Goldberg’s complicated wrestling legacy ends on WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event
This is the end for Goldberg.
Few wrestlers have created the kind of disconnect between casual and hardcore fans as Goldberg. At one point his pro wrestling stardom was rivaled only by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, but time and circumstance pushed him so far down the list of great pro wrestlers that nobody would put him close to a Mt. Rushmore of figures in the sport. Beloved by some, reviled by others, whatever you think about Goldberg comes to a close on Saturday night as he wrestles his final match against Gunther at “Saturday Night’s Main Event XL.”
In a business so often defined by individual creativity and talent, the aura behind Goldberg during his 1997 ascent instead came because his career was contrived. This wasn’t a man who loved pro wrestling, he had no desire to be a pro wrestler, but more or less fell into it because he was approached by Sting and Lex Lugar at the gym who told him he should be a wrestler, and Goldberg’s response was more or less “why not?” After a few months of paltry training Goldberg jumped the queue at the WCW Power Plant training facility with a rocket strapped to his back for stardom.
The manufactured star
Everything about Golberg’s rise came off his look. Goldberg was bald, he had a goatee, and was enough of an analog for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin that WCW tapped him as someone they could counter-program WWE with. This wasn’t long after Austin’s iconic “Austin 3:16” promo at King of the Ring ‘96, and Ted Turner’s company was desperate to find someone, anyone who could counteract the Austin movement.
The problem was: Goldberg couldn’t talk. Not literally, but functionally. If there’s one constant about Goldberg’s career it’s that wrestlers generally liked him backstage, but the man couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. So a gimmick was born where Goldberg would be accompanied to the ring flanked by police officers, never saying a word, exhaling pyro smoke like a dragon, and giving the impression he could snap at any second, murdering everyone in his vicinity.
Goldberg was booked like it as well. Matches often lasted less than 30 seconds, which helped accentuate his aura, while also masking the fact the wrestler knew about four different moves. Heck, if you even got to see all four it was special, with the majority of matches during his undefeated streak consisting solely of a spear and a Jackhammer before calling it a day.
It wasn’t long before his raw strength and athleticism turned heads, and WCW successfully created a superstar. The issue for the company, much as everything during this era, is that they created a monster and had no way to control it. WCW was so intent on overblowing his undefeated streak and making that the central part of his character that there was no end game, no plans for how to transition Goldberg into a legitimate wrestler, or way for him to carry a program.
Yes, there were massive backstage problems Goldberg ran into with Hulk Hogan’s creative control over the company, but it didn’t change the fundamental issue with the wrestler: He was a contrived fraud, and lazy to boot. This was the highest-paid man in WCW who never desired to get better in the ring or on the mic, because he never really loved wrestling. The business was simply a mercenary’s way to make money, and he didn’t have the appreciation for the business, or the craft which it required to match the phenomenal stardom he was given.
The inexperienced wrestler
It’s horrifically befitting that Goldberg’s inexperience and lack of care ended the career of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. At Starrcade 1999 the world heavyweight championship match between Goldberg and Bret Hart was an utter mess. On one side of the ring a legend of the business, coming from wrestling’s most prolific family, who developed a reputation as one of the greatest in-ring technicians the sport had ever seen. On the other, an ex-football player who had no idea what he was doing.
Hart has said in retirement that he suffered three concussions in that one match due to Goldberg’s recklessness in the ring, with the most damaging being a brutal kick to the head which Goldberg didn’t know how to throw safely. It caused career-ending head and neck injuries to Hart, forcing him to retire at age 42, when he still had plenty left in the tank.
It’s unfair to put this all on Goldberg. After all, he was simply a man in the right place at the right time. However, it’s fair to critique why he never had more reverence for the business, for the safety of others. Goldberg, like WCW at the time, only cared about the money printer continuing to go “brrrr,” and everything else was secondary. Just as Goldberg never desired to improve, so too WCW never demanded anything more out of him.
The end of an aura
Goldberg’s championship chase was really the beginning of the end for his career. It was one thing to beat competition in 15 seconds with two moves, but as soon as a match required more nuance or storytelling he faltered.
Goldberg kept going, but the aura was being lost. The gimmick had grown stale, and watching his matches were boring. It was clear he couldn’t wrestle, and he wasn’t interesting enough to invest in. As a last-ditch effort Goldberg was handed another “streak” to chase, but it came during the nadir of WCW.
At the end of his run it was clear that everything had run its course. Nobody cared about Goldberg as a performer, and the “Monday Night Wars” were over. WWE had won.
Transition to Vince McMahon’s flagship
Goldberg didn’t make the jump to WWE after the purchase and merger in 2001. At the time his contract was so overblown that McMahon and Co. chose not to take on Goldberg, who was injured at the time of the sale.
It wasn’t until 2003 that Goldberg would finally arrive on the worldwide leader, and the same problems followed him. WWE attempted to start rivalries with The Rock, Triple H, and Brock Lesnar — and every step of the way it was clear Goldberg was still inexperienced, couldn’t talk, and this time around his conditioning struggled even more.
Goldberg left WWE after a year, and what little was left of his reputation was in tatters.
The power of nostalgia
Goldberg was impressive, Goldberg was strong, Goldberg was never very good. That’s just the reality of his career in pro wrestling. This was a man who couldn’t tell a story or carry a match, but time does strange things to perception.
When it came time for Goldberg to try and make another run he found himself at the right place at the right time once more in 2016. A need to market the WWE 2K video game with nostalgia resulted in Goldberg being the cover star, and with it a return to the ring. This coincided with WWE being desperate for marquee “dream matches” to showcase in Saudi Arabia as part of their burgeoning relationship with the nation.
Goldberg returned to WWE in a way that could only be described as “comical.” Brock Lesnar was the unstoppable beast at the time, ruining everything in his path — but in entered 50-year-old Bill Goldberg who was able to beat him in 1 minute 26 seconds, winning the title that eluded the entire company.
Once more Goldberg had a rocket strapped to him and he jumped the line, once again faltering as soon as fans and the company realized he was just as mediocre as ever.
The darkest chapter to the Goldberg returned happened at Super ShowDown in 2019, the Saudi-based PPV in which Goldberg had a dream match with The Undertaker. Both men were old, out of shape, and gave us one of the saddest matches of the modern era as Goldberg was concussed early, then dangerously dropped The Undertaker on his head while attempting a jackhammer. The match was called shortly after.
The final contrived match
The match against Gunther is the most fitting way to end Goldberg’s in-ring career. One that was created out of necessity, brought back out of desperation, and now ending as a gimmick.
Goldberg vs. Gunther isn’t some organic rivalry that has built over time or be earned. It was created solely to counter-program AEW’s stadium show All-In Texas, set to take place the same night. It’s WWE’s aim to make the retirement match take eyeballs off the competition, and place them on their own product — with Goldberg being a means to that end.
What is Goldberg’s legacy? It’s not one of a performer, but rather a marketing machine. A man who was able to have a wrestling career performers dream of, but got ignored because they didn’t have the look or the size. There is no doubt that Goldberg is a legend of the industry, but also an example of how unfair pro wrestling can be.