Ring Crew Reviews: Goldberg’s Career Retrospective, Part IV: The End of WCW, 2000-2001

• In case, this is your time first reading, you might want to check in with part 1 (Goldberg’s Career Retrospective, Part I: The Streak) and part 2 (Goldberg’s Career Retrospective, Part II: 1999 ) and yesterday’s part 3
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• Meng vs. Goldberg. That same night. The Streak begins again. We get a pretty sweet vignette to set up Meng as an indestructible force of nature. Meng then cuts a promo. He says this is his life and his last chance in WCW. Meng: “GOLDBERG, YOU MUST DIE, SO I CAN LIVE!” Hudson says this is essentially a loser leaves town match, career vs. career. Meng jumps Goldberg in the corner and goes to the chop rampage and tries to weaken his hamstring. Goldberg ducks the BOOT OF FEAR and Spears Meng! Jackhammer! Tony: “THIS IS MENG’S LIFE!” Goldberg by layoff via managerial discretion at :42. BUT WAIT A MINUTE! IT’S KRONIK! They give Goldberg the High Times to turn heel. ¼* for the video package that built up Meng.

• Thus in one of those great booking touches, WCW takes the main face from their main feud and sticks him in meaningless midcard matches for the next few weeks against Big Vito, David Flair, Elix Skipper, and Chuck Palumbo. Do they follow up on that lighting in a bottle feud with Steiner? Of course not.

• Countdown to Armageddon. 10/18/2000. Thunder. This is basically a Royal Rumble to determine the number 1 contender to Booker T as world champion. Mike Sanders and Cat are out first. They are both quasi-commissioners/GMs at this point so there’s some backstory to this pairing. Sanders pounds him down but Cat comes back with the Feliner and the Mr. Roboto elbow drop. 30 second intervals for this one. Planet Stasiak, also of the Natural Born Thrillas along with Sanders is 3. Cat gives him a karate chop to the throat but Sanders waffles Cat from behind and the numbers overcome. Chuck Palumbo and it’s beginning to seem the Thrillas have the deck stacked. The NBTs start fighting over who gets to pound down Cat. Disco Inferno is number 5. Disco hits nothing so he gets clobbered by Palumbo. Das Wunderkid Alex Wright, now bald off the failure of Berlyn, is next. He puts the boots to Stasiak. Cat with some kicks to Disco. Crowbar is your next entrant. Madden: “Wait a minute. He’s not the cool 70s guy. He’s the psycho gas station attendant.” Tony concurs but Stevie Ray also on commentary has other ideas: “Tony, let me ask you something. WHAT’S WRONG WITH WORKING AT A FILLING STATION?! THEN STOP SAYING THAT!” Ron Harris is next and hits a bunch of whatever before getting lost in the shuffle. Now, it’s Don Harris AND STILL NO ONE ELIMINATED! Wright pounds down Palumbo as Hacksaw Canadian Heel Jim Duggan is next. Madden and Stevie use this as an opportunity to talk about nationalized healthcare. Duggan is still over with the crowd. Chavo Guerrero is next. Tony: “We gotta get some of these guys outta there. Someone needs to start taking charge.” So far, this has been the worst battle royal I’ve ever seen including the Georgia Brawl from the Clash of the Champions. Hell, even the World War 3s have starpower. This is just boring.

• Duggan, that magnificent Canadian gladiator, chokes Disco. Kevin Nash is next as we take a commercial. Stevie: “NOO! NOOOOOO! NOT RIGHT NOW!” Nash dumps out Chavo and Duggan. Cat and Mike Sanders are tossed out. Crowbar gets thrown out as David Flair is next. Both Harris twins have been thrown to the floor. The only ones left in the ring at the moment are Stasiak, Palumbo, Flair, and Nash. Palumbo shitcans himself missing a punch and then Stasiak eliminates himself. These assholes. Nash throws out David Flair. Lash Laroux in and Nash no sells some stuff and hits the FOOT TO THE FACE and throws him out. Kwee-Wee out to eat a clothesline and a shitcan. Rey Mysterio in with a springboard dropkick but runs into a boot. Nash tries a powerbomb but Mysterio counters with the right hands. Next is Booker T. How is he a participant in a battle royal to choose his own number 1 contender? Don’t ask me. Mike Awesome has come out to a mild pop. Nash gets the elbow up on all three as they try to steamroll him in the corner. THIS IS STING! He won’t let Nash no sell and gives him a couple Stinger splashes. Stevie: “This reminds me of one of those kung fu movies. The guy you can’t beat. You all just got to get together and take him out.” Mysterio takes down Nash with another dropkick and then Nash is thrown out by everyone. Jarrett is next and he brings Scott Steiner with him. Steiner goes straight for Booker as Sting clotheslines Jarrett out and to the floor but takes himself out as well. Awesome and Mysterio meanwhile throw out Steiner and Book. WHAT!? This is WCW right? Let’s review the facts. Kevin Nash, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Booker T, and Scott Steiner were just eliminated and only Rey Mysterio and Mike Awesome are still in at the moment. Crazy. Billy Kidman is next. Rey with a niiiiiiiiiiiice quebrada on Awesome.

• BUT WAIT! KING OF THE WORLD IN WCW 2000 LANCE STORM IS NEXT! For those that don’t know, Storm was the man at the time, but that’s another story for another review. Awesome tries to toss Mysterio but no go. Big Vito is next and Awesome and Kidman quickly jump him. Storm goes back to pounding on Kidman. Sean O’Haire is next. He splashes Vito in the corner. Mark Jindrak follows him out next. Kidman puts the boots to him but that goes nowhere. Konnan is next as the ring is clogging up again. Both members of Kronik are next to interrupt generic brawling. Kidman with a sweet rana on Adams. Wrath crotches Rey on the top rope and Konnan throws him out. Konnan gets tossed out by Wrath for his trouble. NOOOOOO! LANCE STORM HAS BEEN ELIMINATED! Big Vito won’t be going to Wrestlemania either and he’s out too.

• Final Four: Mike Awesome, Jindrak, O’Haire, Kronik. HOLY SHIT! These guys suck at brawling. Seriously, how hard is it to corner a guy and put the boots to him? Instead, Awesome wanders around as no one can come up with a good idea of how to get heat in a battle royal. Finally, Bryan Adams has the answer: he will “crush” Awesome’s neck with a horrific piledriver and almost end his career. Stevie Ray: “Where is Danny Bonaduce when you need him?” Tony: “I don’t know.” Crowd chants for Goldberg. BUT WAIT A MINUTE! IT’S GOLDBERG! He’s not an official entrant but he blows through Kronik and the remaining Thrillas. Jindrak and O’Haire eliminate each other. Goldberg Spears Wrath. Adams goes for the chair waffle but Awesome pulls the chair away and Goldberg Spears him. Awesome cautiously using the chair to hold Goldberg at bay. Goldberg and Awesome give each other the look and clothesline Adams over the top for Awesome to win it at 17:41.

• At least WCW was trying to put over some new blood at this point, after promising to do some months earlier and only jobbing out Kidman to Hogan and Vampiro to Sting and putting the belt on David Arquette and Vince Russo in return. ½*

• Jeff Jarrett & Kronik vs. Booker T, Sting, & Goldberg.10/25/2000 Thunder. Streak II: 12. Man, who did Goldberg piss off to start having to work Thunders again? Pre-match, Jarrett gets the stick and says tonight we’re getting “Slapnuts Theater” underway. Schiavone says that Goldberg’s win streak stip is still on the line even for this match. Jarrett and Book to start. Book soaks in some cheers even though most are for Goldberg. Book with a shoulderblock and counters a hiptoss with one of his own. Book with a spinkick and tags in Goldberg. Jarrett begs off and tags in Bryan Adams, the world-famous scientologist. They both no sell a shoulderblock and get into a shouting match. Goldberg fakes a clothesline and just clubs Adams down. Goldberg with the butterfly suplex. Tony: “No one has EVER thrown Adams around like that before.” Wrath and Sting tag in. Sting avoids Wrath and starts working on the heel corner. Wrath tries a knee from behind but Sting avoids and starts chopping him down. That was cool. Sting wants the Deathlock and locks it in but Adams helps Wrath reach the ropes. Book tags in with some chops and a burrito for 2. Adams clubs down Booker from behind and Wrath hits a DDT to take over. The heels work over Book and Adams AGAIN hits his shitty one-handed, twisting piledriver. Who in the hell ever told him he should keep doing that move? Not enough stingers and sciatica going around? Jarrett tags in but Book quickly gets the Jack Briscoe roll up for 2 and a neckbreaker. Book makes the hot tag to both Goldberg and Sting and they clear the ring with their power stuff. Sting and Jarrett powder out as Goldberg hits a powerslam on Wrath. He preps the Spear but Wrath moves and Goldberg RAMS into the ringpost. NIIIICE! That was way better than usual. Adams covers for 1, 2, 2.999999! Kronik goes and hits High Times. BUT WAIT! STING MAKES THE SAVE! He disposes of Kronik as Scott Steiner comes out to collect the old n.W.o paycheck of taking one bump. Sting with a facesmash on Adams and a Stinger Splash. Jarrett tries to sneak Sting with El Kabong but Sting slides under to hit the Deathdrop. Sting covers for 1, 2, 3 at 7:02. The brawl continues with Steiner putting the lead pipe to good use and the show goes off the air. Solid enough TV main event. **1/2

• Handicap Elimination Match: Kronik vs. Goldberg. Halloween Havoc 2000. Streak II: 13. Adams gets the stick and says there will be no match because Goldberg hasn’t been cleared to wrestle. He wants the ref to raise their hands. We cut to Doug Dellinger and some doctors saying Goldberg is fine and cue the long entrance. He stalks out and quickly gets double teamed. They pound him down. Madden: “You’ve got to go after Goldberg’s head.” They shitcan him out and work him over so more with rights to the breadbasket. Back in, they hit the double clothesline. Tony says “guns for hire” about 50 times as Bryan Adams brings in a table and Wrath DDTs Goldberg. Tony is a bit pissy and calls out how cliché the table spot is: “Yeah, like we haven’t seen one of those tonight.” Stevie: “I thought we were out of tables.” Stevie: “Then why don’t we have one in front of us?” Tony: “We got a turnbuckle holding our monitor. We don’t need one.” Kronik goes for High Times through the table but Goldberg of course escapes. He superkicks Adams and then Spears Wrath through the table. Wrath is out at 2:27. Stevie: “It’s over?” Adams goes to the Masterlock and then the Full Nelson Slam. Tony: “NO ONE’S EVER DONE THAT TO GOLDBERG!” Madden: “THE POWERRRR! THE POWER OF BRYAN ADAMS!” Settle down Beavises. Adams covers for 2. Stevie: “We all know Adams can go.” He can go indeed right under Goldberg’s leap frog and into a Spear. Goldberg hits the academic Jackhammer and we’re outta here at 3:43. And THAT is your Halloween Havoc 2000 main event. For those of you vaguely anticipating or recalling a Steiner-Booker match, that was the semi-main and went to DQ anyway. This gets no love from me. DUD

• Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldberg. 11/06/2000. Nitro. Streak II: 15. After that quasi-squash of Kronik, they are back to midcard nefarious activities and Goldberg gets Luger at the next PPV who recently turned heel by screwing over Buff Bagwell. Meanwhile, a rematch ALMOST TWO YEARS in the making. Not really. This is one of those one-offs to puff up the streak again like Meng. Goldberg starts cutting a promo with Mean Gene backstage but Luger and Bigelow interrupt to waffle him with a steel pipe. Madden has an INCREDIBLE rant summing up the stakes: “Every professional athlete can have an off day. The St. Louis Rams had an off day yesterday. Tiger Woods had an off day yesterday. But ya know what? Even though they lost, they get to play again next week. The next off day Goldberg has, HE’S ALL DONE! Will that off day be tonight? Will Bam Bam Bigelow be the man that sends Goldberg home for good? Goldberg can’t have an off day and I believe that may make him better than anyone has ever been.” SWEET BIG BABY JESUS! Good stuff.

• Goldberg comes running out but quickly gets the boots put to him. 3B with a Ho Train and Goldberg rolls out to take a breather. 3B pokes him in the eyes a few times and no sells a whip to clothesline Goldberg down. 3B gouges the eye and Goldberg almost falls out of the ring missing wildly on a right hand. LEX LUGER COMES WALKING OUT! Goldberg comes back with a haymaker and Bigelow beautifully sells it by bumping across the ring. Goldberg is distracted by Luger and 3B gives him a back suplex in response. 3B with the flying headbutt for 1, 2, only 2. Bigelow calls for the Greetings from Asbury Park but Goldberg slides out and gives him a Spear. Madden: “HE ALMOST PUT BIGELOW THROUGH TO THE DEPTHS OF THE CEMENT OF THE UNITED CENTER!” Goldberg with the Jackhammer and it’s over at 2:43. You get what you get. ½*

• Handicap Match: Boogie Knights vs. Goldberg. 11/13/2000 Nitro. Streak II: 16. This is part of one of those not-so-ingenuous Lethal Lottery concepts to set up a world title contender. Boogie Knights drew the short straw and have Scott Steiner and Sting. BK, by the way, are Disco and Alex Wright. In a nice little inversion, the heels show some brains and try to outsmart the tournament by selling their spot to Kronik because they don’t want to face that psycho Steiner. Kronik, being an APA rip-off but still a decent one, are all about breaking necks and cashing checks but they aren’t stupid either. They’re not buying the spot from BK; BK is going to have to pay THEM to fight Scott Steiner. Nice. Meanwhile, Flair is CEO and is none too pleased with this unsportsmanlike conduct and with heels displaying intelligence like he rarely did so they get Goldberg instead. Even if Lethal Lottery sucks, I love the set-up for this on a nothing Nitro in 2000 because all of the characters are doing things that MAKE SENSE from their perspective.

• Tony now tries putting over “one man assault machine” as a nickname for Goldberg. BK clear the ring but Disco attacks Goldberg from behind only to eat a Gargoyle suplex that turns him inside out. Alex with a missile dropkick which Tony oversells in a way that only he can. Tony: “That was a great. GREAT move by Alex Wright. Great timing. GREAT ANTICIPATION! Right man at the right time. Showing us he’s willing to go at Goldberg!” Goldberg no sells a Euro uppercut and tosses around Wright. Disco jumps him from behind again and they put the boots to him. Goldberg responds by Spearing Disco and Wright back to back. Stevie: “IT’S ALL OVER BUT THE CRYING NOW!” Goldberg with Jackhammers for both and pins both at 1:42. And this builds to Luger at the PPV how? DUD.

• Buff Bagwell vs. Goldberg. 11/15/2000 Thunder. Streak II: 18. Earlier in the night, Buff cut a face promo about how he was loyal to WCW and just wanted a chance like all the main eventers get so he challenged Jarrett for the number 1 contendership at Mayhem. Tony in one of his usual grandiloquent moments: “Goldberg seems to be more intense than usual. That time, he walked RIGHT THROUGH his pyro. Did not even wait” Stevie: “He always does that.” [He does.] Tony: “Not always.” [Liar.] Goldberg with a few knees and a press slam. Stevie: “Buff Daddy started out hot, but he’s got to be ready for things like that. Goldberg is the kind of guy, you got to get on him before he gets on you.” I’m really digging Stevie Ray’s commentary since he got on the crew. I appreciate his touches of strategy and calling Tony out on his bullshit. Tenay: “Remember, THERE’S NO REVERSE IN GOLDBERG’S TRANSMISSION! STRAIGHT AHEAD!” Goldberg boots Buff down. Buff comes back with a double arm DDT and prances for the pose but Goldberg no sells. DON’T PLAY AROUND BUFF DADDY! LOOK OUT! It’s too late and Spear from Goldberg. Jackhammer finishes him at 1:56. So much for building up Buff as a challenger for the belt. Also, how do they build up for that inevitable Luger match you say? By having Luger read Goldberg’s book and then get pissed he’s not in it. No, really. *

• Lex Luger vs. Goldberg. Mayhem 2000. Streak II: 24. What a ridiculously awful build for this. Seriously, Luger’s only cut a couple of promos and both were about being pissed that Goldberg was a bigger star and forgot about him and one only lasted about 30 seconds. No beatdowns or attacks or tag matches. Nothing. Meanwhile, Goldberg has been playing the jobber circuit. Pre-match, Luger cuts a meandering promo about how Goldberg screwed him over. Luger says he’s the “Michael Jordan of WCW” and he made Goldberg and will now break him. Luger at the moment has a bad, peroxide perm going.

• Goldberg goes to the arm to start but Luger gets the ropes. Tony: “Goldberg has never faced a craftier veteran than Lex Luger.” Back to the arm as apparently, Luger has decided not only is he going to steal Flair’s look but he’s going 45 minutes tonight to steal his gimmick as well. Luger comes back with elbows and a back suplex but Goldberg no sells. Luger begs off to crickets in the corner. Luger pokes him to the eye but no one notices and clotheslines him down. Mark Madden actually brings up the steel plate in Luger’s arm(!) CONTINUITY!@! Luger boots him down and poses. Goldberg no sells and gives him rights to the breadbasket. UHHHHHHHHHHHH. Goldberg’s shtick doesn’t work without power moves as much. Luger begs off again and pretends to be hurt. Goldberg moves in but Luger gets the boot up and hits the Bionic Elbow and both sell exhaustion like it’s 3 minutes into a Goldberg squash. Luger clotheslines Goldberg to the floor and Tony says he’s never seen that before. NEVER! EVER! HE MEANS IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Luger sends Goldberg into the guardrail and boots him. Man, what the fuck is Luger doing? This is SOO unbearably slow and no one cares. Stevie Ray puts over Luger’s intelligence like Jim Ross used to do but he’s about a decade late for anyone to care. Goldberg finally takes over with a powerslam. Goldberg goes for the Spear but Luger pulls the ref in the way. MY GOD! A DOUBLE SPEAR! Goldberg Jackhammers Luger even though the ref is out and covers. A new ref comes out to count the 1, 2, 3 at 5:57. This is a big pile of crap. Like Biff Tannen drives his car into it pile of crap. Like “I didn’t know they stacked shit that high” pile of crap. You just know they’re going to use that ref bump to stretch this into another month. -**

• Instead of all this worthless duplicity wherein you know Luger and Goldberg have no real reason to fight and the build shows it, why not have announce Luger-Goldberg on a Nitro right after Luger’s heel turn? Luger takes umbrage at being treated as a pushover nobody for the streak and taunts Goldberg into trying the Spear in the first 10 seconds only for Luger to pull the ref in the way like at the PPV. No match but Luger goes around claiming to win by DQ and to have ended the streak and NOW you have a reason for them to wrestle. But I digress.

• Meanwhile, for a couple of weeks, it appeared that WCW would use that angle for the second PPV match, but that is quickly abandoned so both can beat more jobbers and Luger can read more from Goldberg’s book. He decides to pick on Sarge AKA Sgt. Parker AKA The Leprechaun to get Goldberg’s attention because they were buddies. Sarge ran the WCW Power Plant and looks like a midget Brock Lesnar. No wonder this company went under. Anyone who wants to talk about how respectable WCW’s ratings and buyrates were when they went out of business in 2001 to show they were still viable should be forced to watch every episode of Nitro and Thunder just to get a sense of how much the wheels had fallen off.

• Shane Douglas vs. Goldberg. 12/6/2000. Thunder. Streak II: 28. Franchise gets the stick before the match: “It takes a lot to PISS ME OFF!” Stevie: “No, it doesn’t.” Douglas cuts a promo on Hugh Morrus, Hugh Rection for taking Torrie Wilson, his meal ticket away from him. He goes ON AND ON AND ON! UHHHH, anything but this. Where’s Luger to out-boring promo him when you need it? Nevermind, here comes Goldberg. Douglas tries to wrap a chain around his fist behind the ref’s back. Neither Goldberg nor the ref see it. Lock up takes them into the corner where Douglas uses the break to hit a few chain waffles. Alright, alright, that’s pretty cool. Goldberg shakes it off and back suplexes Douglas into an ALABAMA SLAM! NICE! Hang on. WHAT’S THIS? LEX LUGER HAS SARGE IN THE RACK! Goldberg preps the Spear but wants to save his friend Sarge. He’s conflicted. Franchise jumps him from behind and says it’s over. Goldberg hits the Spear and Jackhammer to win it at 1:40. Kudos to Franchise for trying to ham it up in getting squashed but that promo was trash. *1/4

• Post-match, Goldberg chases down Luger to save Sarge. LUGER, MONDAY, WE’RE NOT WAITING UNTIL STARRCADE! YOUR ASS IS NEXT!

• Goldberg vs. Sarge. 12/12/2000 Nitro. However, Luger uses his stroke with commissioner Mike Sanders to have Goldberg have to face his boy, Sarge. And if Sarge beats Goldberg, he gets Luger on Thunder. Unfortunately, neither Sarge nor Goldberg know they have to face each other until Goldberg gets through his pyro. Goldberg does a double take and relents because he doesn’t want to face his mentor. Sarge tries to get Goldberg into the match. Sarge is all “No one’s watching anyway, we gotta do this.” Hudson: “He’s Sarging up.” BUT WAIT! LEX LUGER HAS COME OUT! He essentially tells Goldberg he’s gotta have the match. Goldberg tries walking out but Sarge pounds him down with CLUBBINGBLOWS or at least tries. Tony: “In essence, HE’S SAVING GOLDBERG’S CAREER!” Goldberg takes several punches before hitting the Spear to a pop. Goldberg’s all “How dare you make him wrestle for longer than 60 seconds Lex Luger!” Goldberg tries to walk away but Sarge hooks the leg. Hudson: “That’s the way he taught him.” Tony: “TOUGH LOVE!” Goldberg with a Jackhammer to end it at 2:51. Half of which was a Lex Luger promo. *

• Anything Goes Match: Lex Luger vs. Goldberg. Starrcade 2000. Streak II: 30. This gets a video package. Tony: “MORE THAN A STREAK, NOW, IT’S PERSONAL!” Hudson: “[referring to Luger] The picture of narcissism. As mischievous as he is ripped.” Goldberg chases Luger to the floor and waffles his ribs from behind. Goldberg sends him into the announce table and Tony and crew bail. Luger flops about like a fish and gets sent into the guardrail as well. Luger now eats the stairs. Back in, Luger crawls around and Goldberg hits a short arm clothesline. GOLDBERG WILL NOT BE DENIED! Another short arm clothesline follows. Luger slowly tries to take a walk only to eat a butterfly suplex. Luger tries to sell but just says fuck it and decides to beg off. Goldberg ignores him and hits a powerslam. Goldberg rolls out and says he’s taking a walk. Whoa, Luger is awful. During this period, he’s trying to ape Flair and it’s dogshit. Luger’s the worst main event guy at trying to rip off Flair ever. Worse than Douglas, Triple H, Jarrett. Way worse than them. Anyway, Goldberg runs down Luger only for Luger to slide out and send him into the ringpost. Luger goes for a chairshot but Luger moves. BUT WAIT! BUFF BAGWELL AND SARGE HAVE COME OUT! Goldberg and Luger continue going through the motions of wrestling. Goldberg with a flying shoulderblock and preps the Spear. Luger pulls the ref in front again but Goldberg outsmarts it this time. Luger gets the ropes to avoid another attempt. Luger pulls out the knucks and waffles Sarge and Goldberg. Luger covers for 1, 2, only 2. Tony: “MY GOD, HE KICKED OUT OF BRASS KNUCKS!” Buff preps a Blockbuster but Luger charges him and Buff hits it on Goldberg instead. Buff’s pissed with himself and Luger shitcans him and calls for the Rack. Goldberg blocks it by hooking the ropes and counters with the Roll the Dice. BUT WAIT! BUFF CONFIRMS THE HEEL TURN BY TURNING ON SARGE! Goldberg with another Spear as Buff works over Sarge. Goldberg with the Jackhammer to win it at 7:19. I’d rather watch Ric Flair in 2012 do Ric Flair than Lex Luger in 2000 do Ric Flair. DUD

• Buff Bagwell vs. Goldberg. 12/18/2000 Nitro. Streak II: 31. Meanwhile, fresh off his heel turn, Buff now gets Goldberg because Ric Flair says so. Pre-match, Tony shills WCW.com for a Goldberg jersey at $40. FORTY DOLLARS? IN 2000? FOR A WCW SHIRT? Getthefuckouttahere. Buff powders out. BUT WAIT! Luger’s there with a chair and sneaks Goldberg for the DQ at :30. Bite me. DUD. Totally Buff now put the boots to Goldberg which brings out Sarge who’s really good at getting hit by chairs. Goldberg on the other hand clears the ring.

• Buff Bagwell vs. Sarge. 01/03/2001. Thunder. Tony pimps the WCW game Backstage Assault. Tony: “Be a part of all the action. You can be [sarcastically] STEVIE RAY! STEVIE… RAY!” Stevie: “You know he’s the toughest guy on that game, right?” Tony: “Oh, I know. I know.” Buff poses to start and Sarge clotheslines him down. Sarge with a back suplex and talks trash. Sarge with a butterfly suplex and Goldberg takes a breather. Sarge runs him down and throws him into the guardrail. Sarge: “YOU AIN’T SHIT NOW, BOY!” Buff cuts him off at the pass and goes to the BLATANTCHOKE! Buff blocks a hiptoss with a neckbreaker for 2. MOARCHOKING! Buff with a back elbow and poses to a Jeff Hardy pop. Buff goes back to the chinlock as Stevie Ray tries to explain why Sarge is the best possible tag partner for Goldberg against Totally Buff at Sin in January. Buff stays on this lazy chinlock and gouges the eye to avoid some elbows. Buff goes for a splash but Sarge gets the knees up. They slug it out and Sarge wins that. HERE COMES DEWAYNE BRUCE AGAIN! Sarge goes through the SvR default go-home only for Buff to give him an atomic drop and double arm DDT. BUT WAIT! LEX LUGER HAS COME OUT! Tenay: “Why does he have a steel chair in his hands?” The Turnertron cuts to Goldberg coming out but Kronik jump him with a steel pipe and lock him in a roadie trunk. They close it up and then force the forklift driver to take Goldberg for a ride. WHERE TO, GOLDBERG?! HAHAHA! Meanwhile, the ref calls for the bell as Totally Buff work over Sarge for the DQ at 5:13. They close things out by Pillmanizing the arm. Sarge is still better than Luger at this stage in both their careers. This charade would lead to a rollicking series of tag matches between Sarge-berg, Kronik, and Totally Buff. ½*

• No DQ Match: Totally Buff vs. Goldberg & Sarge. Sin 2001. Goldberg’s career still on the line. If he or Sarge lose, Goldberg’s fired. Goldberg and Luger to start. Crowd chants for Goldberg as he teases superkicking Buff off the apron. Hudson puts over how Sarge’s arm is broken and how that affects strategy. Goldberg drives Luger into the corner and pounds him down. Goldberg sends him off and hits the massive flying shoulderblock. Another butterfly suplex and Goldberg now tells Buff to tag in and come get him some. Buff tags in tentatively. He hits a vertical suplex and poses but Goldberg no sells to a POP. Goldberg throws him around into the press slam powerslam. BEAST! See, that was awesome. Unfortunately, Goldberg tags in Sarge who talks trash and gives Luger some as well. DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! Sarge with a back suplex and comes off the second rope with an elbow drop for 2. Sarge chokes Buff but releases in time to cut off an advancing Lex Luger. Buff now with a cheap shot and the heels take over. They hit a double back elbow and Buff flips off Goldberg. Luger shitcans Sarge so Buff can work him over behind the ref’s back. Actually, that’s solid tag wrestling. Luger with the steel plate forearm for 2. Buff tags in with that shitty double arm DDT he was trying unsuccessfully to incorporate. Buff now goes to the chinlock. Luger tags in with another forearm but Goldberg breaks up the cover at 2. Buff in and Sarge blocks a suplex with one of his own. Sarge makes the tag to Goldberg as the place gets into it. Goldberg botches a clothesline on Luger so they do it again. Goldberg with the gargoyle suplex on Buff. Luger starts talking trash with a “fan” who Goldberg signed an autograph for backstage. Goldberg comes to his rescue only for the fan to turn heel on him and spray him in the eyes with mace. NOOO! Luger waffles Goldberg with a chair. Hudson: “Was that Plan C?” Buff mocks the now-blind Goldberg. Goldberg with an STO to no sell blindness so Luger waffles him with the chair a few more times. Totally Buff with a Doomsday Device Blockbuster and Luger covers for 1, 2, 3 to end Goldberg’s career at 11:00. Decent tag match with Buff’s shtick working MUCH better as part of a chickensheet heel tag team than as a borderline singes title contender. Also, the swerve doesn’t bother me as much considering they did something similar to end the streak the first time. However, what does bother me is using that as the blowoff for FOUR MONTHS of TV. The Streak II started back in OCTOBER 2000 and it was all fodder for a few nothing matches against Kronik and then Luger’s millionth heel turn and Buff. *3/4

• At the same PPV to continue the symbolic end of WCW, Sid would break his leg and one of WCW’s last surprises would end with a thud as Road Warrior Animal was Flair’s mystery man in the main event.

• The next night on Nitro, Totally Buff and Scott Steiner would hold a funeral for Goldberg’s career and Goldberg would be written off TV for shoulder surgery, but he’d never been seen on WCW television again.

The 411: As it turned out, a lot could go wrong. Goldberg's 2000 can hardly be considered a success. A huge pop for a return was turned sour with an underdeveloped heel turn. But despite what could have been an intriguing development, WCW lacked the guts to stay with the heel turn more than a few weeks. Instead, they opted for the signature worked-shoot swerve feud debacle of all-time. Then WCW forgot about Steiner-Goldberg to instead push a Russo-Goldberg feud to reignite the streak that went nowhere and ended with an un-over Luger and Buff retiring him. Note: 7.0 is a default for Goldberg's career.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]