When should the streak have ended and who should have ended it?

[relentless1]

been mulling about old WCW tapes and i have come to the conclusion that goldbergs streak was ended at the right time (starrcade 1998) as he was starting to get booed but i dont think nash should have been the one to end it, my pick; non other than big poppa pump scott stiener, he had the look, was built like a tank, had the badass attitude where everybody was afraid of him and was the only one believeable enough to take goldberg down, watch thier match at fall brawl 2000 and youll see what i mean, any thoughts? who would you have end the streak and when would you have ended it??

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I'm one of the people who is on the other side of the fence when it comes to Goldberg's streak... I don't think it should have ended with Nash, or even when it did... I think they should have let the wins go to Goldberg's head and turn him heel, and have him start doing the same thing as a heel... and eventually he gets beaten by an up-and-coming face, by something like a small package or school boy.

It made no sense for Kevin Nash to break the streak and he's said his logic behind it was he was "just as hot" as Goldberg in terms of popularity when he decided to be the one to end it.

Wouldn't make much sense for Scott Steiner to break the streak either... The only logical thing for WCW to do going back would be to make a star from it. An established star like Steiner wouldn't really gain much and he was already on tap to be a bigger star anyway.

Realistically if they were going to have Hogan and Nash do the fingerpoke bullshit they might as well have had Hogan be the one to end the streak in the first place.

Just for the sake of throwing down a name I would have picked Booker T to end the streak as it would have made him a much more credible champion. Booker was already considered a work horse, and the rub from ending Goldy's streak would have solidified him.

 

[dukes07]

This is a tough one. Nash was hugely over. It did make sense from a storyline standpoint and ultimately Goldberg to his revenge....and I am glad Hogan did not end it. His run as champ was mixed. It was not all his fault as he was booked secondary, almost like Punk today in some respects. He needed to be the centerpiece more often than he was. But there is only so much you can do with him once champ. He was always far better chasing the belt. Once he became champ there were so few to challenge him and they also seemed to be wary in putting more top guys against him.

In a perfect world, despite the great moment, they probably should have waited until Starrcade. Have him win WWIII and then beat Hogan. The rest of 98 prior to that he is taking down the nWo. Then in 99 you can have the Wolfpac v. nWo blowoff and wait on Warrior or not have him come back at all if possible. You can have him run through the rest of the nWo too if you like in 99 with Hogan turning face. Then starting in March until Owen, you could have had him feud with Bret Hart. Then there was heel Savage who was great in his return in 99. You could set up face Hogan v. Goldberg and Sting v. Goldberg if you like. But I think they could have gotten more mileage out of his title reign. And maybe out of WCW in general as perhaps the ratings would have ended higher. You could have numerous people to end his streak sometime then: Sting, a returning Hart or whomever.

However, I see why they put the belt on him when they did. He was hot. Why not capitalize then and there. Also, Hogan in 98 would have had to drop the belt. Keep it on Savage longer or better have Bret get a run with it before Hogan winning it back for Starrcade. Hogan's April to July run was pretty poor and really unnecessary. Hogan did not need the belt.

 

[TheHorndogSays]

I'm one of the people who is on the other side of the fence when it comes to Goldberg's streak... I don't think it should have ended with Nash, or even when it did... I think they should have let the wins go to Goldberg's head and turn him heel, and have him start doing the same thing as a heel... and eventually he gets beaten by an up-and-coming face, by something like a small package or school boy.

I agree with you that it should have ended by an up and coming face however I feel it should be the loss to said face that ultimately turns Goldberg heel. Have him facing an up and coming face (you could even make it non-title) who surprises him with a quick school boy like you said. Goldberg becomes irate that he lost this way and ultimately turns on whoever the face is.

Given with how high WCW officials were with Kidman, I'd say have him be the one to end it. He could end the night after Starrcade in a non title match which would have led to a world title match at Souled Out. It would have given kidman an instant push and helped elevate him beyond the cruiserweight division which is what WCW wanted at the time and later tried with the new blood faction

 

[JJ15776]

I'm one of the people who is on the other side of the fence when it comes to Goldberg's streak... I don't think it should have ended with Nash, or even when it did... I think they should have let the wins go to Goldberg's head and turn him heel, and have him start doing the same thing as a heel... and eventually he gets beaten by an up-and-coming face, by something like a small package or school boy.

This. IMO they missed a big opportunity here. A heel turn could've given new life to the streak and made for a great story with faces trying to take him down. The only thing I would (quite strongly) disagree with the notion that he should lose to a small package or school boy. That would be no better than having him lose because of a stun gun. Streaks are a great opportunity to give somebody a rub, but the win needs to be legitimate to get that rub. Having somebody like DDP or Chris Benoit end the streak clean would be huge for them. So that's what I would've done.

 

[thebarber]

Bret Hart is the obvious answer, he beat Goldberg everytime they met in 1999, Hart could have got the WCW mega push he was so deserving of by defeating Goldberg.
Nash booked HIMSELF to beat Goldberg, and this was pretty much the first nail in the WCW coffin. If Nash had a decent reign following on from thism it would have been fine, but t o drop the title back to Hogan the way it was done really destroyed any credibility the belt or the company had. Goldberg should have ran through Nash and the angle they ran in Canada in eaerly 1999 when Goldberg speared Hart should have been the start of the feud. I know Owen Hart dying may have then made this booking not happen, but if Hart won the title at Spring Stampede 1999, and was the WCW Champion, who knows how history may have changed........ but to answer the OP question, I feel Bret Hart was the best fit to end the streak

 

[dukes07]

Bret Hart is the obvious answer, he beat Goldberg everytime they met in 1999, Hart could have got the WCW mega push he was so deserving of by defeating Goldberg.
Nash booked HIMSELF to beat Goldberg, and this was pretty much the first nail in the WCW coffin. If Nash had a decent reign following on from thism it would have been fine, but t o drop the title back to Hogan the way it was done really destroyed any credibility the belt or the company had. Goldberg should have ran through Nash and the angle they ran in Canada in eaerly 1999 when Goldberg speared Hart should have been the start of the feud. I know Owen Hart dying may have then made this booking not happen, but if Hart won the title at Spring Stampede 1999, and was the WCW Champion, who knows how history may have changed........ but to answer the OP question, I feel Bret Hart was the best fit to end the streak

I think the problem with this was that Bret was never booked to win the title in early 99. Also, it is also a myth that WCW died because Nash won the strap and then the Fingerpoke occurred. The next couple of months had some of there highest ratings and buyrates remained strong. The decline happened when the nWo split and they just could not figure what to do to follow it up....

Anyway, I do agree that Hart would have been the guy. I see some points that others have raised of having a younger guy doing it. But in WCW (and WWF) this would not happen. It would have been one of the main guys. And in this instance it would have been the right way to go.

As for Nash, I have heard so many things. He has claimed that he was not booking when he won the title....But I have also heard that he was. I know the Elite was Bischoff's idea and then he soon took some time off.

And I think the belt had credibility up until April/May 2000 when it started getting handed around like a Kardashian.

 

[nutt]

I'm torn on this...part of me thinks the streak should've continued into 1999 and ended by Bret Hart with some screwjob in the middle of it; the other part of me thinks that Bam Bam Bigelow should've done it (They were hot and the match never happened; we got constant Bigelow-Goldberg brawls but no match)

The Screw Job and the Streak:

I honestly think the Streak was booked entirely too wrong. I have believed time and again that the original downfall to WCW was giving away Hogan-Goldberg on free TV with the title changing hands. My version of ending the streak would have been partially like thebarber has it. Feed to Bret Hart, but farther down the line.

Let's start with July 6, 1998, the day Goldberg won the WCW Title. I would've had this match end with a Dusty Finish/screw job. After Goldberg speared Hogan, The Giant comes thru the crowd and chokeslams Goldberg to end Nitro, causing the DQ finish. Fans are pissed at the finish, but it sells WCW down the line. Have Hogan come out the night after Bash at the Beach and cut a promo stating that Goldberg got his shot and as long as Hogan is champ, Goldberg will not get another shot.

Goldberg cuts thru the midcard (much like most of his World title run) on Nitro and Thunder, and enters the War Games match. Goldberg wins War Games and instead of waiting till Halloween Havoc (because we'd get Hogan-Warrior), Goldberg gets his shot the next on Nitro. Once again, he gets screwed over, this time by Scotty Steiner.

Now, Goldberg is pissed. He vows to take out the nWo, one by one till he gets Hogan. Feed him all the Hollywood members til WWIII. Goldberg dominates the WWIII (if you've seen the match, Nash booked himself in a ring with all luchadores) ring he's in, and wins the match. At Starrcade, he finally beats Hogan. At this point, you've got your payoff, PPV buys, and people keep tuning into Nitro. Now, for that Georgia Dome show where the fingerpoke happened...have the nWo reform without the poke and give us Goldberg-Hogan, the rematch. The same thing happens with Goldberg/Liz and Nash offers to step in. Poke happens, company doesn't die.

Now, have Goldberg run through Nash at Souled Out and SuperBrawl, Hogan gets his rematch. Hell, have Flair challenge for the title at Uncensored. He runs over Flair and the Horsemen and even though Spring Stampede is not a big PPV, I would've pushed this PPV to the moon. Goldberg attempts a spear, Bret dodges hit and Goldberg hits an exposed turnbuckle. Boom, Bret wins.

 

[nutt]

Anyway, I do agree that Hart would have been the guy. I see some points that others have raised of having a younger guy doing it. But in WCW (and WWF) this would not happen. It would have been one of the main guys. And in this instance it would have been the right way to go.

As for Nash, I have heard so many things. He has claimed that he was not booking when he won the title....But I have also heard that he was. I know the Elite was Bischoff's idea and then he soon took some time off.

And I think the belt had credibility up until April/May 2000 when it started getting handed around like a Kardashian.

He was booking from around September 1998 thru January 1999, then it was Sullivan again....after Sullivan got drilled down in March, Nash took over (again) until July of 1999....both of his first two title match victories are by virtue of Kevin Nash booking himself to win the belt. He did book himself to lose to Goldberg at Spring Stampede 1999, but he got the title shot at Slamboree against Page.

I do agree with the poster earlier that Nash was hot in the summer of 1998, but not as hot as Goldberg and DDP were.

 

[dman1373]

Also, it is also a myth that WCW died because Nash won the strap and then the Fingerpoke occurred. The next couple of months had some of there highest ratings and buyrates remained strong. The decline happened when the nWo split and they just could not figure what to do to follow it up....

I would disagree as this is the highest rated(5.0) show wcw had (besides when they got the 5.7 when raw wasn't on)in the rest of wcw's life. The figerpoke of doom made the title look worthless as nash could care less if he had it, it made a returning hogan champion which people got tired of hogan by this point, and they blew their load on wolfpack vs nwo hollywood here. There was no payoff, and thats what fucked wcw up. There was never a great payoff on any of there storylines, and people got tired of it. And then when people got tired of it and started tuning on the other show time warner decided to hire vince russo. That was when wcw turned to real dogshit. And then no one wanted to watch. So yes the fingerpoke of doom fucked wcw.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I've always thought that if Wrath's push had worked out, he should've been the one to end it. Wrath was getting a Goldberg push of his own in which he was building up an undefeated streak and they were promoting his Meltdown finisher as just a devastating a finisher as the Jackhammer, it could've been huge if Wrath went on to face Goldberg at Starrcade with the belt on the line, in a streak vs. streak match, and then he beat him to complete his push. But unfortunately he just never got over with the crowd and his undefeated streak was ended by...you guessed it...Kevin Nash.

To answer the question, I guess I would say DDP. Like some other poster mentioned, he was just as over with the crowd as Goldberg was, and he was on the verge of becoming a true main eventer but he was never quite there, I think if he were to have ended the streak, it could have solidified him as a true main eventer. I remember him countering the Jackhammer and hitting him with the Diamond Cutter at Halloween Havoc, how crazy would it have been if DDP had gotten the 3 count, not that I'm saying he should have, I'm just saying imagine. The roof would've blown off the arena.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

As for Nash, I have heard so many things. He has claimed that he was not booking when he won the title....But I have also heard that he was. I know the Elite was Bischoff's idea and then he soon took some time off.

I watched Nash's new YouShoot the other day, and he said he booked himself to beat Goldberg on a whim because he was "just as hot" as Goldberg at the time and it made sense to him. Then he made some jokes about the fingerpoke of doom. He said he had an idea to keep Goldberg's steam going afterwards by turning him heel and giving him a faction... Sort of a reversal of roles with the nWo being a face property and Goldberg having a heel faction. You can never really know with Nash, but who can really question him? He's one of the few guys in the industry from that era that does it for fun at this point because he saved a lot of money and made smart investments instead of buying 7,000 Rolls Royces and 90 mansions in 40 different countries.

 

[dukes07]

I would disagree as this is the highest rated(5.0) show wcw had (besides when they got the 5.7 when raw wasn't on)in the rest of wcw's life. The figerpoke of doom made the title look worthless as nash could care less if he had it, it made a returning hogan champion which people got tired of hogan by this point, and they blew their load on wolfpack vs nwo hollywood here. There was no payoff, and thats what fucked wcw up. There was never a great payoff on any of there storylines, and people got tired of it. And then when people got tired of it and started tuning on the other show time warner decided to hire vince russo. That was when wcw turned to real dogshit. And then no one wanted to watch. So yes the fingerpoke of doom fucked wcw.

I respect your opinion but will also try to keep on topic: Though I guess Goldberg and his Streak had a lot to do with Nash and issues later in WCW.

But you need to take a look at WCW in 99: I don't agree with the Fingerpoke. But at the same time it tightened storylines, and reduced the ridiculous amount of factions and stables. That was the original plan. I do agree that the pay-off was weak. But the idea was to merge the stables and get rid of the filler and the bloat that had become the nWo. I mean it makes some sense. They started together and now will end together. Then you have Goldberg, Sting et all battle them. The WWF pulled this crap all the time: Corporate Ministry being the worst offender. But then again they are still in business and this would not be a topic had WCW not been dead two years later.

Now ratings remained strong for nearly four months after the Fingerpoke. It generated large audiences after the fact. Also, buyrates remained strong. And the belt was not a joke due to one title switch. It did not help the luster of the title but at the same time I would argue that long-term it did nothing. The WWF was doing the same thing at this time and it grew worse in 99 and Vince McMahon won the Rumble that very month.

Here is a list of title holders from 96-99:
The Giant April 96
Hulk Hogan [2] 96/08/10 Sturgis, SD
Lex Luger [2] 97/08/04 Auburn Hills, MI
Hulk Hogan [3] 97/08/09 Sturgis, SD
Sting [3] 97/12/28 Washington, DC
Declared vacant on 98/01/08 in Daytona Beach, FL by J.J. Dillon, the chairman of WCW Executive Committee, because of the controversial endings at the 97/12/28 card in Washington, DC and the 97/12/29 card in Baltimore, MD.
Sting [4] 98/02/22 San Francisco, CA
Defeats Hulk Hogan.
Randy Savage [3] 98/04/19 Denver, CO
Hulk Hogan [4] 98/04/20 Colorado Springs, CO
Bill Goldberg 98/07/06 Atlanta, GA
Kevin Nash 98/12/27 Washington, DC
Hogan 99/01/04
Flair 99/03/14

Here is the WWF:

Shawn Michaels Bret Hart Anaheim, Calif. 03-31-96
Sid Shawn Michaels New York 11-17-96
Shawn Michaels Sid San Antonio 01-19-97
Bret Hart Undertaker Chattanooga, Tenn. 02-16-97
Sid Bret Hart Nashville, Tenn. 02-17-97
Undertaker Sid Chicago 03-23-97
Bret Hart Undertaker East Rutherford, N.J. 08-03-97
Shawn Michaels Bret Hart Montreal 11-09-97
Stone Cold Shawn Michaels Boston 03-29-98
Kane Stone Cold Pittsburgh 06-28-98
Stone Cold Kane Cleveland 06-29-98
The Rock Mankind St. Louis 11-15-98
Mankind The Rock Worcester, Mass. 01-04-99
The Rock Mankind Anaheim, Calif. 01-24-99
Mankind The Rock Tucson, Ariz. 01-31-99
The Rock Mankind Birmingham, Ala. 02-15-99
Stone Cold The Rock Philadelphia 03-28-99


The problem that WCW ran into was continuing with the nWo. It just fizzled and died and they began to turn Hogan face. Goldberg got hurt. Bret Hart's angle went away. There were all sorts of problems. They panicked because the WWF just took the fuck off. I mean, the ratings were bonkers. They had to attempt to build new guys, and they did haphazardly. For example you have Buff Bagwell dominate Flair and Piper and then go nowhere with it. Or make the Revolution look strong one week and then weak the other.

I do think Goldberg winning at Starrcade would have helped WCW through 99. But then again: People had tired of Goldberg at that point. So it may not have worked. Sure he remained hugely over. But it was not like it was six months prior.

 

[ryankayy506]

Personally I never thought about how the streak should have ended, but looking at this post I have a thought in mind. I like that Goldberg had to be cheated out of the title since he still was booked so strong at the time. I don't really care for the bait and switch the next day where he didn't get the promised rematch. Personally I would have liked to see him get cheated again with it obvious that Nash did know Scott helped. Which would make him have to chase after them over the next few months. Looking back it seems that people chasing a title is more entertaining than when they have it.

The Finger Poke of Doom didn't immediately turn me off from WCW, but it was just too much of the same stuff for me. How many times before had we seen one of the Outsiders pin the other to retain the tag titles? We saw Shawn lay down for Triple H to lose the European championship.

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

First IMO, Goldberg's streak was entirely too long, he beat jobber after jobber until he was about at 125-0. Then they put him in with some real talent that had to provide most of the work in the ring since Goldberg wasnt that skilled. I was happy someone ended it, but if it was me I would have had Sting do it, Sting was way under utlizied in WCW (so were a lot of things) but this is the FRANCHISE guy of the company, even Ric Flair left for wwe for awhile. Sting should have been the biggest star in the company.

Other choices to end it would have been Scott Hall or Randy Savage. Hall because he never really had a great singles push and he was a straight up bad ass in WCW. Savage because he would have made Goldberg look like a million dollars in the ring.

 

[dukes07]

First IMO, Goldberg's streak was entirely too long, he beat jobber after jobber until he was about at 125-0. Then they put him in with some real talent that had to provide most of the work in the ring since Goldberg wasnt that skilled. I was happy someone ended it, but if it was me I would have had Sting do it, Sting was way under utlizied in WCW (so were a lot of things) but this is the FRANCHISE guy of the company, even Ric Flair left for wwe for awhile. Sting should have been the biggest star in the company.

Other choices to end it would have been Scott Hall or Randy Savage. Hall because he never really had a great singles push and he was a straight up bad ass in WCW. Savage because he would have made Goldberg look like a million dollars in the ring.

I guess I am unclear as to what you would have had WCW do? I think that it was an example of near perfect booking. Why change things up: He comes out, kicks some ass for two minutes, the fans explode. Why bring in bigger guys at the time? It was unnecessary. Later they did: Go back to early 98, and he had some solid matches with Saturn and other members of the Flock. And while not really skilled in the ring, Goldberg was still serviceable.

As for Sting: He was pretty much involved in nearly every high profile feud. He was the face for the company from the inception of the Outsiders to the "failure" at Starrcade 97 up until he lost the title to Savage in April 98. He then became a part of the Wolfpac and feuded with Bret Hart. Later he had a match with Goldberg and then fought Hogan, beating him for the title. I would say he was used.

I will say that Savage and Goldberg would have been a damn fun feud in 99. Same with Hart/Goldberg, which is where they seemed to be going. However, I think they did it correctly: Goldberg had to lose eventually. You had Nash who was arguably the second biggest babyface in WCW at the time. Then you add in his issues with Hall. Hall seems to come out of nowhere and zaps the shit out of Goldberg, and Nash wins. Nash then claims he wants to give Goldberg a rematch. But in reality it was all a conspiracy. I don't think it was booked all that badly.

Ultimately, you cannot have Goldberg pinned cleanly. Storyline wise he had to lose the title that night. They did the best they could. And his ladder match against Hall at Souled Out was pretty good. And speaking of Hall, every time he got a title push he would get drunk and fuck shit up. Case in point: 2000. He had a title shot but then ended up getting "fired" and never coming back.

If you fast forward three years you have Lesnar beating on jobbers and stuck in a long feud with the Hardy Boyz. Flash to Ryback and the WWE jumped him right into the title picture prematurely thus ending any monster babyface status. I think what WCW did with Goldberg from 97 through mid-99 was pretty damn good.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

First IMO, Goldberg's streak was entirely too long, he beat jobber after jobber until he was about at 125-0. Then they put him in with some real talent that had to provide most of the work in the ring since Goldberg wasnt that skilled. I was happy someone ended it, but if it was me I would have had Sting do it, Sting was way under utlizied in WCW (so were a lot of things) but this is the FRANCHISE guy of the company, even Ric Flair left for wwe for awhile. Sting should have been the biggest star in the company.

Other choices to end it would have been Scott Hall or Randy Savage. Hall because he never really had a great singles push and he was a straight up bad ass in WCW. Savage because he would have made Goldberg look like a million dollars in the ring.

Sting didn't need to end Goldberg's streak because he was already the focal point of WCW's faction through the entire NWO fiasco. They dedicated a large majority of their shows just showing the dude standing in the rafters. How many shows did he drop out of the rafters and beat the shit out of the entire NWO with backhand chops and occasionally his baseball bat? And that was after the NWO would destroy 2-3 of WCW's other "stars" just before.

Sting was probably one guy who needed the rub from ending it less than Kevin Nash. He was set for life, case in point: people are still clamoring for Sting to come to WWE even if it's just for one match against The Taker.

Not to mention Sting became a born-again Christian in 1998 and wrestling took sort of a backseat to his new lifestyle.

As far as Hall goes everybody knows his story... Drug addiction held him back from ever really having a big part in anything. He could have easily been a world champion in either company but he didn't exactly try to hide his demons from anyone. If you were in charge of WCW and their money would you honestly put a major storyline on his back or give him any extra prestige? He was unreliable, and he honestly gets way too many pats on the back because he could have seriously injured a lot of people going to the ring fucked up like he was.

Savage is another one that didn't need the rub. Savage was already a multi-time world champion, and his best years were past him which meant so were the five-star matches. Sure if it was 1985-1990 when Savage was trailblazing with exciting matches then I would definitely be behind him ending a streak of that magnitude, but he would have gained nothing from it that close to the end of his career.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I don't remember everything from back then so correct me if my history is wrong.

Hogan should have ended The Streak instead of a cattleprod. It would have earned Hogan even more heat as the smarks instantly acuse him of backstage politics and backed the "booing" smarks off of Goldberg's ass. It also should have kept us from ever having to experience the Poke of Dumb. It also could have led to Goldberg and Hogan having a proper feud leading to a big payoff at a PPV.

I know it is not a popular decision for most but in a way Goldberg had no business throwing everything away to a up and comer. Goldberg was still somewhat of an up and comer.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I don't remember everything from back then so correct me if my history is wrong.

Hogan should have ended The Streak instead of a cattleprod. It would have earned Hogan even more heat as the smarks instantly acuse him of backstage politics and backed the "booing" smarks off of Goldberg's ass. It also should have kept us from ever having to experience the Poke of Dumb. It also could have led to Goldberg and Hogan having a proper feud leading to a big payoff at a PPV.

I know it is not a popular decision for most but in a way Goldberg had no business throwing everything away to a up and comer. Goldberg was still somewhat of an up and comer.

Goldberg stopped being an up-and-comer when he crushed Hollywood Hogan in the sold-out Georgia Dome on very few days notice of the match being signed. He became a bonafide superstar that night.

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the entire point of building a star would be the ability to piggyback and make other stars off of him. There's more money in building more stars than there is stroking an already established star's ego when he couldn't possibly get any bigger.

 

[dukes07]

Goldberg stopped being an up-and-comer when he crushed Hollywood Hogan in the sold-out Georgia Dome on very few days notice of the match being signed. He became a bonafide superstar that night.

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the entire point of building a star would be the ability to piggyback and make other stars off of him. There's more money in building more stars than there is stroking an already established star's ego when he couldn't possibly get any bigger.

The same thing could be said about HHH, or Cena. But with Goldberg, what could you do? You could not have him job, that was totally against his character. He was an ass-kicker and if you try to mix it up then it hurts his persona and affects business as he was making money for WCW hand over fist. WWE tried to turn him into a "WWE guy" and his run was not as effective.

He had his moments: He and Hart had a solid albeit brief feud. He had some good matches with Sting and DDP and Saturn. He pretty much put over Steiner at FB 2000, reinforcing his status as a top heel. Unfortunately, Russo booked some stupid shit, such as the heel turn, which was actually fun to watch but terribly executed. Then the whole worked-shoot thing with Goldberg. Then his second-streak, which was dull. Then he went out with a whimper instead of a bang in Jan. 01.

 

[Ovaltine]

Three names come to mind when I think of who should have ended Goldbergs streak. The first is Scott Steiner. Steiener was a legit monster who almost everyone (according to legend) was afraid of. The second is Wrath. Yes, that Wrath. Wrath was starting to get over with an undefeated streak of his own until that assmunch Kevin Nash booked himself to beat him. I heard a shoot interview with Brian Clarke (Wrath) and he said that that was where his charcater was suppose to go. There was supposed to be a showdown betweem he and Goldberg over who was the monster of WCW. Clarke actually said that he didn't care if he ended Goldbergs streak or not, beacuse the buildup would have been great. IMO if you look back at Wrath's undefeated streak you can see that he was starting to REALLY get over. Everyone would stand up when he hooked in the Meltdown. There was another guy who got squashed by Nash's backstage ego. The thrid choice is Sting. If you watch their first encounter on Nitro the audience was behind Goldberg in the begining, but by the middle of the match 85% of the audience had switched to cheering for Sting. Once Sting locked on the Scorpion Deathlock the audience went crazy. Watching this match live I actually felt that this was going to be the end of Goldberg's streak. I think that the audience wanted it to be too. Unfortunately Hogan's ego got involved and ruined it. Holk Hogans' ego ruined this match so much that when the match concluded the audience booed Goldberg out of the building. Thoes boo's were notfor Hogan. Thoes boo's were angry boo's due to the outcome of the match.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

The second is Wrath. Yes, that Wrath. Wrath was starting to get over with an undefeated streak of his own until that assmunch Kevin Nash booked himself to beat him. I heard a shoot interview with Brian Clarke (Wrath) and he said that that was where his charcater was suppose to go. There was supposed to be a showdown betweem he and Goldberg over who was the monster of WCW. Clarke actually said that he didn't care if he ended Goldbergs streak or not, beacuse the buildup would have been great. IMO if you look back at Wrath's undefeated streak you can see that he was starting to REALLY get over. Everyone would stand up when he hooked in the Meltdown.

Good call on Wrath. I nearly forgot about him. I need to hunt down that shoot because I bet he's got some good stories to tell. I always thought he was a guy that could have been a bigger star than he was, and he always seemed on the verge but never pulled it off. Hell even when he was Adam Bomb I thought he should have been a contender.

But Scott Steiner? Really? Why does everyone have such a hard-on for him? The guy was his own biggest fan and couldn't get over until he juiced himself up into a damn carnival act, and started bringing out the attitude that everyone else was scared of backstage to the ring. How can you reward a guy that held the locker room hostage a lot of times with his bullshit and has been called out for sexually harassing workers multiple times, with pencil rectal exams no less? Steiner is a joke.

They only made Steiner a headliner after everybody else was on their way out.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I think Bret Hart should have ended it, instead of it being Goldberg ended Hart's career. To me, having Bret end the streak would have solidified the reason why he came to WCW in the 1st place. Or at least it would have given it a more reasonable outcome of his overall stay in WCW. It shouldn't have happened at Starrcade though. WCW completely dropped the ball on that one. This was around the time that WCW was starting to lose some traction regarding its "war" with the WWF and WCW needed Goldberg to stay undefeated for quite a while. They should have placed Bret Hart in a situation where he was the one to end the streak and take the title. And then do an angle where Bret turned on Goldberg, threatened to take the belt back to the WWF and so on. It could have drawn ratings, in my opinion (so if you disagree, then fine, but don't lampoon my comment). Having Nash end the streak, the way in which he did, and the aftermath was just one failure after another and less than 3 years later the company was gone forever.

If Bret were to have been the one, I think they should have done it in the summer instead of Starrcade. The reason why I say summer is because technically that's when Goldberg's reign and his whole streak really took off and got notice. One year later his title reign is over instead of it being less than 6 months. Made him look foolish really.

 

[Wald]

I read an interview with Nash before where he basically said the plan for Goldberg after the streak was this.

Nash ends Goldberg's streak with help from Hall just to get the streak off the table. The fingerpoke happens and the nWo reform, so now you build 1999 solely around Goldberg vs the nWo. Problem was was that Goldberg got injured and all of a sudden the nWo and Hogan have no-one to work with.

Sting had lost his aura at that stage and as great as Bret, Flair & DDP were they didn't have the same ass-kicker look that would make you think this guy could decimate the entire nWo.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

I read an interview with Nash before where he basically said the plan for Goldberg after the streak was this.

Nash ends Goldberg's streak with help from Hall just to get the streak off the table. The fingerpoke happens and the nWo reform, so now you build 1999 solely around Goldberg vs the nWo. Problem was was that Goldberg got injured and all of a sudden the nWo and Hogan have no-one to work with.

Sting had lost his aura at that stage and as great as Bret, Flair & DDP were they didn't have the same ass-kicker look that would make you think this guy could decimate the entire nWo.

Nash cleared a lot of the Goldberg mess up in his latest shoot interview(which is definitely worth watching). He says he made the decision to end Goldberg's streak because he(Nash) was just as over at the time and it just made sense. The idea following was to have Goldberg get revenge and eventually turn Heel having his own group to fight against a face nWo. He didn't really go into details as to how that would have went down, but it was all for not because Goldberg decided to take time off to make Universal Soldier 2.

What you're referring to is later on down the road when Hart gave him a rematch and then Goldberg was screwed over and Hart reformed the nWo. Goldberg was supposed to feud with them throughout the year ending with him regaining the belt and having a dominant reign... But he screwed himself yet again by getting injured for real. According to Nash it was Goldberg that decided to try and punch through the limo window. Nash had suggested he use a piece of metal to bust the window, and Goldberg insisted that he could do it with his hands, which led to an injury and threw another wrench into the Goldberg vs. nWo storyline.