5 things WWE wants you to forget about Goldberg
Everybody is excited about Goldberg’s return to wrestling next week. Fans of wrestling from the Monday Night Wars, and subsequently, the Ruthless Aggression Era are anxious to see him come and make a huge impact; whereas Goldberg’s own critics are anxious to see him fail.
Sure, Goldberg wasn’t the best worker of all time; but he was probably WCW’s biggest draw and also the main reason that the company was able to compete against Vince McMahon, in terms of television ratings.
His streak of 173 consecutive wins will probably never be broken, and he’s sure to help Raw bounce back from the low ratings that have been plaguing the red brand. But before we see Goldberg vs Lesnar Part II, presumably at Survivor Series; let’s look at 5 facts that WWE does not want you to remember.
#5 Goldberg did not win 173 matches in a row
Perhaps no wrestler in history has received the kind of push that Goldberg did, right off the bat. The streak began with his very first match, and would not end until he was 173-0, when Nash and Hall would screw Goldberg at Starrcade 98. But here’s the question that wrestling fans have been asking themselves for years.
Did Goldberg actually wrestle 173 matches? According to a lot of wrestling fans and journalists around that time, the number was exaggerated to make the record seem more legitimate. Actually, the number was far, far lesser. It is because of this inaccuracy that hardcore wrestling fans do not really take this streak very seriously.
#4 Goldberg ended Bret Hart’s career
The year is 1999. WCW is losing the Monday Night War. And now it’s time for the company’s biggest annual pay per view- Starrcade. The main event pits the black and pink Bret Hart against Goldberg. The two of them are all set to tear the house down.
And Goldberg lands a thrust kick to the side of Bret Hart’s head which leads to severe concussions, and eventually Hart is forced to retire forever. In fact, Hart later said that because of Goldberg’s inexperience, there were several other spots during the match where Hart hurt his head.
Moreover, he also commented that he felt sad that someone as good natured as Goldberg was responsible for ending his career. Little wonder then, why Bret Hart is so critical of wrestlers who are unsafe.