Why Did The WWE Fans Sh*t On Goldberg?

[Pay Per Ghost]

Ye The Rock killed him with before his first match on the mic and gave Goldberg the worst debut response ever. But I'm watching Unforgiven '03 and the fans are mixed for him.


And that happened a lot during his run. If he'd have stayed he would probably be in the Cena role as in, the fans would always be mixed.


But why, why did the live fans no show the love to ole' whisket biscuit. Did they not get the memo to believe the hype?

 

[Trill Co$by]

Simple... he wasn't worth the hype. He was another WCW guy that didn't cut the mustard with the big boys. He had build and a simple Spear and Jackhammer where guys like Booker T, Nash, Syxx, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and the like were all coming over and showing that WCW had great wrestlers.

Throw that in with the fact that he was as terrible on the mic as Del Rio (only without the excuses Del Rio can use), that just takes away so much "love" for the guy. Not to mention, he looked too much like a Stone Cold wannabe. His WWE world title reign was exactly how it should've been... a month long.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

WCW's biggest star comes in and flops so hard. It is a bit of a conundrum. I get what you are trying to say here but his drawing in WCW was amazing.

SO much so that all the bullshit politics couldn't hold him back, at least initially.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Again you guys don't really look at the big picture. WCW and WWF were slightly different procucts, thus slightly different markets. So goldberg isn't as over in the WWE because he's not that type. Plus it's kind of like if a player from a rival team joins your team. You might accept him, but he's never going to be as loved as the guy who's always been on your team.

The Cena comparison is off. Cena gets a divide amongst like-minded fans. One set of fans like him, the other boo him. With Goldberg, it was a mix of everyone not liking him.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Again you guys don't really look at the big picture. WCW and WWF were slightly different procucts, thus slightly different markets. So goldberg isn't as over in the WWE because he's not that type. Plus it's kind of like if a player from a rival team joins your team. You might accept him, but he's never going to be as loved as the guy who's always been on your team.

The Cena comparison is off. Cena gets a divide amongst like-minded fans. One set of fans like him, the other boo him. With Goldberg, it was a mix of everyone not liking him.

A very naive statement that. He was still getting the crowds behind him up until the end when they realized he was leaving. It is untrue that everyone didn't like him. If that was so, they should boo the bejesus outta him, but they didn't, they still chanted Goldberg, and it wasn't piped mind you.

Look at it this way, Hogan was made in WWF went to WCW, was cheered in the beginning, then went stale, turned heel. Goldberg was a big name but it was the same old shit, and the fans were off it. Tune into Smackdown and they have somebody similar looking to Goldberg in Lesnar, but someone who brings something fresh to the table. A ground pound mat wrestling behemoth who is quick as a cat. Was different, fast paced and that's why they loved Lesnar. With Goldberg, it was boring.

That team analogy is stupid. RVD came to the WWE from ECW, was part of the Alliance, yet was cheered like crazy every time he would step out.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

A very naive statement that. He was still getting the crowds behind him up until the end when they realized he was leaving. It is untrue that everyone didn't like him. If that was so, they should boo the bejesus outta him, but they didn't, they still chanted Goldberg, and it wasn't piped mind you.

Look at it this way, Hogan was made in WWF went to WCW, was cheered in the beginning, then went stale, turned heel. Goldberg was a big name but it was the same old shit, and the fans were off it. Tune into Smackdown and they have somebody similar looking to Goldberg in Lesnar, but someone who brings something fresh to the table. A ground pound mat wrestling behemoth who is quick as a cat. Was different, fast paced and that's why they loved Lesnar. With Goldberg, it was boring.

That team analogy is stupid. RVD came to the WWE from ECW, was part of the Alliance, yet was cheered like crazy every time he would step out.

ECW wasn't seen as much of a rival as WCW. WCW and the WWF were like yankees/sox, WWF and ECW is like Yankees/rays.

Hogan didn't get booed in WCW because he was stale (not completely) it was because WCW was booked and had their market in the south where it was still rasslin.

I think you misread my statement, when I said "was a mix of everyone not liking him" I didn't mean "everyone doesn't like him". I meant, it wasn't just one type of fan. It was kids, adults, everyone was mixed. Some kids, some adults, some smarks cheered goldberg, some didn't. With Cena, it's a clear divide, kids, women, and easy going normal people cheer him, smarks and young males don't. That's why it's not a good comparison between Cena and Goldberg.

 

[J.J.]

Did any of you even see his debut? The crowd reaction to him coming out and giving The Rock a spear? Ovations like that do not happen much these days.

Being Embarassed by The Rock, the Goldust wig segment(which went on to be unmentioned), Gillberg, the failure to give Goldberg the title early but even that was an old fashion move in wrestling. You leave the audience wanting, so that you can build up the win (but you always run the danger of teasing them and having them not care). They don't do that these days, you get a good pop from crowd and they pin the title on you. So after that, how do you take him serious?

He crushed the Rock, only copied by Brock Lesnar. He made Triple H, the demi god of WWE, cower in fear. He dominated Kane back when it meant something. He won the title in less than a year. And finally he beat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, one of the most pushed men in the 00s (even though the match was soured by the fans, since they both knew this was Goldberg's & Lesnar's last match). There has not been a main eventer before or since that has accomplished that much in one year. Not even John Cena, the current golden boy of WWE, could claim this record.

Goldberg's failed WWE run is, itself, a failure. It has no basis, when placed against the things he had to deal with in WCW. And if you REALLY want to talk about a failed WWE run, look at poor DDP. Or hell, look at the misused Raven.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Did any of you even see his debut? The crowd reaction to him coming out and giving The Rock a spear? Ovations like that do not happen much these days.

Being Embarassed by The Rock, the Goldust wig segment(which went on to be unmentioned), Gillberg, the failure to give Goldberg the title early but even that was an old fashion move in wrestling. You leave the audience wanting, so that you can build up the win (but you always run the danger of teasing them and having them not care). They don't do that these days, you get a good pop from crowd and they pin the title on you. So after that, how do you take him serious?

He crushed the Rock, only copied by Brock Lesnar. He made Triple H, the demi god of WWE, cower in fear. He dominated Kane back when it meant something. He won the title in less than a year. And finally he beat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, one of the most pushed men in the 00s (even though the match was soured by the fans, since they both knew this was Goldberg's & Lesnar's last match). There has not been a main eventer before or since that has accomplished that much in one year. Not even John Cena, the current golden boy of WWE, could claim this record.

Goldberg's failed WWE run is, itself, a failure. It has no basis, when placed against the things he had to deal with in WCW. And if you REALLY want to talk about a failed WWE run, look at poor DDP. Or hell, look at the misused Raven.

I 100% agree with DDP. 1997-1998, HUUUGE draw, still a big fanbase. Could have been another big blue collar draw, especially since they turned Austin heel. I'm not saying that DDP would have ever been as over as Austin, but just that he could fill the void of a blue collar babyface, he was great at that. O well. The invasion failure was because the contracts wouldn't be worked out. The invasion was like if you told me "the Atlanta Braves get all the Yankees players, well, except not Teixeira, Rodriguez, Jeter, Sabathia, Cano, or Gardner" it's not really there. You had WCW vs WWF but no Sting, Goldberg, Steiner, or nWo guys. A lot of mid level guys and guys who were top guys after WCW was popular and during their decline.

 

[One to Remember]

Simple... he wasn't worth the hype. He was another WCW guy that didn't cut the mustard with the big boys. He had build and a simple Spear and Jackhammer where guys like Booker T, Nash, Syxx, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and the like were all coming over and showing that WCW had great wrestlers.

your first sentence completely contradicts your second sentence and the short roll call you listed consists of very good wrestlers and poor wrestlers.. i dont think you even know what hype is and your in no position to declare anyone or ones a "big boy."

Throw that in with the fact that he was as terrible on the mic as Del Rio (only without the excuses Del Rio can use), that just takes away so much "love" for the guy. Not to mention, he looked too much like a Stone Cold wannabe. His WWE world title reign was exactly how it should've been... a month long.

his character did not require mic skills or even a mouth piece. you have no clue what your talking about. Goldberg has more excuses then Del Rio couldever have and I have come to find out Dos Caras Sr. is an icon and Mil Mascara is an uncle. Del Rio's charisma must had came from his mothers side, err lack of i meant, excuse me.

A Stone Cold wanna be? I thought that too as a kid but then i realized that Mr. Clean, Howie Mandell, and at this point in his life Bruce Willis all fit the bill too! You can't trade mark baldness, being White, and wearing plane Black trunks in wrestling. Are you series..? Was Ahmed Johnson a rip off of Montel Williams?? Is Ezekial Jackson the secret son of Ahmed Johnson also..?

The bumpiness of his World title reign was due to interference and over tweeking fromthe brass..

He came in late, he came in 2003 when he should had came in 2001. If he was open to WWE and making an impact in WWE his dumbass should had been willing to come two years prior. That was his fault and the same can be said of the NWO guys who show up in 2002 and Mysterio c. 2004. The Alliane provided a platform for WCW men to stand on and they still had steam from WCW because it had just collapsed. They also had a better chance of drawing WCW's angered fans back into the wrestling world and fans from the Monday Night Wars/Attitude Era that still wanted to see dream matches like DX vs NWO, Goldberg vs Austin, Rock vs Sting, Outsiders vs Brothers of Destruction, etc. The 2 year cool down period was too much to restart the engines, even the 1 year delay of the NWO was a fatal error.

AND they altered Goldberg's character, his outfit, and they started him to high up. He should had started with mid carders, went for the I-C title, then worked his way up to the main event. Gioldberg has the same issues as the Ultimate Warrior, he can do a lot but you've got to have star after star to feed him or he can't stay afloat. He should had also made references to WCW's demise, and other '90s issues. He debuted like he had no past..

ECW wasn't seen as much of a rival as WCW. WCW and the WWF were like yankees/sox, WWF and ECW is like Yankees/rays.

The WWF brass' perception of ECW had no effect on the conflict between fans or the ones they chose to have with other feds. The "1990s Dream Matches" ALWAYS featured ECW talent in the equation, guys like Sandman, RVD, Sabu, Taz(z), and Douglas were often the third men in triple threat fantasy matches. People wanted to see Sabu vs Mick Foley, RVD vs X Pac, Taz vs Austin, the Eliminators vs. Harlem Heat, Dudleys vs the Corperation, APA vs the Gangsters. Your analogy is trash.. the WWF was the NFL, WCW was the AFL, and ECW was kinda like the USFL..

Hogan didn't get booed in WCW because he was stale (not completely) it was because WCW was booked and had their market in the south where it was still rasslin.

tHE hULK BRAND was showing cracks in it by 1992. WCW was going to aquire him based on what he had done, what he MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO, and obviously the innitial boost ALWAYS EXPERIENCED when an outsider with name recognition makes a surprise debut.. WCW was only sure of his debut pop.. I believe Hogan is from the south and started in the south..

Tune into Smackdown and they have somebody similar looking to Goldberg in Lesnar, but someone who brings something fresh to the table. A ground pound mat wrestling behemoth who is quick as a cat. Was different, fast paced and that's why they loved Lesnar. With Goldberg, it was boring.

No your wong. its more complex then that. Both BIG VAN VADER AND BAM BAM BIGGOLO shared Lesnar's agility or had more and we see how far they went. Goldberg's character was modified, ring attire was different, persona was altered, and he had no streak.. That's we he failed.

P.S. Your right J.J. 22 Hardcore title reigns didn't do him justice. Poor Johnny Polo

 

[Davi323]

Let's see...

-no charisma.
-no mic skills.
-no wrestling skills.
-got pushed straight to the top without ever doing a damn thing to deserve it. (what dues did he ever pay?)


Goldberg was essentially just Batista with a bald head and goatee, minus the spray on tan.

All hype with absolutely no substance. Goldberg was a fucking joke.

 

[Davi323]

yeah and it all worked. his thing was not having a thing.. so um NEXT!!

It only worked when he was in WCW, and they piped in fake crowd noises, and ran up his streak against every scrub they could find. Goldberg was a completely manufactured creation of Eric Bischoff who was forced down people's throats despite not having any talent in anything whatsoever. It was WC FUCKING W. The same company that tried to make a star out of Alex Wright.

Streaks are all fine and good, but if you base your entire persona over a winning streak that is only as legitimate as the writers want it to be, you are doomed once it ends. Just ask Tatanka what happened to his career once he suffered that first booked loss. Entire career OVER. His entire career was built on nothing but shrewd marketing on the part of Eric Bischoff. Once that started to fail, he failed. Miserably.

 

[One to Remember]

It only worked when he was in WCW, and they piped in fake crowd noises, and ran up his streak against every scrub they could find. Goldberg was a completely manufactured creation of Eric Bischoff who was forced down people's throats despite not having any talent in anything whatsoever. It was WC FUCKING W. The same company that tried to make a star out of Alex Wright.

Yeah thats the name WC Fuckin W, I'm glad you remember..

Alex Wright had skills they just did not help him with his persona, the people who hire him and push for him are not always the people who help wrestlers develop their characters so what is your point? all that shows is there was a disconnect or miscommunication between two departments over seering wrestlers.

It didn't only work in WCW and a because WCW was defunct by the time he made him Raw debut any happenings withen or unique to WCW were moot. All that mattered in 2003 was that he represented WCW as its face to the WWE universe. Name recognition and name association were the last gifts WCW gave Goldberg on its death bed.

Streaks are all fine and good, but if you base your entire persona over a winning streak that is only as legitimate as the writers want it to be, you are doomed once it ends. Just ask Tatanka what happened to his career once he suffered that first booked loss. Entire career OVER. His entire career was built on nothing but shrewd marketing on the part of Eric Bischoff. Once that started to fail, he failed. Miserably.

He goes through the RAW brand has a streak there, maybe MAYBE goes to the ECW brand has a streak there, goes to SD has a streak there. Thats 2 to 3 rosters of midcarders and main eventers to feed to him. so now his short shelf life of 2 years has been expanded to 4-6. You have elimination chamber bouts fatal four ways, triple threat, and other match types were you have one winner, one loser, and a guy who isnt either.. Goldberg would have to utilize either the first catogory or the third. Then you can have him in tag team action and wins or losses there do not hurt your singles streak. Then you can have him loose to guys like Edge, Henry, and other heels with a tendency to cheat or fight dirty. and then when that well runs dry hes got dream match bouts that can be orginized for PPVs, maybe he could join ranks with a WCW Alumni stable.

I dont want to ask Tatanka shit. he should had known the second that brisco dropped that NWA title his people was never going to rise thru the ranks of wrestling again.. He dropped that title like a decade before tatanka even laced his first pair of boots up so he was actually done before his debut.. and thats real talk..

How was Bischoff's marketing to blame? Everything went down hill in WCW and Bischoff did not direct Scott Hall and his damn cattle prod to ruin Goldberg's streak in an ill conceived transition plan.. Even after he began losing you can always restart a streak, he could had came in strong and helped the Alliance even with horrible losses from 1998-2000 on his record..

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Bill Goldberg's success in WCW can be chalked up to proper booking, having a great look, a great physical presence and being in the right place at the right time. Goldberg was this mysterious, intense man of few words that simply went out into the ring and took care of business in a way that looked physically impressive.

When you look at things a little beneath the surface, I'm not at all surprised to see Goldberg ultimately get a mixed reaction. One reason why Goldberg's streak seems so impressive on the surface is that probably 3/4's of his opponents were jobbers that he ran through in matches that barely lasted more than 2 minutes. It's easier to look impressive against jobbers than it is for talent higher up on the card. Another factor was Goldberg's overall lack of ability in the ring. If you kept his matches under 5 minutes, he did fine. Anything longer, his limitations were plainly revealed. When the streak ended for Goldberg, he ultimately became just another guy on the roster. He was still a physically intense guy, a guy with a great look but he was now a guy without a special hook.

By the time Goldberg made it to WWE, the bloom was simply off the rose I think. People had started to see that the reality wasn't even remotely close to the hype that had been built for him in WCW.

To be fair, I'd say that politics backstage did play at least some role in things. Exactly what role, we'll never truly know. I think it's pretty obvious, however, that Goldberg simply didn't get the royal treatment in WWE like he got in WCW when Bischoff was in charge.

At the end of the day, I don't think WWE really missed any real opportunity with Goldberg. Goldberg was a guy with limited ability, he never had to pay any serious dues in wrestling, had some memorable moments in wrestling that will probably earn him a spot in the HOF at some point, made a lot of money for himself and used his exposure in wrestling to ultimately help him in other ventures in his life. When you look at it in that light, I don't think Goldberg or really anyone could complain much.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

No your wong. its more complex then that. Both BIG VAN VADER AND BAM BAM BIGGOLO shared Lesnar's agility or had more and we see how far they went. Goldberg's character was modified, ring attire was different, persona was altered, and he had no streak.. That's we he failed.

F*ckin' Hell! Vader was a beast in WCW and was rightly treated as such till he got jaw jacked by Orndoff and bathroom slippers. In WWF, HBK and The Kliq got him and Bigelow so badly booked that their big man aura had diminished.

Am in a minority who thinks that the way that Godlberg's streak ended at SummerSLam 03 was THE right move? If you did the same old thing here as in WCW, there would be only predictability and then when he finally lost after achieving a credible streak, he would be even a bigger flop.

Ending a streak early and then building him up for a newe fanbase was a good idea, the fans just didn't care for him. But why? Was he really that limited? I mean he kinda held his own against Regal in a shoot wrestling match. If his move set was expanded to more high impact and high risk or even submission moves , could he have salvaged something?

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Let's see...

-no charisma.
-no mic skills.
-no wrestling skills.
-got pushed straight to the top without ever doing a damn thing to deserve it. (what dues did he ever pay?)


Goldberg was essentially just Batista with a bald head and goatee, minus the spray on tan.

All hype with absolutely no substance. Goldberg was a fucking joke.

Saying he didn't have charisma is stupid. His whole persona he carried from the moment you saw him come out the locker room door grunting and snorting, breathing fire, to the minute he flipped out with his weird face and screams when he won. The thing was, it wasn't sophisticated enough to last very long. It was just too shallow. The rest of what you said is mostly true. However, to say that Goldberg didn't have charisma is mind boggeling. Charisma isn't talking loud and fast and wearing sunglasses indoors. Goldberg had charisma.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Bill Goldberg's success in WCW can be chalked up to proper booking, having a great look, a great physical presence and being in the right place at the right time. Goldberg was this mysterious, intense man of few words that simply went out into the ring and took care of business in a way that looked physically impressive.

When you look at things a little beneath the surface, I'm not at all surprised to see Goldberg ultimately get a mixed reaction. One reason why Goldberg's streak seems so impressive on the surface is that probably 3/4's of his opponents were jobbers that he ran through in matches that barely lasted more than 2 minutes. It's easier to look impressive against jobbers than it is for talent higher up on the card. Another factor was Goldberg's overall lack of ability in the ring. If you kept his matches under 5 minutes, he did fine. Anything longer, his limitations were plainly revealed. When the streak ended for Goldberg, he ultimately became just another guy on the roster. He was still a physically intense guy, a guy with a great look but he was now a guy without a special hook.

By the time Goldberg made it to WWE, the bloom was simply off the rose I think. People had started to see that the reality wasn't even remotely close to the hype that had been built for him in WCW.

To be fair, I'd say that politics backstage did play at least some role in things. Exactly what role, we'll never truly know. I think it's pretty obvious, however, that Goldberg simply didn't get the royal treatment in WWE like he got in WCW when Bischoff was in charge.

At the end of the day, I don't think WWE really missed any real opportunity with Goldberg. Goldberg was a guy with limited ability, he never had to pay any serious dues in wrestling, had some memorable moments in wrestling that will probably earn him a spot in the HOF at some point, made a lot of money for himself and used his exposure in wrestling to ultimately help him in other ventures in his life. When you look at it in that light, I don't think Goldberg or really anyone could complain much.

To be honest, I just got done watching the triple threat between Kane/Hunter/Goldber from Armageddon 2003 and I found it very entertaining. Also I mus point out that Goldberg was down for like 8 minutes in that match, so, ye.

Goldberg was someone who had his arsenal of moves and all, but also some of his submissions and holds surprised me. He is someone who could never carry a 15 min match alone but since he had already developed the reputation of being a 3 minute destroyer, the fans were just used to that fast paced quick squash.

He had a good look, the intensity from his entrance transpired to the ring and carried through the short matches. Whenever the pace slowed down you could see the people get antsy. A terminal flaw with a squash streak.

 

[PrideWS]

Speaking as a fan of Goldberg, you can attribute his failure to three simple things: timing, booking, and work ethic.

When WCW was bought in 2001, it was anticipated that the big stars from down south (Goldberg, Nash, Steiner, DDP, Sting, etc.) would go to "war" with Vince and the WWF. It was shaping up to be the biggest storyline in professional wrestling history: the "big boys" from WCW facing off against the WWF "Attitude" crew. One problem with the storyline: all the top stars were signed to Time Warner, not WCW. If they wanted to go to the WWF, they would have to accept a buyout. Only DDP and Booker were willing to do so. Goldberg was not. He sat at home and collected his paychecks. Great for the man, but kind of crappy for the fans who wanted Goldberg vs. Austin, Goldberg vs. Taker, etc. The fans may have had some subconscious animosity towards him as a result, at least from the smarks, for showing up in 2003, two years after the purchase.

In addition, WCW built up Goldberg as a silent, mythical monster who would not be affected by your attacks, hit you with two power moves, Spear the hell out of you, and then Jackhammer you - all in a matter of 2 minutes. That is all fine and dandy, but debuting Goldberg by making him talk and be in a feud against a heel Rock who would still get face reactions due to his entertaining ways was setting him up for failure on his first day. The segments that The Rock did in that feud helped, unintentionally, make himself appear more entertaining and fun to watch than Goldberg, which also hurt him. The booking team, most likely under orders from Vince, seemed to be told to hurt any incoming WCW guys so they would appear "inferior" (DDP, Steiner, Goldberg).

The fact that Goldberg didn't want to be there also had to mess with his work ethic. Even though he wasn't being paid peanuts, he said he only went back because his fans kept asking him when he would return and go to the WWE. He didn't want to go back, but he felt as if he had to go back. His work ethic was probably shot, and he probably didn't give 100%, at least in the WWE's eyes, and the fans saw that and disliked him for it. No question that hurt his character and made the fans dislike him more.

WCW made Goldberg great, and they did so in a fashion that work extremely efficiently. The WWE and Goldberg both hurt that legacy built by WCW and that is why the fans of the WWE "Sh*t on Goldberg" as you asked.

 

[1matchaday]

I think a large part of the problem with Goldberg's WWE run was the people he was competing with. There was no big name on the RAW roster at the time other than HHH and he was never going to get over him. H's backstage pull would never let it happen.

I agree with the point that Goldberg never really wanted to be there and in turn didn't work hard to improve his standing in the company. Vince has a history of tearing guys down and not handing them anything when they walk in the door and I think Goldberg was a case where he was such a big name, Bill felt he didn't have to adjust to Vince's ways. And Vince had so much money invested in Goldberg, that he ahd to keep psuhing him in hopes of him coming around and drawing money.

I was never really a fan of his and at this time in 2003, I really hated the product that RAW was putting out, so when he joined a roster I couldn't stand, I crapped on Goldberg.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Let's see...

-no charisma.
-no mic skills.
-no wrestling skills.
-got pushed straight to the top without ever doing a damn thing to deserve it. (what dues did he ever pay?)


Goldberg was essentially just Batista with a bald head and goatee, minus the spray on tan.

All hype with absolutely no substance. Goldberg was a fucking joke.

Haha this is a pretty good comparison.

To add my own thoughts, he was a guy who was viewed as a bit of a joke when he was in WCW by WWF fans and staff. Remember Gillberg? He went like two years undefeated, which unless you are 7 you won't buy, was treated as a god by the WCW announce team and creative staff despite other workers not liking him. Then when he finally did lose it was so dirty it makes Cena's losses look clean. Hall used a taser and the announcers wanted to kill him. Then he basically ended Brett's career and was notoriously stiff.

The worst part is he had legit athletic skills and had he been a guy who paid his dues and was built up slowly and given time to learn and develop mic skills and wasn't just pushed to the top by a WCW staff trying to win the Monday Night Wars he could have become a solid worker.

 

[Tastycles]

Goldberg was all about hype, from day one. The WCW took a guy who had charisma in the sense that he was visibly impressive, and just piled on the style points. He was booked as a monster face, something that'd never been done, and the crowd bought into it.

Then he lost.

Even by 1999 much of the aura had gone from Goldberg. Two more years and disasters like the car window later, and his stock had fallen even further. The whole thing with Goldberg was about momentum, and by the time he reached WWE, it had all drained from within him.

The WWE fans didn't shun him, they just reacted to him as anyone would have had he not had a tidal wave of momentum. Had he debuted in a similar way on WWE, it would have been tired. Ironically, the only way they could have made people care is to have him as being unhinged because they didn't care, but it's a road they didn't really go down. WWE played it safe and got the expected reaction.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

The fact that he lost at all in WCW killed his character. You can probably blame Nash and his oh-so-wonderful booking skills for that gem. After that moment his credibility spiraled downward. When he opened his mouth and starting cutting promos, it took away from that silent, bad-ass character he came in with. The magic was he didn't need to talk, because he won no matter what. When WCW tanked, the Goldberg character tanked...

Like many others that "crossed the line" in the buy-out, Goldberg just never made it as big. He didn't come in with the same mystique. People knew he could be beaten, so they never took him as seriously. In WCW it didn't matter how big a star you were...you don't beat Goldberg. Once that chapter closed, that was it. He could win World titles, he could beat legends, but he wasn't the mega-draw any longer.

You also have to factor in, not all WWF fans of that day watched WCW. They may have been able to restart the Goldberg character and pretend like the loss had never happened. Pretend he was "undefeated" in the WWE, because technically, it would have been true. And, if I remember right they did actually try and do that. The downfall there was that he ended up losing to Triple H in his quest to become World Heavyweight champion. Many cry foul-play there, since it's well known that the Kliq had their hands in just about everything. I wouldn't be surprised that the same people that beat Goldberg for the first time were responsible for his first loss in WWE as well.

I'm not a huge Goldberg fan, but there was simply no denying his draw power in WCW. Plain and simple: he should have never lost. People know Undertaker is going to win every single year, but the match is (nearly) always fantastic anyways. It's not about predicting the outcome, it's about the story told along the way. A lot of pride and ego got in the way of a very simple story: you don't beat Goldberg.

 

[Che Delilas]

Let's see...

-no charisma.
-no mic skills.
-no wrestling skills.
-got pushed straight to the top without ever doing a damn thing to deserve it. (what dues did he ever pay?)


Goldberg was essentially just Batista with a bald head and goatee, minus the spray on tan.

All hype with absolutely no substance. Goldberg was a fucking joke.

Pretty much this. I'm amazed that Goldberg got to where he did in WCW. He's an awful wrestler and all he does is posture and yell because of his 'roid rage.

 

[One to Remember]

Pretty much this. I'm amazed that Goldberg got to where he did in WCW. He's an awful wrestler and all he does is posture and yell because of his 'roid rage.

i wonder if u tried to sport a gay ass blonde mohawk and a mechanical arm like your sig picture. some capcom fighter rip off lol.


Why shouldnt someone with that size and build posture? Why shouldnt you yell to amp up the fans? It was no deffirent then when Flair would strut to show his opponent was sinking or when Lex Luger would raise both arms to show it was torture rack time or even when Hogan put his hand to his ear.. He beat his opponents, we were impressed by the number of victims, most did not have the strength to overpower him, Mysterio's flips or Bigolo going airborn did not trump Goldberg's brute force by any means. Idc if the flips and the flying looked cooler, its about that 3 count..

 

[Che Delilas]

i wonder if u tried to sport a gay ass blonde mohawk and a mechanical arm like your sig picture. some capcom fighter rip off lol.

Wow, someone's butthurt. The character in the sig is from a PSX RPG and not a fighter rip-off by any means.

Why shouldnt someone with that size and build posture? Why shouldnt you yell to amp up the fans? It was no deffirent then when Flair would strut to show his opponent was sinking or when Lex Luger would raise both arms to show it was torture rack time or even when Hogan put his hand to his ear.. He beat his opponents, we were impressed by the number of victims, most did not have the strength to overpower him, Mysterio's flips or Bigolo going airborn did not trump Goldberg's brute force by any means. Idc if the flips and the flying looked cooler, its about that 3 count..

Those other wrestlers you mentioned had talent or charisma or both. Goldberg had none of that. Many people need a reason to get behind a character and for some being "big" by itself just doesn't cut it. I'm a big fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin, for example, and he postured a ton. But in his case it was deserving because he had an interesting character and could actually wrestle...unlike Goldberg.