Goldberg On Unique Presentation Of His Character In WCW, Dealing With Backstage Politics When He Joined the Company

In a recent interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Goldberg discussed the unique presentation of his character in WCW, dealing with backstage politics when he joined the company, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Goldberg on his undefeated streak in WCW and the unique presentation of his character: “That was the point, right? I’m not gonna bag on the wrestling business by any stretch of the imagination because ultimately, it’s made me who I am. But there are enough chain wrestlers out there. There are enough guys who can do all the high-flying moves. I thought – at the time, I was a huge mixed martial arts fan and still am. I’ve been dabbling in it for 25 years. I knew the UFC was gonna take off, and I was a defensive lineman. So, it was extremely tough for me to be making my debut in the Atlanta area in that everyone knew me from the [Georgia] Bulldogs and [Atlanta] Falcons. I made the statement that I can’t go out there and act like I’m getting punched and fake it. I wasn’t the Ric Flair character, so I needed to come up with something that would allow me to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of what I’m doing. I thought the Mike Tyson thing was really cool in that it kept people on the edge of their seat. Whether it was a two-second or two-minute fight, you were on the edge of your seat waiting to see the carnage and didn’t know what was gonna happen. It was different than everything else. I’m very fortunate that I was in that position. Hulk Hogan did everything for me – Eric Bischoff, the Steiner Brothers, everyone down in WCW.”

On dealing with backstage politics in WCW and why he felt guilty about not giving back to the wrestling business: “I’ve said this many times before about the reception I got in the wrestling world. It was like college, walking into a frat party as being on the football team. You know how uncomfortable that situation was, and it was like that every single night in WCW. And people wonder why I was the way I was when I arrived in WWE the first time. I was the man that was always looking behind his back. I always had my back up against the wall because I thought people would give me that positive advice that I thought was gonna help me, but ultimately, it was to bury me. But it is what it is. I’m very respectful of all of those guys who have worked for 25 years to jump off a building for 15 bucks to get on television. At the end of the day, it’s just like being on a football team. If Deion Sanders is on the team, and I’m a guy who plays defensive back and I know I can’t do what Deion Sanders does but I know he’s gonna take us to the championship, hey man, I’m part of the team. It’s easy to say that when you’re 176-0 and you were smashing people, but that’s my philosophy. I think I proved it even more so when I came back to WWE. I came back for a number of reasons – first and foremost because I owed the business something that I hadn’t given in the past. After a 16-year hiatus and the birth of our son, it all changed. I felt really guilty about receiving so much from the business and then not really giving back for the fans.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit The Pat McAfee Show with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.