Bruce Prichard Talks Vince McMahon's Reaction To Goldberg Vs Brock Lesnar At WrestleMania 20
Goldberg's match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX is widely regarded as one of the most disappointing matches in WrestleMania history. On his Something To Wrestle podcast, former WWE producer Bruce Prichard discussed the factors that led to the match going so badly.
Both Lesnar and Goldberg were nearing the end of their WWE contracts before their match, but Goldberg's run with the WWE had bee especially disappointing up to that point. The company had high hopes for Goldberg, but his tenure was just lackluster and wasn't well-received by the WWE Universe. Prichard said the WWE knew this and was ready to move on from Goldberg, but officials were hoping to send him out with a high-profile feud against Lesnar.
"Well, you are nine months in and we are not getting a whole lot of improvement and we are digressing instead of progressing. The jury is coming back and kind of feeling like, this just isn't working and the remaining three months are we going to get more or any better out of this? The thought process of this at that time that if we can get him to put over Brock Lesnar in the end we can just move on from him," Prichard said. "There is just so much there that Bill Goldberg was an attraction in WCW. I don't know if he ever drew money in WCW. He was definitely an attraction, he was a big part of everything they did for a period, but when Bill Goldberg was there and they didn't have anything to support it, the company went out of business. The ratings went down and that was with Bill at the helm. You look back and what worked for them in the short spurt. What worked with Bill and Brock in this time around was because it was a short spurt. Get him out there and get him gone. So, he was uncomfortable, and man, it just wasn't jiving. It was water and oil in a lot of respects. I don't think he wanted to commit more than what he had already committed, and I don't think the company at the time was feeling that we can do more with him and continue."
The WrestleMania XX match drew a negative reaction from the audience. The lone spot that was cheered was when guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin gave them both stunners. Prichard said it was obvious that both Lesnar and Goldberg were just going through the motions and everyone in the audience just wanted it to be over.
"It was not the worst match in WrestleMania history for f**k's sake. There have been worse matches, but this stunk. Everybody knew it. I watched it in the audience. The air just came out of the Garden. It was just horrible, and both guys were just going through the motions as far as Brock and Goldberg. The crowd had turned on both, and didn't give a s**t. They were pissed off at both guys," Prichard said. "They were pissed off that Brock and Goldberg weren't sticking around and they just wanted Steve Austin to kick both of their a**es. The only high spot was the stunners in the end. The decision to have Goldberg win was because of a babyface finish. Brock didn't give a s**t."
Prichard said the backstage reaction to the match wasn't anything of note. He said Vince McMahon immediately moved on from the match and didn't discuss it with either one of them.
"Vince's reaction was a non-reaction. He sat there and the next match going in, and just thanked them, and said next," Prichard said. "He didn't sit and have a conversation with them. It was over, and was moving on to the next match."
If any portion of these quotes is used, please be sure to credit Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard via Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.