Kevin Sullivan Opens Up About Creating Goldberg In WCW Without Wrestling Ability

As the man who convinced Hulk Hogan to turn heel and the creative mind that conceived the Bill Goldberg character in WCW, Kevin Sullivan's ingenuity is often overlooked. Even as Sullivan rarely receives his just due for his contributions to modern wrestling, the man himself remains proud of convincing WCW management to strap the proverbial rocket on Goldberg. 

"I created Bill Goldberg without really wrestling ability — until he got it," Sullivan said on his "Tuesday with The Taskmaster" podcast. "But, what I did was, I copied Mike Tyson, in a way — black shoes, the short ones, double socks, black tights. The other thing ... I knew people would think, 'Hey, he's [looks] like Steve Austin,' who was the hottest thing in the world. [When] people were going over what he's going to do in his interviews," he continued," I was like, 'He ain't gonna talk, because once he opens his mouth, he's dead, because people would start comparing him to Austin.'"

Sullivan proceeded to praise Goldberg — and other newcomers to the industry — for accepting they know nothing about wrestling, soaking in the knowledge, and accordingly playing their parts. Sullivan noted that Golberg was "receptive like a sponge" when he first joined WCW and realized that other talents were trying to get him over with audiences. In contrast, Sullivan is critical of modern wrestlers for not heeding advice from their elders. "Some people say, 'I don't want to listen to Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts, or Tully Blanchard ... my question is, 'Would you learn to draw with Leonardo Da Vinci or Picasso [or] are you gonna get a crayon book?'" The one modern wrestler Sullivan is particularly impressed with is Sami Zayn, who, Sullivan is convinced soaked up knowledge from Paul Heyman during his involvement with The Bloodline.