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Bill Goldberg

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For other people named Bill Goldberg, see Bill Goldberg (disambiguation).
Bill Goldberg United States
File:Bill Goldberg@commons.jpg
Born (1966-12-27) December 27, 1966 (age 57)
Tulsa, Oklahoma Oklahoma
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bill Gold
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm) [1]
Billed weight280 lb (124 kg)
Billed fromAtlanta, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state)
Trained byWCW Power Plant
DebutJune 24, 1997
RetiredBecame inactive on March 2004

Bill Goldberg (born William Scott Goldberg on December 27, 1966) better known by his ring name Goldberg, is currently an inactive American professional wrestler, retired football player, and actor.

Goldberg played college football as a defensive tackle for the University of Georgia, and in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he played for three seasons from 1992 through 1994. He is best known, however, for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling between September 1997 and January 2001, and with World Wrestling Entertainment between March 2003 and March 2004.

Goldberg was a two-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1997-2001)

Goldberg met several employees of the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) professional wrestling promotion while living in Atlanta, Georgia, and decided to pursue a career in wrestling after meeting WCW employees Sting and Lex Luger in a gym that the two co-owned. He was quickly signed to a contract by WCW and sent to the WCW Power Plant, a professional wrestling school owned by WCW and operated by former wrestlers such as Dwayne Bruce.[2] After training in the Power Plant for several months, Goldberg debuted on June 24, 1997, defeating Buddy Landell in a dark match under the ring name Bill Gold[2] (he had originally considered wrestling as "Mossad").[3]

He said in his book, I'm Next: The Strange Journey of America's Most Unlikely Superstar , the first match he lost in WCW was at a house show to Chad Fortune.

He made his first appearance on WCW television on the September 22 1997, episode of WCW Monday Nitro, defeating Hugh Morrus as Bill Goldberg, using the ring music previously used by Pat Tanaka.[2] This match marked the first victory of Goldberg's "streak"—a series of 173 consecutive victories that took place on WCW television, pay-per-views and at house shows. After a short time, the famed undefeated streak lost all credibility with "smart" fans as the number of claimed victories was repeatedly raised from the actual tally, with no rhyme or reason. During one point in his WCW career to help get Goldberg over, they would play the fans chanting "Goldberg" through the speakers of the arena. Goldberg admitted this in one of his books, but claimed to never have known at the time.

With his bald head, goatee, and utilitarian black trunks, Goldberg was often compared to Stone Cold Steve Austin, a prominent wrestler in the rival World Wrestling Federation (WWF). However, WCW President Eric Bischoff later claimed that the original character of Goldberg was based not on Austin but on Ken Shamrock, another WWF employee and famed mixed martial artist. During his "streak" Goldberg also became known for his ring entrance, which saw him walk from his locker room to the stage with a police escort, exit the "tunnel" with pyrotechnics exploding around him, while fans chanted "Goldberg, Goldberg." In later entrances, a cloud of theatrical smoke would engulf Goldberg at the entryway, which he would inhale and then exhale once the cloud dissipated.

Goldberg's succession of wins saw him quickly advance up the card, and he won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship on April 20 1998, defeating Raven. He vacated the title after winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Hollywood Hogan on July 6 1998. His reign, along with his streak, lasted until December 27 1998, when he suffered his first defeat, losing to Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998 after Scott Hall interfered, electrically shocking him with a cattle prod. [4] However, Goldberg avenged this act by defeating Hall at Souled Out 1999, in a Ladder Taser Match. Goldberg won when he used the taser. The match could only be won by using the taser, which was hung high above the ring, requiring the ladder to obtain it. At the same time, the WWF began lampooning Goldberg with the character Gillberg, a perennial jobber who dressed similarly to Goldberg and mocked his signature entrance and mannerisms.

Goldberg became a two-time United States Heavyweight Champion on October 24 1999, at Halloween Havoc by defeating Sid Vicious via referee stoppage. Later that evening, he answered an open challenge from WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting, and defeated him within minutes of the opening bell. However, on the next night's episode of Nitro, commissioner J.J. Dillon ruled that the match had not been sanctioned by WCW and that, therefore, Goldberg's victory was void. Goldberg lost a second title that same evening when Bret Hart defeated him for the United States Heavyweight Championship, handing Goldberg his second official loss in WCW in the process. Shortly thereafter, Goldberg joined forces with Hart, teaming with him to defeat the Creative Control for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on December 7 1999. One week later, they lost the titles to The Outsiders.[4]

At StarrCade 1999 on December 19, 1999, Goldberg challenged Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. In the course of the match, which was won by Hart, Goldberg delivered a stiff kick to Hart's head, legitimately concussing him and tearing a muscle in his neck. This injury, combined with the various injuries Hart had suffered in the course of his lengthy career and the additional blows to the head he absorbed before being diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, forced Hart into retirement several weeks later.

Shortly thereafter, Goldberg was accidentally injured in Salisbury, Maryland, during a sequence where he chased the nWo limousine into the parking lot. Goldberg, who was wearing protective covering over his hands so he wouldn't get injured when he would break the windshield glass (a spot in the scene), got a little too overaggressive in his pounding and severely injured his forearm.

After taking time off to recuperate, Goldberg returned to WCW in May of 2000 interfering in a Nitro match between Kevin Nash and the team of Tank Abbott and Rick Steiner. Then, the following month, Goldberg interfered in the WCW World Title Match between Nash and Jeff Jarrett, and turned heel for the first time in his career by aligning himself with the New Blood faction. This didn't last long, as Goldberg would again be lost to injury and miss time.

In October 2000 he began a new undefeated streak, with Vince Russo threatening to "fire" him if he lost. The streak was broken on January 14 2001 at WCW Sin when Goldberg, teaming with his Power Plant trainer, Dwayne Bruce, lost to Totally Buff in a tag team match after a fan maced him, enabling Totally Buff to pin him. The angle was intended to enable Goldberg to have shoulder surgery, but WCW was sold to the WWF in March 2001, with Goldberg still recuperating. The WWF did not buy out Goldberg's contract with Time Warner (the parent company of WCW) as they had done with several other WCW employees, and so he was not involved in the WWF "Invasion" angle. Goldberg instead remained under contract to Time Warner until May 2002, when he agreed on a contract buyout.

Goldberg had suffered an arm injury during a celebrity car racing event in April 2002, but in August 2002, he returned to the ring in Japan. He initially joined All Japan Pro Wrestling, defeating Satoshi Kojima on August 30, 2002. He went on to defeat Rick Steiner in Yokohama in a match for the W-1 promotion, and teamed with Keiji Mutoh to defeat KroniK in Tokyo. His success in Japan led to the World Wrestling Federation - now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment - beginning contract negotiations with him.

In the course of his WCW career, Goldberg had six official singles defeats: three to Bret Hart, one to Kevin Nash, one to Scott Steiner, and one to Booker T.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-04)

Goldberg was signed to a one year contract by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in March 2003. He debuted in WWE on the March 31, 2003 episode of RAW, the night after WrestleMania XIX, and immediately began a feud with The Rock by spearing him. His feud with The Rock culminated in a match at Backlash 2003, which was won by Goldberg with 3 devastating spears and a jackhammer slam. His first match on RAW saw him defeat 3-Minute Warning in a handicap match.

Goldberg went undefeated over the subsequent half-year, feuding with Christian and Chris Jericho. Goldberg first fought for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2003 in the second Elimination Chamber match in the WWE, but was pinned by the defending champion, Triple H, which ended his undefeated streak. Goldberg defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven 2003. He won after he recovered from a hit with a sledge hammer and speared Triple H. He then jackhammered him to pick up the win. He successfully retained the title in a match with Triple H at the 2003 Survivor Series on November 16, 2003, but lost the title to Triple H at Armageddon 2003 on December 14, 2003 when Triple H pinned him in a triple threat match which also included Kane.

Goldberg entered the 2004 Royal Rumble in an attempt to regain the World Heavyweight Championship, but he was eliminated after Brock Lesnar entered the ring and hit Goldberg with the F-5, enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him. Goldberg gained revenge by attending No Way Out 2004 the following month and costing Lesnar his WWE Championship by interfering in a match between Lesnar and the challenger to the title, Eddie Guerrero. This led to a match between the two being scheduled for WrestleMania XX. A match between the two had been highly anticipated due to their similar physique and their undefeated streaks. Goldberg was not seen on WWE television for several weeks before the event, as he had already worked the maximum number of dates (bar one, his WrestleMania appearance) stipulated by his contract and would have had to have been paid a supplementary salary in order to make extra appearances. This may have hurt the build to the WrestleMania match, with the last episode of SmackDown! before WrestleMania featuring a confrontation between Lesnar and Stone Cold Steve Austin, the guest referee of the match, instead of Goldberg. The match is notable for many members of the crowd becoming aware that this was to be both Goldberg and Lesnar's last match in WWE, and 'turning' on them, booing the match and chanting derogatory statements at both men.

Post-wrestling activity

Since leaving WWE, Goldberg has primarily focused on his acting career. He has commented on his year with WWE in a highly critical fashion, arguing that his character was poorly utilized. In February 2006, several media outlets reported that Goldberg wasn't in negotiations with the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling; possibly in response to these rumors, semi-retired wrestler Warrior commented on his website that he would be interested in wrestling Goldberg in TNA should TNA approach him with such an offer. In a series of interviews conducted in June 2006, Goldberg stated that he was mildly interested in working for TNA, particularly since his friend Sting had joined the promotion by then, but had several reservations. Goldberg's name has been brought up frequently in TNA during angles and during backstage discussions and rumors. Goldberg's name was first mentioned back at Lockdown 2006, as Goldberg became the target of a rumor of him joining Sting's warriors to wage war against Jarrett's army as a result of Steiner being brought in. His name was also brought up as a candidate for the consultant of Christian Cage along with Brock Lesnar's but it was later revealed to be Scott Steiner. Goldberg was upset about this, as was Brock Lesnar, as neither of them were informed that their names being on the list (since it was Brock Lesnar himself who informed Goldberg of the list). Another rumor had surfaced about Goldberg being the fifth member of Team Angle for the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown 2007 but it was revealed that Jeff Jarrett was that man. Goldberg has shown interest in signing with TNA, but is holding out for a deal similar to the magnitude of Sting's contractual offer to TNA. Goldberg has stated on his official website that, he is scheduled to appear at WrestleFanFest in San Francisco, California, on October 19 - 21, 2007. Whether this is a one off appearance, has yet to be seen.

In wrestling

  • Nicknames
    • The Man / Da Man
    • The Bull
  • Signature Taunts
    • You're Next!
    • Believe The Hype
    • Crouching down at a corner of the ring to signify a Spear is coming
  • Theme Music
    • During his WCW and early WWE tenures, Goldberg came to the ring to an instrumental tune called "Invasion" and came out to a similar tune during most of his WWE tenure. For a brief period in his WCW tenure he came out to Megadeth's song "Crush 'Em".

Championships and accomplishments

Acting career

Goldberg was the first-ever guest on the "Pain Clinic," a professional wrestling radio talk show based in Rochester, New York that debuted on November 14 1998. He made several more appearances on the show, with his final appearance taking place on November 19, 2005.

Goldberg began acting while working for WCW in 1999. His appearance in Universal Soldier: The Return corresponded with him being featured in the music video.[6]

Filmography

Television appearances

MMA career

On July 22 2006, Goldberg served as color commentator in mixed martial arts promotion World Fighting Alliance (WFA) King of the Streets pay-per-view in Los Angeles, California.

Goldberg also appeared as the color commentator / announcer during EliteXC Destiny, which was broadcast live on Showtime, on February 10, 2007. He also provided commentary for the K-1 Dynamite!! USA event on June 2, 2007 and Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni on June 22, 2007.

When asked whether he was interested in becoming a mixed martial artist, Goldberg stated, "I'd love to, especially if I was 21 or even 29, but these guys are so far ahead of me in terms of experience. I never say never, though. But I don’t see myself stopping my movies, my shows, my commentating, or being a dad to do that."[7]

Personal life

Goldberg's mother, Ethel, is a classical violinist, while his father, Jed, a graduate of Harvard University, was an obstetrician and gynecologist (they divorced). Jed died in late 2006. In addition to playing the violin, Ethel breeds flowers, and once succeeded in creating an award-winning hybrid orchid which she named after Goldberg. Bill is also proud of his Jewish religion.[3][8] His brother, Michael, owns a cargo plane leasing company with close ties to former President of the United States Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party.[8] His sister Barbara is an accomplished equestrienne. His brother Steven owns several restaurants and the Belly Up Tavern music venues in San Diego, California and Aspen, Colorado. His niece Katie also works in the music industry. [9]

On April 10, 2005, Goldberg married Wanda Ferraton, a stunt double whom he met while filming Santa's Slay, as stated in this movie's audio commentary. He and Ferraton have a son together, Gage A.J. Goldberg, who was born on May 10, 2006.

Goldberg is an animal welfare advocate and an ASPCA spokesperson, and has addressed the United States Congress in order to raise awareness of illegal animal fighting.[9]

Goldberg co-owns and operates the "Extreme Power" Muay Thai training facility in Oceanside, California.

Goldberg currently works out at JJB Fitness Club in Royton, England.

Goldberg owns over 25 vintage cars.[3]

Goldberg is a real-life friend of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is also good friends with Brock Lesnar, Sting, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Trivia

  • Goldberg holds the distinction of being the first-ever player cut from the Carolina Panthers' roster before the team began play in 1995.

Books

  • Goldberg, Bill and Goldberg, Steve (2000) I'm Next: The Strange Journey of America's Most Unlikely Superstar, ISBN 0-609-60780-4

References

  1. ^ "celeb heights - goldberg". Retrieved October 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c Milner, John "Goldberg", Canoe.ca
  3. ^ a b c Handler, Judd "The Hebrew Hulk", San Diego Jewish Journal
  4. ^ a b c Solie's title histories
  5. ^ Solie's title histories
  6. ^ Forman, Ross "Exclusive interview", BillGoldberg.com
  7. ^ World Fighting Alliance "Bill Goldberg Wrestles with New Gig for WFA", WFA.tv
  8. ^ a b Reilly, Rick "Wrestling with Their Son's Career", Sports Illustrated
  9. ^ a b Kurtzman, Daniels "Jewish pro-wrestling star goes to the mat for animals", Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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