Is Goldberg the perfect mascot for WCW ?
 

He certainly seems to encapsulate the very worst of that company :

WCW :

abundance of resources
No self-control
No planning
lack of skill
over confidence
Handled by Bischoff
Fucked up to a degree by Nash
Bought by WWF
Didn't matter who was there, it still failed.

Goldberg :
abundance of physical resources
No self-control
acts without thinking
lack of skill
Handled by Bischoff
Fucked up to a degree by Nash (ended the streak)
over confidence
Bought by WWF
Doesn't matter who is in the ring with him, it will still suck.
The list of parallels could go on and on.

I hate this narrative that wcw was trash. Wcw had a great product for many years and did things at the absolute highest level. Their lows were no lower than the wwfs. [/end mini rant]

Goldberg in his prime was awesome and was built up tremendously well. There are a lot of skilled workers, but his charisma was off the charts and he felt very special at his peak.

Sure, in time, WCW lost their way amid all the infighting and poor planning, and he was a bit reckless in the ring, but in his prime he was far far ahead of anyone today in terms of charisma and popularity

WCW was MILES ahead of the WWF in ring. This comparison is as retarded as a Bret Hart promo

I also didn't see many fans sitting on their hands during Goldberg's matches.

The only thing I could think of that's more retarded is Bret Hart thinking Vince screwed Bret.

I feel like Goldberg never felt he had to get better in the ring. His matches were typically short and he could make those so intense and believable. But once he got into longer matches, especially with other stars who had to get their stuff in, he would always gas out and be lost. Somebody should have worked with him and teach him how to go 10 or more minutes.

Gertner subtly hinting at a dislike for The Hitman.

Goldberg vs Raven for the US title on Nitro is one of those matches you show people as an example of what pro wrestling is supposed to be. It had everything.

Goldberg is shit in the ring but man was he over.

Goldberg vs DDP (Halloween Havok?) is a 5* match

It's really friggen good

This is prob my favorite Goldberg match.

Well, that's what happened with Regal... and he got shit for it afterwards.

"Go out there and have a competitive match with him."

:match happens:

"Wait, how *dare* you make the golden goose look like shit with a competitive match instead of a normal squash!"

I did like the narrative from both the match itself and the announce team that Regal was wily and dangerous, and Goldberg was used to flattening less crafty fighters. I had no problem with him taking some effort to beat Lord Steven.

Regal had held multiple titles at that point so it made sense that he was a bit of a challenge.

In fact, on the overall narrative of Goldberg not being good... he didn't have to be. Yes, if he improved as a wrestler, he would have been godly, but he was close without it. It is sorta like Cena; except Cena can actually wrestle a compelling match when he needs to (dog ugly STF notwithstanding). Problem is he rarely ever needed to. He was over. His shit was over. Him getting said shit in was over enough to carry him once his career got into its swing. We have the occasional bouts where he could show he could do more, like with CM Punk, but outside of odd instances like that, he never had to.

Goldberg never really had to do much of anything except be what he is. He didn't have to develop a character. He didn't have to learn how to work the crowd much. He didn't have to learn how to work like a heel. None of that. He was just a gladiator. People paid to see him squash mooks enough to hit the "what if?" scenario for WHC. From the time he came from nowhere in a match with Hugh Morris (that I for one though was going to be a squash in the other direction) filled that role and executed as well as needed.

Not bad for a guy pegged to be an answer to Stone Cold. Luckily, he organically became his own kind of badass from time and circumstance and they didn't try to *make* him into SCSA.

It's probably his actual best match. Raven is one of the smartest minds when it comes to wrestling and doesn't get enough credit. The fans throwing Raven back was a great touch.

Having road blocks every once in awhile made it compelling. And no, I don't mean:
https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/...ad-600x338.jpg

The Regal match really made Goldberg look good. Regal was a bit sloppy on the neckbreaker and shoulders tackle from Goldberg though. It's so easy to go back and rewatch a Goldberg match because they don't take long.

WWE :

abundance of resources
No self-control
No planning
lack of skill
over confidence
<s>Handled by Bischoff</s>
Fucked up to a degree by Nash
<s>Bought by WWF</s>
Didn't matter who was there, it still failed.

I don't think of WCW as bad... I enjoy watching old WCW favorites so much on The Network. Goldberg, DDP, Sting, Flair and Hogan are the faces of WCW to me.

I really like how this thread went

Watched Raven/Goldberg again last night. Fucking ace presentation.

I used to believe the "WCW = bad" myth. It's like if you grew up on Marvel's more colorful stuff, was taught to hate DC, then discovered Batman all of a sudden.

Goldberg was either the first or second wrestler I was introduced to. I vividly remember my introductions to both him and Steve Austin. Man, to be so huge that even kids who didn't watch pro-wrestling at the time had heard of you and even had some of your merchandise for some reason.

Goldberg vs. Raven was one of my earliest markouts, I still remember the "fans" throwing Raven back in after he tried to escape

Such a great match. DDP did a breakdown of it on a podcast appearance with Austin years ago and it was just fascinating.

His only regret was Goldberg (who to be fair was completely loopy after the Spear into the turnbuckle post) kicking out right at the 2 count after the Diamond Cutter instead of waiting til 2.9 seconds.

Such a nice reversal


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Such a hot match. Loved the diamond cutter counter. Also, Tony Schiavone on his A game.

He also knocked himself out in this match, the dumb fuck.

This

WCW had great stuff. They just played out the nWo. Early '90s might've been the best period. As for Goldberg I'd agree that he was the mascot in that he was the main face during the company's hottest period.