Ex-WWE Champ Goldberg Talks Hardest Parts Of Transition To Wrestling, Biggest Obstacle

Before he was a WWE Hall of Famer, and even before his impressive undefeated streak in WCW and his WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign, Goldberg played football at the University of Georgia, before going on to be drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. He most notably played for the Atlanta Falcons across three seasons in the early 90s, before he was forced to retire due to injury. He made his televised "WCW Monday Nitro" debut in September 1997, and the rest is history.

Goldberg discussed the difficulties of transitioning from football to professional wrestling with Memphis in May. He said there were two very difficult things for him when making the jump.

"The first and foremost, it was not to hurt people because you go from a sport that's 100 percent full contract to more of a drama-filled profession," he explained. "The second thing was kind of blending with the existing wrestlers, because I'm coming in from a professional background trying to take the job of one of these guys who have aspired to do that their entire lives. For me, I was born in a football helmet and I wanted to be a football player my entire life... I had to figure out something, first and foremost, that I could be passionate about, and I could translate all the things that I had been doing with my life and my body for the past 20 years prior."

Goldberg named his biggest obstacle in wrestling as the literal biggest obstacle he ever had to face: The Big Show. He explained picking up a 525-pound man was difficult, and joked that Big Show hated to be held upside-down for the Jackhammer.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Memphis in May and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.