How Good Was Goldberg Actually?

What Goldberg lacks in rivalries, he more than makes up for in moments. Just watch the crowds in Goldberg matches, and they are as bonkers as anything you see in the Attitude Era.

Goldberg’s biggest moment came when he beat Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW Title in front of 44,000 people in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Continuing his streak by beating the biggest name in wrestling cleanly in Bill's hometown was one of the biggest moments in the history of Nitro, WCW, and the whole Monday Night War.

At a time when Goldberg was unable to have great matches, he also made his name in great moments. Blowing off 'Mean' Gene Okerlund’s interview questions after his debut victory over Hugh Morris was a masterstroke that built intrigue and gave him his intensity. Beating Raven for the United States Title to win his first championship felt monumental.

Goldberg's one truly great match with DDP at Halloween Havoc '98 for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship goes against everything that’s said about Bill in the ring. Playing to a white-hot crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Page’s popularity and Goldberg’s streak created magic that stands the test of time to this day for drama and star power.

Hell, even Goldberg’s WWE debut is a great moment. Fans had spent years fantasy booking the Monday Night Wars, so to see Goldberg arriving on Raw in a Harley Davidson leather jacket, with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler losing their minds on commentary, felt surreal and enormous. Hearing him tell The Rock “You’re Next!” before hitting him with a Spear was probably the best moment Goldberg ever had in WWE.

It would be remiss not to point out that Goldberg is also part of some moments that are remembered for all the wrong reasons. The crowd may have gone ballistic for it in the moment, but Goldberg’s streak dying as a result of Scott Hall coming out of the crowd in a security uniform to hit him with a cattle prod was awful. It killed the streak and his momentum for good in one stinky moment.

Then there’s the December 23rd, 1999 episode of Thunder in which Goldberg injured his arm because he punched out the window of a limousine that featured real glass. This put him out for five months, and the story of him doing this did nothing to quell the perception that Goldberg was a bit of a brain-dead oaf.

Vince Russo turned Goldberg heel for the first time shortly after he returned from this injury by turning on Kevin Nash and joining the New Blood faction at The Great American Bash 2000. The image of Russo looking proud of himself while Goldberg and Eric Bischoff look visibly unconvinced at the heel turn as it happened in real time is an absolute stinker.

Goldberg is also responsible for one of the worst moments in WrestleMania history at WrestleMania 20, where he and Brock Lesnar were booed out of Madison Square Garden in one of the worst 'Mania matches of all time. The contest was wrestled at a slug’s pace, and fans knew both men were leaving the company after it. New York's famously cynical crowd decided to voice their displeasure at two men who didn't love the business by passionately booing both mercilessly for the whole duration of the match.

There are other forgettable moments for Goldberg in his latter years, as fans hated him winning the WWE Universal Title in seconds against Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt. Then there’s the Super ShowDown match between him and The Undertaker in 2019, in which both men nearly suffered fatal injuries due to being unable to replicate their moves in their 50s. Even Bill's retirement moment involved Saturday Night’s Main Event going off air while he was giving his farewell speech, so it’s safe to say he has as many bad moments as he does good. Nevertheless, this is a large number of moments that have lived on in fans' memories.

7/10