The Legend: That William Regal decided to go into business for himself and 'shoot' on Goldberg during a match on the February 8th 1998 episode of Nitro. The Evidence: Goldberg had, before the now-infamous Regal match, routinely squashed his opponents. The average time for a Goldberg match during this era was about thirty seconds. The match between Regal and Goldberg, however, lasted around six minutes. Many people noted that Regal seemed to be using excessive force with the still-green Goldberg during the match, as well as several submission holds. Was Regal, a seasoned veteran by this point, annoyed with having to do the job to the inexperienced rookie? There were certainly very obvious communications issues between the two grapplers. Both men have told their sides of the story. Goldberg has repeatedly claimed that Regal was taking advantage of him, even going as far as to say that Regal tried to make him look bad on national television. Regal, in his defence, has said that he was told by WCW management to have a competitive match with Goldberg and that he didn't hit him any harder or work any stiffer than he usually did. Is It True: It's a pretty big accusation from Goldberg and, while you can understand his feelings on the situation, you'd have to take Regal's word for it. Regal is a total pro and wouldn't do something as stupid as defying WCW management and agents on television and making one of the company's top stars look bad. He was just trying to be a ring general and caught Goldberg off guard. Regal was trying some wrestling moves and Goldberg hadn't been taught how to react to them.If Regal had wanted to he could have tied Goldberg in knots. WCW should take the blame for this one as they clearly told Regal one thing and Goldberg another. Poor management. Check out the match below and judge for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4IdelJfk2k
