“Goldberg, Goldberg, Goldberg,” fans chanted.  Around the world, that call is known.  It is a
call to a man who had just made his professional wrestling debut in 1997.  A man who lit up
the sport of wrestling and made spectacular strides towards the most prestigious title in the
game, the World Heavyweight Crown.  Goldberg went undefeated through more than one-
hundred and fifty matches, taking the WCW United States Belt and then the WCW World
Heavyweight Belt from much more experienced grapplers.  He has wins over Hulk Hogan,
Sting, Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, Kevin Nash, Dallas Page and Sid Vicious.  All of the men were
former World Champions.  His intensity is unmatched.

Goldberg was a top-notch defensive tackle from the University of Georgia.  He was drafted at
number 301, 25th in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL Draft by St. Louis.  Goldberg played
from 1992-’94, but a serious abdominal injury plagued his promising career.  He ended up
with the Atlanta Falcons prior to his retirement.

Goldberg joined the WCW Power Plant in 1997 and debuted in the promotion only four
months later.  He used a devastating spear, nearly breaking other wrestlers in half before
finishing them with the jack-hammer.  He beat “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell on June 24, 1997
in Dalton, Georgia on a television taping.  Goldberg’s official streak didn’t begin until
September 22, 1997 in Salt Lake City during Nitro.  He wrestled and beat Hugh Morris.  A
week later, he beat another experienced grappler on live television.  Goldberg had met the
Barbarian in Worcester and won his second professional match.  From there, he began
lighting up the screen and audiences loved his ability in the ring.  He also scored an
impressive victory over Bobby Eaton on WCW Saturday Night.

In November 1997, Goldberg suffered an injury which delayed his wrestling career.  He also
quickly got involved in a feud with Steve McMichael, also a former NFL Defensive Tackle.  He
attacked McMichael during his October 26th match with Alex Wright and cost him the bout.  
The feud continued through the injury and commentators reminded fans just how heated
things were between the two men.  Goldberg made his pay-per-view debut on December 28th
in Washington DC at Starrcade.  His opponent was McMichael and the two could finally settle
things in the ring.  Goldberg won the bout by pinfall and his popularity seemed to gain by the
day.

Many of wrestling’s smarts criticized Goldberg’s brawling style, but even most of them were
soon overcome by the man’s intensity.  He had a willingness to go all out, pouring motivation
all over the mat.  At the February PPV, Goldberg beat Brad Armstrong.  His success
continued.  On March 19th, Goldberg made a huge impact on WCW Thunder from Terra
Haute.  First, he beat Wayne Bloom, a former AWA World Tag Champion, in a singles
contest, but it was the main event in which Goldberg stepped up to the plate.  Rick Steiner,
Ray Traylor and Ted DiBiase were being attacked by the NWO when Goldberg walked down
to the ring.  He speared both Curt Hennig and Bryan Adams at the same time, then nailed
Scott Norton with one.  The timing allowed Steiner and Traylor to regain consciousness and
prevent further attack as Goldberg casually walked away.

WCW Commentators said that Goldberg was 56-0 at this point in his career.  Many reflected
back to Primo Carnera's impact on the sport in the late 1940s and early 1950s and the
undefeated streak he had.  Goldberg was as new to the ring as Carnera was and both went
unbeaten for a long period of time.  Both were also two-sport professionals.

Goldberg was also going up against the New World Order, the strongest gang in WCW.  The
NWO was not only strong in numbers, but popular with the fans.  Goldberg’s appearance
made things all the better.  His popularity was reaching otherworldly proportions.  He took win
number 72 from Rocco Rock on Monday Nitro from Minneapolis on April 13th, driving Rock
through a wooden table that the PE member had brought to the ring.  He brawled with the
Flock afterwards, and Raven had to hold back Perry Saturn.  Kidman received a spear that
nearly tore him in half.

Match 74 came against Saturn on April 19th in Denver, Colorado during Spring Stampede,
but it was 75 that made history.  The next night on Nitro at the World Arena in Colorado
Springs, Goldberg pinned Raven to capture the WCW United States Heavyweight Title,
overcoming great odds to do so.  He brawled with most of Raven’s Flock and still gained the
win.  Goldberg had only been a professional for less than a year when the U.S. Title victory
came.  Many wrestlers worked their entire careers for one shot at a major recognized belt.  
Goldberg was making history.  Victory number 77 came against Scott Norton on April 27th
during Nitro.  He hoisted him up and delivered a jack-hammer in front of a cheering crowd.  
The streak continued.  Number 83 came on May 11th in Kansas City and then number 95
came on June 4th in Peoria on Thunder against the trio of Jimmy Hart, Hugh Morris and The
Barbarian.  Goldberg speared all three and jack-knifed the latter duo.  He pinned Morris for
the win.

The biggest win of his career, to date, came on June 13th in Pittsburgh over six-time former
World Champion, Sting.  Both men faced adversity in the contest, with Goldberg wrestling
and beating Konnan to retain his U.S. Title the match before and Sting getting attacked by
Raven’s Flock.  Either way you look at it, Goldberg captured a big win.  He was unable to
appear in Uniondale, New York on June 15th, but the crowd chanted his name throughout the
card and most notably during the main event.  Announcers cited personal reasons.  Victory
101 came on June 18th from Philadelphia on Thunder against Reese.  He jackknifed the
seven-foot athlete and pinned him.

What might have been the most astonishing thing about Goldberg’s early run was that he
was making people who wouldn’t have normally watched pro-wrestling, stop and say “Damn,
he’s one bad dude.” The numbers were going up both in the ratings and at the ticket boxes.  
Goldberg was the man that packed them in from New York to Colorado.  Fans overseas were
asking for an appearance and wherever WCW went, he was the man to see.  Even through
television sets, the “Goldberg” chant came across with splendor.  Kevin Greene of the
Carolina Panthers NFL Football Team appeared in Jacksonville on June 22nd and said that
he was a former teammate of Goldberg’s.  On June 29th, Goldberg backed Greene up after
The Giant, Curt Hennig and Rick Rude called the football star down to the ring.  Goldberg
and Greene chased the trio out to the chant of his name throughout the Ice Palace in Tampa.

On Thunder, July 2, 1998, James J. Dillon announced that Hollywood Hogan would be
defending his title on the July 6th Nitro from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  And that it would
be against the number-one contender, Goldberg.  It seemed that either Goldberg was going
to win the World Title or have his unbeaten streak end in Georgia.  Either way, the night was
going to be memorable.  And it was.  In the early moments of the July 6th Nitro and in front of
an estimated 40,000 spectators, Hogan announced that Goldberg would have to face a
separate NWO member and win before he would be able to face him for the World Title.  
Later it was decided that Scott Hall would be the man he would compete against.  If Goldberg
beat Hall, it would be U.S. Champion vs. World Champion, winner take all.

Scott Hall was no slouch…he was a four time WWF Intercontinental Champion and an
original member of the NWO.  He was also an Outsider with Kevin Nash.  Goldberg’s first
match was not going to be an easy one.  Despite the experience leaning against him, he
pinned Hall and advanced to face Hogan.  Fans were stoked and it seemed that if Goldberg
won the belt, there was nothing that could stop his run.  With assistance from “Diamond”
Dallas Page and NBA Basketball Star Karl Malone on the outside of the ring preventing
outside interference, Goldberg pinned Hogan and became the WCW World Heavyweight
Champion.  It was amazing that a wrestler could rise as he had, but Goldberg proved it was
all possible.

He successfully defended his crown against former AWA World Champion, Curt Hennig on
July 12th at the Bash at the Beach show.  A month later, Goldberg won a nine-man
elimination battle royal after pinning the Giant on August 8th in Strugis, South Dakota.  He
wrestled Sting on September 14, 1998 in Greenville and won victory 144 by pinfall with the
assistance of “Hollywood” Hogan.  Goldberg and Bret Hart helped Sting back to the dressing
room afterwards.  Dallas Page challenged him for the World Title on October 25th in Las
Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.  Goldberg retained his belt.  He pinned Scott Hall in
St. Louis on December 21st.  

On December 27th in Washington, Goldberg was scheduled to headline with a defense
against Hall’s partner, Kevin Nash.  A year earlier, he wrestled his first pay-per-view.  
Goldberg met Nash in a hard-fought contest and it almost seemed as if he was going to
retain his championship.  A large audience saw Scott Hall, Disco Inferno and Bam Bam
Bigelow conspire to topple Goldberg from the top of the ladder.  At the 11:19 mark, Nash
pinned the champ and won the WCW World Title after Hall used his tazer.  It was Goldberg’s
first professional loss after 173 wins.

At Souled Out on January 17, 1999, Goldberg extracted some needed revenge on Hall in a
tazer-on-a-pole, ladder match.  He once again began to gain steam.  Goldberg won over Bam
Bam Bigelow at SuperBrawl in February, gaining even more revenge on those who conspired
to take the World Title from him.  He made a verbal challenge to Steve Austin on February
19th while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  He offered to put up money for the bout.

During the March 29th Nitro, Goldberg faced off with Bret Hart at the Air Canada Center in
Toronto.  He tried to spear the “Hitman,” but was injured in the process.  Hart revealed a
metal plate under his Maple Leaf Jersey.  Hart then quit the promotion and left the ring.  All
who had witnessed the turn of events were shocked.  Two of the organization’s top men,
battling each other with seemingly pure hate.

In April at Spring Stampede, Goldberg wrestled Kevin Nash in a rematch from Starrcade in
Tacoma, Washington.  His opponent had Elizabeth and Lex Luger in his corner, which was
seemingly unfair at moments.  Goldberg battled back.  He missed his spear on Nash, but hit
the referee instead.  Luger landed a chair shot and it once again appeared dim.  Goldberg
powered up and landed a second spear and then a jackhammer.  The referee was revived
for the final pin count.  He wrestled Sting at Slamboree on May 9th.  The two went to a no-
contest.  The Steiners and Bret Hart got involved.

Goldberg went out with an injury and missed several months.  He also took time to film
“Universal Soldier: The Return,” which was released later in the year.  The film was directed
by famous stuntman, Mic Rodgers, and Goldberg’s character’s name was Romeo.  Fans
asked for his return at every WCW show whether it was on television or not.  On July 5th,
Nitro was held in Atlanta.  Rock band, Megadeth performed the song “Crush Em’” live before
the audience and at the end the lights in the arena went out.  Goldberg’s voice rang over the
loud speaker and his famous “I’m Back” was heard.  The crowd went wild as he made his first
appearance in some time.  He wasn’t around for long that night and the fans, of course, were
left wanting more.  Especially during the main event match between Kevin Nash and Sid
Vicious.  Goldberg did not make a second showing.  

Two weeks later in Rockford, Illinois, he appeared after Hulk Hogan’s match with Sid Vicious.  
Megadeth’s music played and the fans erupted.  Among the others involved in the war were
Kevin Nash, Rick Steiner and Sting.  Goldberg was back.  He beat Rick Steiner on August
14th in Sturgis.  At Fall Brawl on September 12th, Goldberg beat Dallas Page.  Goldberg
entered a brutal feud with Sid Vicious, which would last weeks.  On October 11th in Biloxi,
after Vicious told him that he had gotten a restraining over against him, Goldberg speared
him.  A week later, he wrestled Lex Luger and beat him with a pinfall victory.  Sting attempted
to interfere, but Bret Hart appeared and stopped him.  Goldberg speared Hart where Luger
was the intended target.

He won the U.S. Heavyweight Title after beating Vicious at Halloween Havoc on October
24th.  Also that night, Sting beat Hulk Hogan, when the latter laid down for him, and then
challenged anyone in the organization to a match.  Goldberg took the challenge and went to
the ring.  He pinned Sting and seemingly won his second belt that night.  The next evening,
Sting went to the ring and announced that it had been a non-title match.  WCW Officials
agreed, but stripped the World Champion of his belt because of his actions the night prior
when he attacked referee Charles Robinson.  A tournament was scheduled to be held over a
several week period.

The next night in Phoenix, in the first round of the tournament, Goldberg met Bret Hart.  His
newly won U.S. Title was also on the line.  Hart beat Goldberg after the Outsiders and Sid
Vicious interfered and cost him the title.  He was also eliminated from the tournament.  After
such a good night in Vegas, Nitro turned out to be painful for Goldberg and his allegiance of
fans.  On November 1st, Hart returned the U.S. Title to Goldberg after reviewing just what
had happened in their title match.  Scott Hall, in an attack by the Outsiders, ended up
stealing the U.S. Belt, but he was not recognized as the champion.  A week later in
Indianapolis, Hall beat Goldberg, Hart and Vicious in a four-way match to capture the U.S.
Title.  It had been a special Texas Tornado, Ladder Match, with the belt suspended over the
ring.  Kevin Nash also served as the special referee, and helped Hall win the match.

Goldberg met Vicious in an “I Quit” match at WCW Mayhem on November 21st in Toronto.  
He was declared the winner by submission.  Later that evening, Hart defeated Chris Beniot in
the finals of the WCW World Title Tournament.  Goldberg challenged Hart for the title at
Starrcade in Washington DC on December 19th.  The match was set and it one of the most
controversial in WCW’s History.  During the match, Hart locked in the sharpshooter and was
looking for a submission.  Roddy Piper called for the bell and the match was over.  Hart
argued the call and Piper was seemingly paid off by the Powers that Be, but everyone was in
lingo.  The next day, Hart vacated the title.  A rematch was immediately scheduled later that
night in Baltimore.  During the match, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett ran out and
attacked Goldberg.  Rather than accepting the fact that a disqualification should have been
called, Hart joined the group and scored the pin.

A new faction of the New World Order was formed and Goldberg had been gypped.  Hart
suffered a concussion in the title match and would later be forced to give up the belt.  The
next night during a Thunder Taping, Goldberg chased members of the NWO into a limo
outside of the arena.  Attempting to break the window to get inside, he cut his arm severely.  
Goldberg would need immediate medical attention and would be out of action for months.

In April 2000, Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff formed the “New Blood” with many of the
organization’s younger stars.  A month later, one of those members began calling Goldberg
out during in-ring interviews.  The man was shoot-fighter, Tank Abbott, one of the toughest
men in the business.

Russo and Bischoff planned for a big surprise at the Great American Bash in Baltimore on
June 11, 2000.  Goldberg returned to help heel Jeff Jarrett beat Kevin Nash and retain the
WCW World Heavyweight Title.  Despite becoming a heel, fans continued to shout his name
in droves.  To further prove his intentions, Goldberg wrestled Jim Duggan, one of wrestling’s
biggest fan favorites since the 1980s, on June 26, 2000 in Des Moines.  After getting the
pinfall victory, Goldberg began to continue his beating.  He landed several punches to
Duggan’s kidney area and it had been a well-known fact that he had battled cancer for
several years.  Goldberg’s punches caused Duggan to bleed from the mouth and he was
carried from the ring.  The wrestling world was amazed at their hero’s actions.

On July 3, 2000, Goldberg gave an impassioned speech to a Nitro crowd in Charleston,
West Virginia.  He spoke about Kevin Nash and Scott Hall and that he personally carried the
organization on his back for two years.  Nash went to the ring and security had to break the
two up before a fight broke out.  Goldberg wrestled Nash for Hall’s WCW wrestling contact on
July 9th in Daytona Beach at the Bash at the Beach.  He was victorious.  Scott Steiner also
played a part in the finish.  That night in Florida also saw Hulk Hogan leave the promotion
under mysterious circumstances and Booker T win the World Title.  Goldberg wrestled
Steiner on July 18th in Auburn Hills with Ernest Miller as the special referee.  Officials called
the match a no-contest after Nash walked out and jackknife powerbombed both wrestlers.

On the 24th of July in Cleveland, Goldberg interrupted a Booker T interview in the ring and
reminded him that he said that he would defend the World Title every Monday Night.  He
wanted a shot.  Miller went to the ring to settle things.  The Commissioner announced that he
would let the fans decide on wcw.com, just who would wrestle for the title that night.  Among
the names on the list were Goldberg and Sting.  The latter won the poll, but Goldberg wasn’t
going to take it laying down.  He attacked Sting as he walked to the ring.  Goldberg then took
the “Stinger’s” spot in the main event.  Early on in the match, Goldberg busted Booker open.  
He locked in a submission hold and Stevie Ray threw in a towel to stop the match.  Goldberg
had apparently won the World Title for a second time.  Miller ran out and announced that
Goldberg won the match, but didn’t win the title because Booker had not given up.  Minutes
later, a second match between Booker T and Goldberg was signed for later in the show.  The
challenger lost the second match by pinfall.  Goldberg attacked Booker afterwards.  On
August 7th in Denver, Goldberg ran out and brawled with Sting, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner
in Denver.

He went to the ring during a Thunder Broadcast in early September to confront Bret Hart,
who had been speaking to the national audience on TBS about the injuries he suffered in the
ring.  Goldberg nearly came to blows with the former WCW and WWF Champ before being
attacked by Scott Steiner from behind.  The fan base Goldberg really never lost began to
cheer him more and more each week.  He got involved in a huge brawl on September 11th
with Nash, Steiner, Jeff Jarrett and the Natural Born Thrillers.  Also on the receiving end of a
beating was Booker T.  Goldberg was handcuffed to the front of a bus and Steiner nailed him
in the stomach with a baseball bat.  He broke loose as Nitro ended.  On September 17, 2000,
Goldberg wrestled Steiner in a grudge match.  Steiner was victorious when he used a steel
pipe at the 13:52 mark.

Bookers scheduled a cage match between Goldberg and Steiner for the September 25th
edition of Nitro from Long Island.  Goldberg delivered a spear which knocked the pipe Steiner
was holding into his own head.  He left the cage and won the match.  Afterwards, he
celebrated with Jumbo Elliott.  Later in the evening, Goldberg walked into the cage during
Vince Russo’s bout with Booker T.  He proceeded to spear Russo through the cage, a move
which gave him the WCW World Title.  Out of the many wrestlers who wanted a shot at the
gold, Vince Russo was the champion.  In San Francisco on October 2nd, Goldberg went to
the ring after he heard Russo make comments about their match a week earlier.  Russo
followed in a truck surrounded by security.  In turn, Goldberg began to attack “R&B’s”
security and then the two got involved in a conversation.  

Previously, Russo had announced that he had scheduled a vacant WCW World Title match
later in the night, but Goldberg was not a participant.  It was going to be Scott Steiner vs. Jeff
Jarrett for the belt.  Russo finally concluded that the only way he would earn another World
Title shot would be if he eclipsed his record of 173-straight victories.  Goldberg didn’t agree
with the decision and with that, he was attacked from behind by a returning Meng.  Two those
were paired for later.  In less than thirty-seconds, he pinned Meng.  Terry Taylor informed
Goldberg that he had to wrestle two additional matches on the card.  Both also ended in less
than a minute, combined.  The first win was over Ron Harris and the second was over Don
Harris.  Booker T beat Jeff Jarrett for the vacant World Title in the main event.

Goldberg was 3-0.  He seemed to be shaken up during a six-man tag match at the Thunder
Taping on October 23rd.  He had been teaming with Sting and Booker against Jarrett and
Kronic.  His team won, but many were worried about a possible injury.

Goldberg promoted his new book during an interview with Tony Schiavone during the
October 25th Thunder.  The interview ended with a lighthearted threat.  He was also
scheduled to make several appearances throughout the national medial to speak about it.  
The 247 page book was entitled I’m Next!  The Strange Journey of America’s Unlikely
Superhero and released on November 7, 2000.  Bill Goldberg and Steve Goldberg
collaborated on the work.

He beat both members of Kronic on October 29th in Las Vegas at Halloween Havoc.  
Goldberg pinned both Brian Adams and Bryan Clarke.  He also got involved in a feud with
Lex Luger.  Goldberg beat him in 5:50 at Mayhem and again at Starrcade on December 17th
in Washington DC.  In the latter contest, Buff Bagwell landed a chair shot after the fact before
escaping.  During Nitro the next night, Goldberg wrestled Bagwell in a grudge match in
Richmond.  He won by disqualification after being quickly attacked by Luger and a steel
chair.  Dewayne Bruce, one of the men who helped train Goldberg at the Power Plant, ran
out to help him.  On December 18th, he beat Norman Smiley at a Thunder Taping after Nitro
broadcast on Wednesday.  A tag team match between Goldberg and Bruce and Luger and
Bagwell was set for Sin in January.  Not only was pride on the line, but as was Goldberg’s
career.  On January 14, 2001 in Indianapolis, Goldberg and Bruce were defeated by Bagwell
and Luger.  Goldberg was pinned by Luger after a person from the crowd sprayed mist into
his eyes.  His career in WCW was over.

Goldberg did not appear at either of the last two WCW pay-per-views in February and
March.  World Championship Wrestling was sold to WWFE and was relaunched from within
the WWF during the summer.  Goldberg’s guaranteed contract with Time-Warner/AOL
remained untouched.

TITLE HISTORY:

-A two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion
        -Defeated Raven (1998)
        -Defeated Sid Vicious (1999)
-WCW World Heavyweight Title (1998) defeated Hollywood Hogan
-Co-holder of the WCW World Tag Team Title (1999) w/ Bret Hart



Research by Tim Hornbaker
Bill Goldberg Wrestling History
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