Sure, we've technically already mentioned eight great Jewish wrestlers, but no menorah would be complete without its shamash, and that's where Goldberg comes in. Goldberg became one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era by beating everyone placed in front of him, refusing to compromise anything about himself in the process. The result was that crowds around the world couldn't help but chant one of the most demonstratively Jewish last names in existence. Goldberg holds a unique distinction - with all due respect to Abe Jacobs, he's the only real Jewish Heavyweight Champion, the only member of the faith to win a world title (he did so in both WCW and WWE). At one time an NFL player for the Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg's career was ended due to injury, but he managed to make the jump to pro wrestling with style and found success, eventually earning comparisons to Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. Like Koufax, Goldberg refused to compete on the High Holidays. Goldberg, who was Bar Mitzvahed at Tulsa, Oklahoma's Temple Israel, said in a 1999 Washington Post article: "I had three intentions when I became a wrestler. One was to keep my integrity. Two was to give pro wrestling a more respectable image. And three was to be a role model to Jewish kids, who may not have thought they could do what I do". Thanks, Bill. Happy Chanukah.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
