Goldberg's 2003-2004 run in the WWE was, to put it mildly, an unmitigated disaster. He was regularly booked to lose, and he only held the title for 3 months. Compared to his legendary undefeated streak in WCW, this was child's play. They also could never get his pyro correct a source of irritation for anyone who loves wrestler entrances. Goldberg has since been open about his dislike for the WWE and the way he was booked. But perhaps that was because Goldberg rarely worked house shows. One of his only non-televised appearances was his own home state, but aside of a couple of one-offs, he was strictly TV only. The traditional belief, on the other hand, is that a champion should be a fighting champion, and lead the locker room by example. If Goldberg wasn't willing or able to do that, it goes a long way to explaining why the WWE never fully pulled the trigger on him. He beat other main-eventers, but was never, involved storyline-wise, in anything compelling, and wasn't invested into the product outside of his marquee matches. When he left (after being booed out of the building at Wrestlemania XX), most people were glad to finally see him go.
Kevin is an AP English Language teacher and freelance writer from Queens, NY. His focus is on American pop culture and American issues. He wrote a weekly column for Complex called "Throwback Thursdays," which spotlighted video games and trends from previous console generations. Kevin has also been published in VIBE, Salon, PopMatters, Joystiq, and Racialicious. Follow him on Twitter to learn more.
