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Where did WCW & WWE go wrong with Goldberg

5K views 29 replies 23 participants last post by  GillbergReturns 
In WCW, I firmly believe that Goldberg shouldn't have won the title until Starrcade '98. Despite the fact he didn't, it was still okay.

The problem came when they had him lose it 5 months later, with no revenge connected to that incident.


In WWF, the fact that Goldberg's appeal was the streak and/or destroying everybody. Add in the fact that 75% of his undefeated streak was him going over mid card/jobbers. WWF's roster was completely different than WCW's, as you just can't throw out dozens of talents to get squashed for the sake of getting a guy over (he was over enough) with nothing left to do outside of the original concept for a guy like Goldberg.


Had he not had an undefeated streak in WCW, his WWE run wouldn't be looked at as a failure. But, the streak set the bar too high and you're left deciding to go back in that direction or try something different, with the latter not reaching the set standard.


In other words, it wasn't much more WWE could or should have done with Goldberg that, compared to the streak, would make his WWE run less of a bust (although, I don't view it as a bust).
 
I can't say he was booked really well because nothing from late '99 erases how they fucked up with Goldberg from December '98 to him leaving to film a movie.

The streak ending when it did hurt him and all the potential he had. In this case, being massively over isn't enough. They had something that, IMO, had a 2 year life and they dropped it after 1, for the sake of putting the old guy back on top until he decided he wanted to leave again.

You don't do all of that with Goldberg and have him main event only 3 out of 9 PPV's following him losing the title, with 1 of those being impromptu and him losing in another.

The only thing that kept him strong as that he was so over. He wasn't booked as the star he was. '99 was good for what it was worth but there was so much more to get out of Goldberg and it became nearly impossible after Starrcade '98, simply because of the same ego that caused that was the same ego that pretty much made it a lock that he wasn't going to drop the title back to Goldberg, which is the only thing that could have made any of that actually be worth the bullshit.
 
And I have to say that I really disagree with all this without the streak he was nothing sort of talk. Goldberg was now a top tier player. The guy was hugely over and on the front cover of TV Guide and going to sporting events with the at the time President of the USA. He could have easily been booked just like Superman, Hogan, Austin, Cena have been booked in WWF, by WCW. He had it all except mic skills, but he just had the it factor and so he didn't need it.
But, everything you credited Goldberg with was a direct result of the way he was promoted via the streak.

Take that away and give his character something else, he's not going to be on TV guide.

The stream made him what he was. It also limited what he could have been. His star power was nowhere near the same after Starrcade '98, largely because WCW was nowhere near the same. Goldberg hit a glass ceiling that somebody with his booking, in his position and as over as he was, should have never had to endure if WCW would have started checking egos.


Then again, Goldberg's ego needed a bit of checking, too. And still does.
 
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