Even to this day, Goldberg is known for his dominance in pro wrestling, but he’s also known to be a little rough around the edges in the ring.
It was baptism by fire for Goldberg in the late 1990s as the former NFL player quickly rose to super stardom on the WCW roster and because of that, a lot of his ring work was pretty raw, giving “Da Man” a reputation of being rough. Just ask former WWE star Renee Dupree who recently happened to reunite with his La Resistance partner Rob Conway on his Cafe de Rene podcast The two talked about their match with Goldberg, something Dupree noted he’s tried to forget.
“He hit me with the flag and dislocated my collarbone. Each time he would [hit me], ‘Man, take it easy,’ but he just had one speed, ‘Go!’ He never learned how to work.”
However, Conway credits that Goldberg’s “realness” was a big reason why the WWE Hall of Famer got over in the first place.
Goldberg’s Rough Reputation In The Ring
The ‘go’ of Goldberg put him on the map as an unstoppable force both in WCW and WWE, but he did end up legitimately hurting several opponents in the ring. His most infamous moment will be ultimately ending the career of Bret Hart after a poorly placed kick to the head of the Hitman at Starrcade 1999. Goldberg mentioned in a 2016 interview how much he’s regretted that moment.
“That will forever go down in history as the biggest mistake that I have ever made in my entire life. For those who haven’t heard me say it, I apologize profusely. God knows I put Bret Hart up on a pedestal where very few sit. The last thing that I ever wished upon him was harm, especially by my own hand.”
Years ago, Hart didn’t seem to hold any animosity towards Goldberg due to the incident, noting that Bill didn’t have a mean bone in his body and was just doing his job. However, that tone has greatly changed in recent years, prompting Goldberg to say he’s done apologizing for his mistake.
Dupree wasn’t the only person to dunk on Bill Goldberg, with the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase also recently taking a shot.
H/t to Fightful.