Wrestling digest analysis: waiting for Goldberg: while wrestling fans eagerly await the return of the former WCW superstar, he seems content to sit back and collect on his guaranteed contract - Goldberg's possible return to World Wrestling Entertainment

Wrestling Digest, August, 2002 by Mike Stokes

IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH OF a match. Some new guy, a third-rate jobber by all appearances, was set to make his professional wrestling debut against Hugh Morrus, a 300-pounder with some decent moves, but far from the upper echelon of WCW talent. Morrus had been stringing together some victories of late, so it'd probably be an easy win for the big man with the crazy laugh. Everyone watching figured it'd be over quick and they were right. Sort of.

The unknown rookie Morrus faced that night turned out to be Bill Goldberg, a man on the fast track to WCW gold. He destroyed Morrus immediately, lifting the heavyweight high into a suplex and suspending him there before driving him into the mat for a quick and decisive three-count.

Suddenly, Goldberg was an overnight success. In a matter of minutes, he accomplished a feat that took wrestlers like Steve Austin, the Rock and the Undertaker months and years--Bill Goldberg became a phenomenon. Hugh Morrus, on the other hand, became a footnote in wrestling history.

Goldberg arrived on the professional wrestling scene with no fanfare, gimmicks, or fireworks. He didn't even have a cool wrestling nickname like "Ringmaster," "The Game," "World's Most Dangerous Man," or even "Goldust" to help fans remember who he was. Never mind that the moniker Bill Goldberg seemed better suited for a guy trying to sell you life insurance than a guy causing your next of kin to collect on the policy. Fans would remember him and opponents would respect him for his actions in the ring, not for any persona he tried to create.

Like a number of wrestlers ranging from Wahoo McDaniel to Steve McMichael, Goldberg found his way to the wrestling ting by way of the gridiron. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and professionally with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons before his pigskin career was cut short by an abdominal injury in 1994. Suddenly forced to contemplate his future away from the sport he ate, slept, and breathed since he was a kid, it was while working out in an Atlanta gym co-owned by Sting and Lex Luger that the grapplers urged Goldberg to give professional wrestling a shot. After several months of training at the famed WCW Powerplant, Goldberg was ready to make his national debut in the squared circle.

Clad in black trunks, boots, pads, and gloves, Goldberg was all business as he made that first trip down the ramp. His shaved head, powerful physique, and intense glare gave him the look of a gladiator. Subsequent introductions would see him drop his first name and go simply by Goldberg. A pyrotechnic shower of sparks, which Goldberg would inhale like a dragon, was also added to his entrance. His blue-collar approach to, his matches--show up, kick some serious rump, go home--remained the same throughout his whirlwind career.

Ripping through the competition week after week, Goldberg soon amassed an unprecedented unbeaten streak. Neither face nor heel, Goldberg took on all comers--and the crowd loved it. He was truly a wrecking machine, setting up his opponents with a high-impact shoulder-to-the-gut spear move and then finishing them off with his patented jackhammer suplex/powerslam. Quick as a cat, Goldberg was also a student of the martial arts and could surprise opponents with a quick kick to the head that would send them spinning. Goldberg seemed to feed off the energy of the crowd, leaving the ring with as much intensity as he entered while spitting a challenge of "Who's next?" that soon became his trademark as his unbeaten streak continued to build.

It didn't take long for Goldberg to claim his first belt by easily crushing angst-ridden WCW United States champion Raven with his spear-and-jackhammer combination.

Months later, on July 6, 1998, Goldberg stepped up to the ranks of wrestling royalty by defeating Hulk Hogan before a sold-out crowd in Atlanta. The victory extended Goldberg's winning streak and gave him the WCW world heavyweight strap--all this in less than a year in the professional ranks.

Subsequent storylines saw Goldberg being recruited and attacked by the NWO. He also suffered his first substantial wrestling-related injury when he put his fist through the windshield of a car and needed 190 stitches to close the resulting wound. He spent the next six months recovering and returned to action in June 2000.

Over the course of his push to the top, some fans grumbled that Goldberg's matches had become too predictable. Their complaints were difficult to hear, however, over the massive pops he received from his legion of fans worldwide, who never seemed to tire of his explosive show.

As Goldberg became more popular, WWF (now the WWE) loyalists accused him of being little more than a poor man's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Some even called him a Ken Shamrock knockoff. Goldberg's blend of size and speed coupled with his combination of martial arts training and his NFL pedigree, however, put the agile 6'4", 295-pound bruiser into a class of his own.

It didn't take long for Goldberg to become a bona fide superstar. His image graced, the cover of Entertainment Weekly, he was interviewed by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," and the country's highest-rated television show, "ER," featured a character based on Goldberg in one episode. He even became a bigger draw than action star Jean Claude Van Damme when he was cast opposite "the Muscles from Brussels" in "Universal Soldier." Goldberg had gone mainstream.