It's usually obvious when WWE feels threatened by something, because they try to poke fun at it on television. The idea - at least in the minds of those calling the shots - is that fans will view the parody as hilarious and agree with the promotion's point of view. Sadly for management, the 'Gillberg' character came across as a cheap shot at a genuinely popular WCW performer. Of course, Gillberg - played by longtime jobber Duane Gill - was a dig at the super-over Bill Goldberg. He had caught fire in WCW, and it seemed that Vince McMahon was jealous that he hadn't been the one to create such massive star. In 1999, this Goldberg parody wasted time by being part of the Royal Rumble match. Entering as #6, Gillberg postured and posed on the entrance ramp, in a send up of Goldberg's impressive entrance. By the time he got to the ring, Edge was waiting to throw him out of the ring. A grand total of 7 seconds was all Gillberg managed to last in the bout, which was 7 seconds too long. In truth, this was complete filler and likely only made fans wish the real Goldberg was part of the match instead.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
