Tony Schiavone: Wrestling Industry Will Not Recreate WCW's Goldberg Phenomenon

In September 1997 the legendary, albeit sometimes exaggerated, winning streak of Goldberg was born — and with it, a phenomenon. But WCW caught lightning in a bottle then, according to AEW and former WCW broadcaster Tony Schiavone, and the explosion of Goldberg on the professional wrestling scene will never be duplicated to such a degree ever again.

"We won't recreate it," Schiavone stated on "What Happened When." "It was just a combination of an idea by Kevin Sullivan, a guy that could pull it off, and just being in the right time."

Prior to Schiavone's declaration, his co-host Conrad Thompson spoke about how the Goldberg persona came to be. When the company saw a man with a similar look in WWE, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, getting over at roughly the same time, Conrad figured maybe that was what had been prompting the look. But when Sullivan made his intentions clear, they had absolutely nothing to do with the WWE Hall of Famer.

"Kevin Sullivan says my idea for him when I saw him in the Power Plant was 'Let's make him the Mike Tyson of wrestling,'" Thompson revealed. Presentation played a major role. Some could even argue it was every bit as important as the man himself. This included walking to the ring from the backstage area, sometimes with a security escort. In addition to his imposing frame, he'd stand firmly in the middle of the pyro while his music blared. From the head movements and black boots to the big fight feel Goldberg generated, it was all Tyson.

Over the years, attempts have been made to recapture some of that early Goldberg magic with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Ryback, and Asuka. Yet Goldberg was the right person in the right place at the right time for WCW to capitalize.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What Happened When" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.