There’s so much to say about the greatest time in professional wrestling history — the Monday Night Wars — but one of the greatest individuals to come out of it was Bill Goldberg becoming WCW’s final legend.
Out of all the talent to come out of WCW, few have the distinction of Bill Goldberg.
While Goldberg wasn’t exactly young (he was in his early 30s when he started in the business), he had the physique, competitive desire, and energy needed to make a name for himself. It’s easy to see what Eric Bischoff and other WCW executives saw in him, and they handled his career picture perfect for a company looking for the next big star. Or so it looked like it to fans.
Was he difficult to work with?
Depends on who you ask and in what aspect you’re asking about. According to Eric Bischoff on his podcast, 83 Weeks, and 411mania.com‘s transcription, Goldberg lacked confidence in ring psychology since he’d only been training for roughly six months before being pushed to the top, and not all of the advice he was given by his peers was good for him.
Then there’s talk of him trying to run things and a fight he and Chris Jericho had because of it. Honestly, it’s understandable for Goldberg to throw his weight around in the locker room of WCW given some of the stories that came out of that era when the inmates were running the asylum, for lack of a better phrase. It would’ve come easy to him when joining the WWE, but it appears he quickly learned there was a difference with the companies.
One thing that was big news and is one we really can’t hold against him was not joining the WWE following Vince McMahon purchasing WCW. Goldberg’s contract was with Time Warner instead of WCW, so he decided to remain inactive and continue to get paid. He probably could’ve to be let go of that contract to sign with WWE, but it most likely would’ve been for less money, so it’s reasonable for him to wait before finally agreeing to a buy out for the final year of his Time Warner contract in 2002. It’s important to note he was WCW’s highest paid wrestler (tied with Bret Hart) at $2.5 million, and his final year would’ve paid him $3.5 million. During that time, he wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling before joining the WWE from 2003-2004.
Following his time with WWE, he said he didn’t feel he was a good fit as he didn’t agree with the creative direction the company was taking.
Cumulative effect of events
There’s no denying that counterproductive advice combined with Goldberg’s limited in-ring skill probably hampered his development, but in seeing that, WCW stuck with what worked. His matches were simplistic, but effective, as his (alleged as this is constantly debated) record of 173-0 to start his career indicates. It’s far easier to believe someone as imposing as Goldberg dominating a match and winning in a couple of minutes than it is for an AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, or other smaller wrestler. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far.
Even if we ignore his time in WWE, there’s no denying his influence on professional wrestling in just a handful of years. While he continues to wrestle on and off with WWE, that is the time of his career he’ll always be remembered for. He’s WCW’s final legend, and he’s deserving of the label.
