10 Worst Babyface Backlashes Of All Time
8. Hey Hey Hey Goodbye
Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar in a grudge match at WrestleMania XX, refereed by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. It was more or less a dream match for the fans, and should have been a career-defining moment for both competitors.
Unfortunately, circumstances conspired against them.
When I say 'circumstances', I mean that the match was their last in the WWE for both men, and the crowd were well aware of it. Goldberg had only ever signed on for a year, and his experience in the WWE during that year hadn't been a positive one. There was no way he was extending his contract.
Lesnar, on the other hand, was a product of the WWE system, trained in their developmental promotion OVW, and boosted to the moon upon his debut as The Next Big Thing.
No one before or since has ever been pushed as far or as fast, and no one before or since has had their co-workers work so hard to put them over. But Lesnar wasn't a pro wrestling mark: he'd entered the business for the money, and once he'd begun earning a little decided that he couldn't handle the gruelling WWE schedule or the Machiavellian office politics.
Although the original plan was for Lesnar to squash Goldberg in less than a minute, those plans changed the moment Lesnar arranged for his release. Suddenly Goldberg was to go over: Austin would then stun the two men in the post-match and celebrate in the usual manner with the crowd.
The two men took forever to lock up, and when they did the action was disjointed. Chants of YOU SOLD OUT filled the venue, followed by the traditional NA NA NAA NA HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE and cries of BORING.
The fans had been led to invest a whole lot in Lesnar, and disappointment turns to anger very easily.
To say that the match stunk on ice doesn't cover it. Neither man wanted to be there, and the referee was the only one being cheered. Lesnar was the heel, and the one the crowd was really mad at. Goldberg, the huge, fiery babyface, was tagged by association even though everyone knew he was leaving months earlier.