book him the same way because they already had several people in that role. The way he was presented was fine but it just didn't work for him because of his lack of ability. He was poor on the mic and limited in the ring. His matches needed to be quick and hard hitting. WWE used him like a traditionl face having to overcome the odds and win. That just didn't work for Goldberg. Plus, it was clear by the time he arrivied in WWE his head had exploded and he thought he was on the level of a Hogan or Flair something he never was and could never be. So yes the run was both bad and good depending on your point of view.

 

[The Rich]

WWE done absoluetly nothing wrong with Goldberg. WCW were dumb giving him a 175(or whatever it was) winning streak then having him job to Kevin Nash.

During his tenure with WWE, He got put over by The Rock, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Randy Orton, Kane, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and more...

The reason Goldberg has always spoken negatively about his run in WWE is because they didn't give him a hundred wins in a row like WCW did.

At the end f the day, Goldberg has limited wrestling skills, no mic skills whatsoever. The guy always was an overated piece of shit, He couldn't lace Triple H's boots.

 

[DeathClutch]

It wasn't badly booked, if anything it was booked better than he deserved.
I'm a Goldberg fan as well, but the guy signed a ONE YEAR contract, he was giving a win over the Rock who was coming off two strong PPV matches, Goldberg pinned Jericho in what was featured as a grudge match, fair enough SummerSlam 2003 was messed up but that was HHH's injury but at the same time HHH SHOULD HAVE put Goldberg over, he didn't but Goldberg got a win over HHH at the Unforgiven PPV.
Goldberg was put in some smaller RAW feuds with Mark Henry & Batista whom at the time were not at the level in terms on main eventer as Goldberg but shit happens, Survivor Series rolls around and Goldberg pins HHH again, Goldberg is looking STRONG at this point. Armageddon Goldberg drops the belt to HHH in a triple threat, I've only seen the match once and it wasn't that great, Goldberg took time off went to Japan did his show over there, showed up at PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2003, announcing he'd love to fight, Goldberg returned before Rumble was meant to face Big Poppa Pump on RAW but Test was thrown in the mix Goldberg wins Rumble comes around and he's eliminated pretty quick after eliminating some guys (Angle eliminated Goldberg). Goldberg shows up on Smackdown to challenge Brock going as far to cost Brock his WWE championship at No way out followed by two of the biggest names in wrestling at WRESTLEMANIA 20 BROCK LESNAR VS GOLDBERG and people shit on the match but neither were staying in WWE and give the dulled match in mania history.

All in all Mania 20 hurt Goldberg more than Brock, sure Goldberg won but who gave a shit? neither sticked around and Brock went on to legit MMA and became champion quick, Goldberg done nothing of note worthy. Goldy wanted to be part of Mania 27 but why should WWE give Goldberg the joy of a nice payday when he couldn't even leave WWE first time around in a good way?

Goldberg's WWE run is BETTER than he deserved, he only ever put over HHH twice (minus house shows) no one else, had a World title run and faced the top guys.

 

[RicoLen]

Goldberg's run wasn't marred by bad booking. It was marred by bad experiences with the writing team who were GOING to book him poorly. He didn't like the sex angles that some of his booked opponents were a part of, and he didn't want lose to guys like them, because he said it marred his image to his younger fans. He never let those things come to fruition, he blocked them, but it was the booking that made him leave.

When you look at it on the surface yeah, the way things turned out, he looked pretty good, but that was because he put his foot down, and he didn't like having to do that, especially when he was getting backstage heat for not wanting to put someone else over. That missed the point and it was frustrating because no one seemed to really understand where he was coming from.

If you want to talk about bad booking though, how's this? In 1998 & 1999 the BIGGEST fantasy match you could come up with was Stone Cold vs Goldberg. Those two were even in the same ring together, but the match never took place.