8 Hyped Wrestling Matches RUINED By Backstage Politics
7. Goldberg Vs. Chris Jericho (Never Happened)
At WCW Fall Brawl 1998, Chris Jericho defeated ‘Fake Goldberg’. In a priceless bit, Jericho parodied Goldberg’s intelligence by referencing Spinal Tap and getting lost on the way to the ring - the idea being that Goldberg was so hopeless at wrestling that he literally didn’t know where to put himself. Of course, Jericho only ran his mouth when Goldberg wasn’t there.
This was a massively entertaining side quest of a programme - a refreshing departure from the increasingly tedious adventures of the New World Order. It was perfect, almost: an empathic response to the growing noises around WCW’s stale main event scene. This match positioned the two biggest rising stars in the promotion in one ring, and since Goldberg was limited in what he could do, why not make what he could do as gratifying as possible? The Spear wiping the smirk from Jericho’s face would have ruled. The match never happened.
Goldberg never approved of a story that, despite receiving a decent chunk of TV time, was a mystery to him. Goldberg - allegedly at the urging of Kevin Nash and or Scott Hall - killed the storyline. He didn’t do comedy, and he wasn’t reducing himself to work with a Cruiserweight. How would that be believable?
In the ultimate irony, when this residual heat lingered to such an extent that a shoot fight erupted in WWE five years later, Jericho out-grappled Goldberg and held him down with relative ease.
What’s so nuts about this weird saga is that the plan was never for Jericho to go over Goldberg. Also: Goldberg needed something to do, which seems unbelievable, since he was WCW World Champion, but this is WCW we’re talking about.
Jay Leno was apparently a more credible opponent for Hulk Hogan than Chris Jericho was for Goldberg. Because WCW.