20 WCW Easter Eggs, References And In-Jokes You Never Noticed
20. Gillberg
By 1998, the then-World Wrestling Federation's dominance over World Championship Wrestling was fairly well established. However, not one to overlook a tremendous opportunity to rub salt in an open wound, the use of 80's era WWF enhancement talent Duane Gill as "Gillberg" was one of the lowest forms of possibly unnecessary mockery of the Attitude Era. In a still semi-competitive race for Monday night supremacy, Bill Goldberg was the closest thing that WCW had to a fresh and intriguing star. The idea of sending a balding, middle-aged grappler out through the curtain didn't necessarily succeed insofar as an insult of WCW, it made people turn the channel to WCW to see the actual article. In one of those moments where pro wrestling is more a bitter industry run by small-minded businessmen than a corporate entity, for as funny as Gillberg was, it was equally ridiculous.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
