How Good Was Goldberg Actually?

Goldberg's streak was largely made up of victories, more than sustained rivalries, due to Bill's monosyllabic smash-mouth style. At a time when WCW was on top, it was plagued by bad booking and a refusal to pull the trigger on things with momentum. Goldberg was being unwillingly dragged into a rivalry with Chris Jericho, in which Jericho would continually call out Goldberg and even fought a little person version of Goldberg. It was great television, but the two didn’t have an actual match until they were in WWE in 2003.

In WWE, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar have shared the ring in two of Bill’s three WrestleMania appearances, but that feud is neither looked back on fondly by fans or the performers themselves. Paul Heyman makes the point that Goldberg is one of the only people who could credibly beat Brock Lesnar’s ass in 90 seconds, but these are two men of very few words. It was never a recipe for a good feud.

Despite having marquee matches with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, and Sting, Goldberg doesn’t really have a rivalry to hang his hat on.

If there is a rivalry that Bill Goldberg is known for, it’s his long-running real-life beef with Bret Hart. The Hitman holds Goldberg responsible for cutting his career short and has never let it go. Bret brings up Goldberg in interviews and is asked about Bill in almost every high-profile interview he gives, because the media know that he is willing to give them a new quote about why Goldberg sucks. Goldberg does his best to be gracious about Hart’s feelings, but has been known to lash out in response to the bombardment of insults Bret hurls his way. That this is his defining rivalry is a damning indictment of the way Goldberg was booked outside of the streak.

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