Wrestlers Who Had Major Heat With Goldberg
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Goldberg is one of the most legendary professional wrestlers of all time. He was an unstoppable force, a superhero to children and his WCW undefeated streak still gets talked about to this day. In WCW, Goldberg was one of wrestling's most popular figures, even rivaling "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Goldberg's in-ring career is amazingly still going, with his recent WWE matches still generating big business. He isn't hugely popular with hardcore wrestling fans these days, but his impact on the ratings cannot be denied.
Goldberg was still very new to the business during his run on top and it has been said that he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. In fact, it can be said he still rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Over the years, there have been quite a number of wrestlers, from back in the day and from the current roster, who have major heat with Goldberg.
William Regal
In February 1998, Goldberg was seven months into his legendary undefeated streak when he faced Lord Steven Regal. All of Goldberg's matches in the streak thus far had been absolute squashes by Goldberg, who would win his matches in under two minutes. The match with Regal, however, was different — this was a seven minute back and forth match with Regal getting in several stiff shots throughout the match.
Regal was accused of taking liberties with an inexperienced Goldberg and Regal was released from WCW just a week later. In 2014 on "The Ross Report," when Jim Ross asked Goldberg if Regal had taken liberties with him during the match, Goldberg said, "He did. Between he and Dave Taylor ... And I respect them for it, it's all good. Just don't try to take advantage of me on national TV when I'm a piece of clay in your hands, and I'll do anything you want."
Regal has always maintained that he was just doing what the producer had told him too, telling the story several times in podcasts and even in his autobiography. In his latest account on his "Gentleman Villain" podcast (via The Sportster), Regal said, "I'll say this much, I did as I was told by the person in charge of that match. This has all got twisted. Bill has different views. I feel as if I was thrown under the bus by the producer in charge of it."
Triple H
In the year 2000, Goldberg and Triple H both happened to be at a convention at the same time. It was reported by Wade Keller of PW Torch that at some point during the convention, Goldberg left his booth and started shouting obscenities at Triple H, threatening to beat him up for comments he had made in the past about Goldberg's inexperience and string of injuries.
Not long after on the first season of "Tough Enough," Triple H went off on a rant against Goldberg and shamed one of the rookies when they said that Goldberg was their favorite wrestler. Triple H said, "If your biggest idol is a guy that's been in the business for about a year, he got everything handed to him, can't have a match longer than four minutes, has not wrestled for more than three months straight, because every three months he's got a hangnail, got a toothache, got a tummy ache and he has to take time off, then where does that mentally put that person?"
Years later on "Talk Is Jericho," Goldberg confirmed there was real life friction between the two men, and even said that he believed Triple H made his WWE career difficult during his first run with the company.
Chris Jericho
Goldberg and Chris Jericho never saw eye to eye back when they were both full time competitors in the same company. Goldberg did not want to do a comedy feud, and was unhappy with a storyline about Chris Jericho calling him out every week. Jericho has always claimed there was money to be made in a Goldberg/Jericho match, even if it was just a squash. In the end, the match never happened in WCW, and soon after Jericho would join WWE.
A few years later, Goldberg would also join WWE, and old hostilities would rise again. Jericho, in his autobiography "Undisputed," documented a backstage fight between the two. On Goldberg's first ever appearance on "Raw," Jericho said he had heard that Goldberg "had spent the entire match barking to Nash about how I didn't know how to sell properly and how I hadn't wanted to do business with him in WCW."
Jericho confronted Goldberg after his match, saying if Goldberg had problems, he should say it to Jericho's face. Goldberg replied with, "Mike Tenay told me that you said stuff about me on the Internet!" Before long, a fight broke out between Goldberg and Jericho, which was broken up by Arn Anderson, Terry Taylor, Hurricane, Christian, and Booker T. Tensions calmed down and they reluctantly shook hands afterwards. After that, Jericho claims they were always cordial with each other.
Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle has never been afraid to speak his mind in public, and Goldberg has been on the end of a few insults from Riddle. After Goldberg's disastrous Crown Jewel match with The Undertaker, Riddle took shots at Goldberg on Twitter, mocking his in ring skills and saying he owes The Undertaker an apology. Goldberg didn't take the insults lightly, saying in an interview with DAZN, "The cocky kid spouting off his mouth in the beginning, and I didn't appreciate it very much by any stretch of the imagination." Goldberg continued, however, that he did respect Riddle's work ethic, saying, "Whether I like him as a human being or not, I have to understand and appreciate his passion for the business and his work ethic. Because he works hard and that I appreciate as an athlete and as a human. Is he a prick sometimes? Absolutely."
The two would cross paths backstage at SummerSlam 2019, as shown on Goldberg's episode of "Chronicle" on the WWE Network. The meeting was ... awkward.
Matt Riddle said the two are good now, saying to TalkSport, "Bill and I had a conversation. It was like 'Bill, I'm sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way' on the way back from Saudi Arabia. We were on the plane, had a couple of cocktails. I'm not saying we're best friends, but we are doing way better than we were."
Bret Hart
During his match with Bret Hart at Starrcade 1999, Goldberg hit an errant thrust kick, which seriously injured Bret Hart. The kick concussed Hart in an injury that would spell the end of his in-ring career. Originally, it seemed like Bret Hart held no ill will towards Goldberg, saying in his autobiography, "[Goldberg] hugged me and told me how sorry he was about my concussion. I have no doubt about that — Bill was a good man."
Over the years, however, Bret's feelings about the incident have changed. Speaking on Steve Austin's "Broken Skull Sessions," Bret Hart said of Goldberg, "He was one of the most unprofessional wrestlers to ever work in the business. For Bill Goldberg to be in the Hall of Fame ... he hurt everybody that he worked with. You might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with. He hurt everybody that he worked with; I remember Curt Henning being in pain all the time from the matches they had. And even when I worked with Bill, I always think the last words I said to him before we went out and had that match where he injured me and ended my career, I said 'Bill, whatever you do out there, don't hurt me. We can do whatever you want, we can do anything. Just do not go nuts.'"
Scott Hall
It was known in WCW that Goldberg and Scott Hall did not like each other. In the past, Goldberg has blamed Scott Hall for the limo injury which could have ended Goldberg's career. In a 2001 interview with The Post & Courier, Goldberg said, "I should've killed him but I didn't. Scott Hall is very unprofessional and he often breaks character and does things I don't agree with. I try to be professional and set a positive example, but unfortunately he doesn't share the same views."
Eric Bischoff recalled on his podcast "83 Weeks" (via 411Mania) that the atmosphere between the two was tense. Bischoff said, "It was tense. But you know, I don't recall it being any kind of like, big issue. They worked together, they would tolerate each other backstage. Look, Scott was — at this point, Scott was probably as bad as he had ever been when it came to his personal issues with drugs and alcohol."
Bischoff continued that Hall was going through a lot at that time: "When he was under the influence and his life was a wreck, he was tough to be around. So Bill wasn't the only guy that had a problem with him ... You know, it was not a pleasant time in Scott Hall's life, and therefore anybody that was in close proximity to Scott was pretty miserable when he was around. So I can understand it."
Kevin Nash
Goldberg's legendary undefeated streak would, controversially, end at the hands of Kevin Nash. Goldberg implies he wasn't happy that Kevin Nash was the one who beat him, saying to 4th & Pain (via prowrestling.net), "A few weeks after Kevin Nash was put on the booking committee, Kevin Nash gets to beat me first. But hey, it is what it is."
Kevin Nash responded in a shoot interview and mocked the idea that he booked himself to be Goldberg. Nash said, "I was almost has hot as you were, Bill, at the time as a babyface," implying that Nash was the clear choice to beat the streak. Nash says he wasn't a mark (unlike Goldberg), and has never personally bragged about being the one to beat the streak. In the same interview, Nash buries Goldberg even more by saying they had to pipe "Goldberg" chants into the building because the crowds were actually chanting "Goldberg Sucks!"
Over the years, Goldberg has come around to the idea of Nash ending the streak. Goldberg said on "The Bump" (via Sportskeeda), "I look back on it and I've been p***ed off at my answers a number of times. That's childish. The fact is that Kevin Nash was the perfect guy to do it at the time. It was the perfect time to do it. I think the streak was losing some momentum and who am I as a professional wrestler to give my opinion? I'm not a booker."
Gillberg
Gillberg's gimmick was a parody of Goldberg, a parody that Goldberg was not too happy with. Speaking to GameSpot in 2018, Goldberg said he reacted angrily when he first saw the gimmick: "I wanted to cut his head off, and then I wanted to cut everyone's head off that came up with the idea. You can take it a number of ways. I took it violently in the beginning."
Over time, however, Goldberg mellowed on the idea, and in the same interview said, "I should have been honored that they would think enough of me to copy, in a negative way, and try to poke fun at me. Because if I didn't evoke a feeling in them, then they wouldn't have done that. So, there was a reason for it, and I hold nothing against the guy, and I'm greatly appreciative that one more person in the professional wrestling business got a job because I don't know what he was doing prior to that. Hey man, good for him."
Gillberg made a career out of the Goldberg parody for over 20 years, but has admitted that he was denied a potential goldmine in merchandise over the years. Speaking on the "Who The Fook Are These Guys" podcast, Gillberg said, "He [Goldberg] doesn't like me at all. I can't say for sure, but that's why I don't have action figures, I don't have T-shirts, I'm not in the video games ... somebody has a thumb on top of me."
Vince Russo
A lot of wrestlers have not talked kindly about Vince Russo's booking style and Goldberg especially is not a fan of Russo. Vince Russo booked the infamously bad "Goldberg refused to follow the script" storyline in the year 2000. Goldberg has even said that Vince Russo's booking was so bad that he believed Russo was a plant sent down from WWE to destroy WCW.
Goldberg said on Submission Radio (via wrestlingrumors), "I believe a part of the demise of WCW was the dips*** that we got from WWE. The writer, Vince Russo. I mean he was a moron through and through. He may have been successful at putting, you know, wrestling shows together in the past, but I believe he was a plant. I think he was sent down ... to make us go downhill. And I thought some of his ideas ... were asinine and ridiculous. And he and I, we didn't see eye to eye on anything whatsoever. And so I think he was a contributing factor to the demise of the company."
Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff was in charge of WCW for most of Goldberg's run on top and while Goldberg was booked very well for the most part, Bischoff revealed that he had a miserable working relationship with Goldberg. Bischoff says Goldberg became difficult to work with after he started taking advice from people behind the scenes. According to Bischoff, backstage officials like Henry Holmes (Goldberg's attorney) and Barry Bloom (a famous wrestling agent who represented Goldberg as well as other big names like Mick Foley, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) would influence Goldberg's decision making backstage, giving him opposing advice.
On "83 Weeks" (via BodySlam), Bischoff said, "And I'm not saying that these people were in his ear trying to screw with him, or giving him bad advice. But when you're getting advice that is sometimes diametrically opposed to the last advice you just got from somebody you respect, it can be very confusing when you don't have a basis of experience like Bill did at the time. So he was getting pulled in a lot of different directions ... I'm sure Barry Bloom and his attorney Henry Holmes had a lot to do with Bill's outlook and perspective on things as well. So he was getting pulled in a lot of different directions by a lot of different people."