WZ HOF: Bill Goldberg

[Uncle Sam]

[Bill] Goldberg​

I easily grow tired and impatient. AJ Styles is never going to get the 80% vote that he needs to get into the Hall of Fame. Shit, I doubt he'll get 50%. So here we are - buy one get one free for the first month.

Goldberg. Arguably the biggest thing ever come out of WCW - and that's saying something. A brief list of his wrestling accomplishements:

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1998)
PWI Rookie of the Year (1998)
PWI ranked him #2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1998
World Championship Wrestling
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bret Hart
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Rookie of the Year (1998)
​

I honestly had no idea he'd won the world title in WWE until I read that. I wasn't really watching WWE while Goldberg was active. All the same, I think he just may be Hall of Fame material.

Watcha reckon?

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Despite his impact, it was a short period of time and to be honest, if we let him in, Brock Lesnar would get in, also and as big of a fan I am of both of these athletes, they're not HOF material.

Goldberg was simply a hype machine. He started beating people quickly, Bischoff caught on to the fans reaction and just had him do that for an entire year until he beat Hogan, which was an act of God back then considering Hogan's creative control. His impact was short lived. As soon as the streak ended, the hype for Goldberg did, too. Slowly but surely, he became just another wrestler as opposed to being a notch above everyone like he was during the streak.

Being HOF material means you need to have some staying power. You have to at least span an era of wrestling and Goldberg didn't really span the entire Monday Night Wars era, just the last two years. So overall, as much as he accomplished in such a short time, I can't put him in the HOF. But that's just my opinion.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

Ah Goldberg.The man with the streak.I honestly believe that the Undefeated Streak he went on during WCW is sufficient enough to get him a place in the Wrestlezone Hall Of Fame.The man had a run of 173 victories without loss,that's incredible.And he only lost after being shocked by a cattle prod.If Undertaker's streak gets him in,which it will,then Goldberg's should.Undertakers is only 17,and I know they were at Wrestlemania.And Goldberg's wasn't.Well,let's say Wrestlemania is worth 10 times each of Golberg's victories,for argument's sake.Well Goldberg still trumps that.

The man also wasn't just the champion in one promotion.He wasn't just the main man in World Championship Wrestling.He came to the WWE and still won a title.He had high profile feuds with the Rock,Chris Jericho,Triple H and of course Brock Lesnar.His spear is vicious.His jackhammer is deadly.Sure he might not be the most gifted in ring when it comes to wrestling skills,but his five moves of death is very similar to Cena's,and he will surely get into the hall of fame.So why shouldn't Goldie.

I couldn't really care if he got in or not,I'm more interested in AJ Styles.

 

[Paradox]

Hmm... For me this is a tough decision. The man had one of the biggest impacts in a small period of time then anyone I've ever seen. With his accomplishment's in that time it's really hard not to put him in, but. At the same time that's the problem with him, he wasn't there for a long amount of time. If your going to be in any HoF then you have to have some staying power. Goldberg was in WCW for what 2 years? When he was in WWE he wasn't even there a year. So with that I don't think that he deserves to go into the HoF.

Yes he had the longest winning streak in history. He is one of the few that ever beat Hogan cleanly in WCW. Like Lariat said, once that was over he wasn't head an shoulders above the rest. He came back down to being a normal guy. After his first impact, he didn't continue to make an impact. He just faded out. Least to me he did.

On those to things I don't see him being as being Hall of Fame material.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I loved Goldberg during the streak. When he speared his opponent it looked like he broke them in half, yet he still took them up in the jackhammer, which was no easy feat especially against opponents like the Giant (Big Show). He absolutely demolished opponents like very few men we have ever seen before.

With that said, he's not hall of fame material. If he had continued his run for another couple of years, he would be in for sure. The fact that he did get out early saved him form becoming stale, but he wasn't around long enough to make a HoF-type impact.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

IMO Goldberg isnt HOF worthy. He had one of the worst matches I have ever seen against Brock Lesnar(who does deserve to be in) at WM XX. Lets just put it simply here, He was too overrated. He was WCW's version of SCSA, when everyone knows he wasnt even half as good or half as popular as him. Other than when he first debuted, he never got a super-huge pop like some other WWE greats did. Yes, He was a great WCW champion, but he was champ during the NWO, which made his reign that much less significant. Even his WHC run in the WWE was less than memorable. Honestly, I will only remember him for his WMXX Match, and his feud with The Rock. Other than that, he was pretty much mediocre.

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

GOLDBERG is HOF worthy. His impact in his short period time is something Cena,Orton,Edge and Jericho would never accomplish if they win the title 30 times and wrestle for 30 years. Goldberg was an exception to the rule, he is one of those guys that if you saw at his peak IT'S AMAZING. Judging by people reasons, The Rock would not make the HOF either.

Nobody else could of pull off a streak like Goldberg streak. It's very hard to do and it takes a special person to make people care for so long.

There is a reason why Goldberg still get tv shows and movies outside wrestling without WWE hype machine. He don't need wrestling, wrestling needs him. The guy is a star and he still more popular than the current pro wrestling champions. If that doesn't make him HOF worthy than I don't know what will?

 

[Mr. TM]

Goldberg is already becoming forgotten in my eyes. He had a very short career, didnt care about the business, just in it for the money, being a failed footballer.

He had a streak, and won the title, just to lose to Kevin Nash. He beat jobbers, and beat them at house shows for some of the points.

And he took more from the business than gave. He took away Hart. That bastard. Should be in the hall of shame.

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

The key word is "FAME". You not going to find to many wrestlers with more fame than Goldberg.

I appreciate wrestlers who take more from the business than what they gave because the pro wrestling business is known for eating people alive and taking people lives away. So to see a wrestler like Goldberg who used the business to his advantage without putting his body to extreme levels is what every sane wrestler should strive for.

 

[salomon1080s]

And he took more from the business than gave. He took away Hart. That bastard. Should be in the hall of shame.

I think this is reason enough for goldberg to be held out of the hall of fame. i would kill to see bret hart and hbk in a retirement match at this wm. but this dangerous flash in a pan took that all away from us.

 

[Paradox]

The key word is "FAME". You not going to find to many wrestlers with more fame than Goldberg.

Um... I can name some with more fame then Goldberg. Let me name a few right off the top of my head.

Hulk Hogan
The Rock
Stone Cold
Ric Flair
Triple h
John Cena
Chris Jericho
Bret Hart
Shawn Michaels
Brock Lesnar
Kurt Angle
Sting

Those are just guys off the top of my head. Those guys all had or have more fame then Goldberg.

The fact is Goldberg had a streak. That's it, how many matches did Goldberg have that were longer than 20 minutes? They never let him because he was so limited in his wrestling ability. I will give the fact that he did have a great peak, but no where near the level of an Austin or Rock. On top the that he wasn't that great on the mic. The guy was good for two years that's it. He wasn't that great in WWE. The guy had no sustaining power. That's why he shouldn't be in.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Goldberg was the only person to challenge Steve Austin as the new big thing in wrestling in the late 90's. If that doesn't make him qualified I don't know what does.

His impact over a couple of months was more than most make over a career.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Almost forgot - the poll's up. Cast your vote now. After almost two dozen posts - probably - every possible argument has been exhausted. Whether the posters who contributed will be able to fight through the fatigue and summon the energy to pick one option or the other is in doubt. However, Golderg requires 80% of the vote to get in. So far, only the late great Ric Flair (he's dead, right?) has achieved that elusive goal.

So yeah, vote.

Or die, motherfucker.

 

[Tenta]

While it would be tempting to give this man a spot in the WZ HOF, I simply have to say no to this guy. Sure, he was great for a year, but if you notice any of the wrestlers we debate on this topic, they were able to hold together their grip on the wrestling world for more than a couple of years. The fact is that Goldberg had no longevity, and was a character based upon statistics. Namely, that stastistic was "The Streak". And once people realized just how out of place that streak truly was, people started to turn on him. Otherwise, the guy was never that great with promos, and his best match was probably against men like Raven and Hogan, in which he was carried in thos match ups. Perhaps if this were a kayfabe HOF, I'd have more of an inclination to vote for the guy, but all that he has to him is a big pile of wins. He drew fans to some extent, but he also did so with the backing of the nWo, who were still drawing strong.

The fact is, if he weren't caught in the nWo's time, the man would basically see the same fate Ron Simmons. I don't consider Simmons HOF worthy, per se, and Goldberg is half of the worker that Ron was. For a HOF like this, he would have had to do more over a longer period of time. As for now, he's merely a flash in the pan

 

[Wrath]

No he shouldn't.Even though he was the man that made me a fan of wrestling.It's not because of the things like he didn't give a shit about wrestling his only reason in being wrestling business was money blah blah blah.I don't care if they are a real sob in their real life.Goldberg doesn't deserve this place because Goldberg was kind of a star that as zero personality but a great hype and I have to accept that Goldberg capitalized this hype by adding some intense to his moves and became mega over.This guy made a lame move like jackhammer to a very painful looking move.He is the best wrestler in squash category.He made you believe that he really destroy his opponents.There is really no one better than him when he's dominating people.But that's unfortunately all when it comes him losing people started to losing interest in him.He had no personality and mic skills everything he had was his streak and when it gone his megapush gone too.

 

[BANG BANG]

Goldberg is in my opinion the greatest wrestler of all time, he could get the crowd going with 2 simple words YOUR NEXT! less talk more action so to speak. Lets not forget his great bouts in WCW vs the likes of The Giant, Hulk Hogan, lex luger, ddp, up to his short run in wwe where he beat the likes of 3 minute warning, Triple H, Chris Jericho and more! So Yes I do believe he should be in HOF but my ? is do you think he'd accept the invite?

 

[666_The_Game_666]

No Goldberg was all hype in the streak i mean yeah he was a beast in the ring but not many noteable achivements like say Hogan or Rock. His carer was to short though in the WWE he did some good things in the like year her was in the WWE so overall Goldberg though im a fan of him he dont deserve to be in just due to the nature of his short carer

 

[gully side adidja]

never in a million years what did he do to deserve it, have a undefeated streak? if that is the case then tatanka should be in it as well, he went undefeated for 2 years, nope, he did not have a passion for wrestling,knew nothing about it,extremely generic in the ring,and just,a one hit wonder in wcw, don't even get me started on his wwe run,they turned his spear(his most famous and deadly move)into a weak double leg takedown, nope goldberg never in hof,holla!

 

[K Bro 30]

Everyone who is going to knock him for that match with Lesnar needs to think this over for a second. They could not do anything because the crowd would not get over. The crowd knew neither man was coming back after the match, and costantly booed no matter what happened, so the Lesnar match is a mute point in my opinion.

I believe he should be in the hall of fame. He emerged during the time of the nWo which was huge. We got to see his progression. In today's booking, a man wins one battle royal, and is number one contender. Goldberg won 107 consecutive matches before his first title shot. We fuss about people being able to lift the Big Show....Goldberg lifted him and held him before slamming him with the Jackhammer.

Along with his 173 match win streak (which is over a year unbeaten), he went another matter of months with a 30+ match unbeaten streak before he was "fired" by WCW (his last appearance on the show). He was such a dominant force, and did more in a short amount of time than anyone else could.

He did manage to take out the Rock, as well as win the World Heavyweight title in WWE. I know people want to say he did not do it for long, but he made a great impact in the amount of time he was around. He was a 2-time world champion which (as Sheamus pointed out) is more than some hall of famers can claim. Yea, his mat skills weren't the best, but every move he delivered looked like it connected. No man was ever more feared or more dominant than Goldberg.