Kurt Angle has shared his thoughts on former WCW Champion Goldberg’s first run working for WWE that ended after less than one year at WrestleMania XX.
Goldberg debuted for WWE the night after WrestleMania XIX in 2003 and immediately began a feud with The Rock. The two men clashed at Backlash where Goldberg picked up the victory in his first WWE match. Goldberg re-ignited a feud from WCW with Chris Jericho before moving onto the World Champion Triple H. Goldberg defeated Triple H at Unforgiven in 2003 to win the World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for almost three months before losing it back to The Game.
WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle shared his thoughts on Goldberg’s run in the company on The Kurt Angle Show podcast. Angle touched on the problems with the way Goldberg was booked in WWE, contrasting that with his wildly successful run in WCW.
Angle explained:
“Well you know Bill [Goldberg] was a complex individual, he was easy to work with nobody had problems working with him. What they did with him in the early 2000s when he first came into WWE, they didn’t book him right.”
“Goldberg made a lot of money for WCW by being dominant; a beast. He dominated the matches; they were two to three minutes tops. That raised eyebrows, raising eyebrows makes money for the company. And WWE booked him when he came in the early 2000s, he was doing 10 to 12 to 15-minute matches. It just wasn’t the Bill Goldberg that people remember from WCW.”
Kurt Angle then commented on Goldberg’s return to WWE in 2016. Goldberg returned to face his WrestleMania XX opponent Brock Lesnar at that year’s Survivor Series. Incredibly, Goldberg made short work of ‘The Beast Incarnate.
Angle says he thought that was the right way to book Goldberg:
“When he had the match with Brock Lesnar that only lasted 15 seconds – that was the right call, that’s the Bill Goldberg that people want to see. And it does raise eyebrows and raising eyebrows makes money for the company.”
Goldberg had been outspoken after his initial run in WWE came to an end, citing many of the frustrations that Angle commented on. Angle then mentioned one particular segment very early into Goldberg’s run that saw him don the blonde wig of Goldust:
“Bill Goldberg, I understand why he was bitter, I think that the whole thing with Goldust and the whole situation where he was a little worried, concerned about his character; I don’t think that was really anything that hurt him. I think that what hurt him was having to wrestle longer.”
Goldberg recently spoke about his relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The 2-time WWE Universal Champion explained that he and McMahon are closer than he ever thought would be possible.
If you use any quotes from this article please h/t and link back to Inside The Ropes.