"I was an eyewitness" - Former WWE Champion nearly choked out Goldberg in a real backstage fight, confirms veteran
It's no secret that Goldberg has not had the most excellent relationship with some of his former WWE colleagues. The 55-year-old was infamously involved in a messy backstage fight with Chris Jericho, and Jim Ross recently revealed his first-hand account of the real-life altercation.
Goldberg wasn't popular in the WWE locker room when he arrived in the company in 2003, which is when he had a heated confrontation with Chris Jericho. It's a well-documented fact that Chris Jericho surprisingly got the better of Goldberg in their exchange. It should also be noted that the veterans have since squashed their beef and have spoken candidly about their past issues.
Jim Ross, who was the head of talent relations at the time, recalled walking into the locker room when Chris Jericho had Goldberg trapped in a front facelock.
JR likened Y2J to a Pitbull and stated that Goldberg could have passed out to the AEW star's tight hold. Here's what Ross revealed on this week's episode of his Grilling JR podcast, which revolved around Goldberg's run in WWE:
"I walked into the locker room. I don't remember what city we were in, but it was a big a** locker room. Bigger than normal. I walked in just as Jericho was applying the front facelock. So, I was an eyewitness. And Jericho was like a pit bull; he was relentless. He wouldn't even let go. Sooner or later, the other guy passes out. You restrict the flow of blood to the brain; the option is deprived, nighty night. It has got the same effects as a rear naked choke; if you're an MMA fan, you just lose your senses." [47:00 - 48:04]
Jim Ross wasn't in favor of performers being at loggerheads behind the scenes and was relieved when other superstars stepped in to stop the fight. Ross found Jericho and Goldberg's dispute 'stupid,' as he added below:
"We broke them up, and the talents were there, and obviously, I didn't step in and physically push them aside. But I certainly did my share of encouragement to stop this stupid sh**. And they did." [48:05 - 4:20]
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Jim Ross says Goldberg became a bigger heel backstage in WWE after butting heads with Chris Jericho
As stated above, Goldberg wasn't well-received within WWE as he was a WCW guy who instantly came in and got a massive push in Vince McMahon's company.
Bill Goldberg has been a WCW/WWE world champion in 4 different decades.
1998 vs. Hulk Hogan (Nitro)
2003 vs. Triple H (Unforgiven)
2017 vs. Kevin Owens (Fastlane)
2020 vs. The Fiend (Super Showdown) https://t.co/89PZMBIyDf
Chris Jericho had already established himself as a locker-room favorite by 2003, and most other talents were seemingly on his side during the legitimate feud with Goldberg. Jim Ross explained that the highly-publicized problems with Jericho further dented the former WCW World Champion's reputation among WWE wrestlers of his era.
The AEW announcer continued:
"But I think Jericho kind of notched his gun a little bit in that scenario, and it didn't do Goldberg any favor. He was a heel before the little dust-up, and he was a bigger heel when it was over with the talent. So, it was an interesting day at the office is a good way to describe it." [48:21 - 48:45]
Did you know that a WWE Hall of Famer recently launched a verbal tirade at Jim Ross? Check out more on that here.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.