Early Life & Football Career
William Scott Goldberg was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on December 27, 1966. His family is Reform Jewish and he is of Russian-Jewish and Romanian-Jewish descent. Goldberg has had a larger stature his entire life; he was so muscular, in fact, that he was able to work as a nightclub bouncer at just 16 years old.
Goldberg began playing American football as a child and earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia as a defensive tackle. In the 1990 NFL draft, Goldberg was selected by the Los Angeles Rams. He played a few seasons in the NFL, the NFL Europe League, and the Canadian Football League before a pelvic injury brought his professional football career to an end.
WCW Debut & The Streak
Following the end of his football career, Goldberg began training in powerlifting and mixed martial arts. He caught the eyes of Lex Luger and Sting, who tried to convince him to try professional wrestling. Though Goldberg was not a fan of pro wrestling, he figured it was worth a shot since his NFL career was over.
Goldberg began training at the WCW Power Plant in 1996. He worked a few dark matches under the name Bill Gold before making his televised debut on the September 22, 1997, episode of Nitro. This match, wherein Goldberg defeated Hugh Morrus, was the beginning of Goldberg’s historic undefeated streak. He made quick work of any opponent placed in the ring with him and soon became a fan favorite in WCW.
On July 6, 1998, Goldberg defeated Hulk Hogan to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Less than a year after making his debut, Goldberg had reached the pinnacle of the professional wrestling world. His undefeated streak came to a controversial end when he lost his title to Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998. Since WCW exaggerated the number of matches in Goldberg’s undefeated streak, the exact figure is unknown. WCW claimed he went 173-0, though that number is widely regarded as false.
Goldberg Comes To WWE
Following the collapse of WCW in 2001, many of its wrestlers jumped ship to WWE and participated in the infamous “Invasion” angle. Goldberg, though, was not among them since WWE did not buy out his contract. Instead, Goldberg spent the next year wrestling in All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Goldberg finally made his WWE debut on the March 31, 2003, episode of Raw and immediately entered a feud with The Rock. He defeated The Rock in his debut match at Backlash and embarked on another months-long undefeated streak that lasted until Elimination Chamber 2002, where he was defeated by Triple H.
At Unforgiven 2003, Goldberg defeated Triple H to become the World Heavyweight Champion. A few months later at WrestleMania XX, Goldberg had what was believed to be his last WWE match against Brock Lesnar. Goldberg was victorious, but received a Stone Cold Stunner from guest referee Steve Austin after the bout.
WWE Return & Hall Of Fame Induction
After 12 years away from the ring, Goldberg returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2016. He picked up right where he left off, facing Brock Lesnar in the ring and defeating him in less than two minutes. Goldberg then captured the WWE Universal Championship from Kevin Owens and put the title on the line against Lesnar in a rematch at WrestleMania 33, where he lost clean for the first time in his career.
Goldberg was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 by Paul Heyman. He had his next match the following year against The Undertaker at Super ShowDown. Then, the following year at Super ShowDown, Goldberg defeated The Fiend to become Universal Champion once again.