1. Bill Goldberg is signed to WWE, where he is set to retire in 2025.
94 Facts About Bill Goldberg
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Bill Goldberg is best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling.
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One of the most popular figures of the professional wrestling boom during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bill Goldberg rose to fame in WCW with a lengthy undefeated streak in singles competition from 1997 to 1998, became the highest paid WCW wrestler, and led the company as its franchise player and public face until it was sold to WWE.
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Bill Goldberg has headlined multiple WCW and WWE pay-per-view events, including WCW's premier annual event Starrcade.
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Bill Goldberg headlined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 and is a five-time world champion in his career between WWE and WCW, with WWE counting his world title win at the 1999 Halloween Havoc.
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Bill Goldberg is the only wrestler to have won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, and the WWE Universal Championship.
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Bill Goldberg hosted 26 episodes of Garage Mahal on the DIY Network from 2009 to 2011 and has acted in various films and television shows, including Universal Soldier: The Return and NCIS: Los Angeles.
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William Scott Bill Goldberg was born into a Reform Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 27,1966, the son of classical violinist Ethel and OB-GYN Jed Bill Goldberg.
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Bill Goldberg is of Russian-Jewish and Romanian-Jewish descent, with his Romanian-born great-grandfather having relocated to the US from Bucharest through Ellis Island.
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Bill Goldberg's father was a graduate of both Harvard and Johns Hopkins University.
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Bill Goldberg had his Bar Mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, Temple Israel, in his hometown.
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Bill Goldberg acquired a love for football early in his life and, due to his large stature, began working as a nightclub bouncer at the age of 16.
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Bill Goldberg earned a scholarship to attend the University of Georgia and play college football for the Georgia Bulldogs as a defensive tackle.
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Bill Goldberg was taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL draft, with the 301st overall selection but never appeared in any games for the Rams.
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Bill Goldberg became close with Deion Sanders during this time.
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Bill Goldberg had a stint with the Sacramento Surge of the WLAF in 1992 and Sacramento Gold Miners of the Canadian Football League in 1993.
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Bill Goldberg was cut from the Falcons in 1995, so he was selected by the new expansion team the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL expansion draft.
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Bill Goldberg never played a game with the team, as he was the first player to have been cut by the Panthers.
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Bill Goldberg explained that he hoped to return to the league after rehabilitation but was not considered a major asset due to his lack of success.
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Bill Goldberg made his televised debut on the September 22,1997, episode of Monday Nitro, where he defeated Hugh Morrus in what would be the first of a long series of victories.
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Bill Goldberg's in-ring persona was characterized by silent intensity, explosive offense, and a distinctive entrance that featured him walking through backstage corridors to the ring.
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Bill Goldberg made his first pay-per-view appearance at Halloween Havoc in October 1997, assisting Alex Wright in defeating Steve McMichael.
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Two days later on Thunder, Bill Goldberg made his first successful title defense against Mike Enos.
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Bill Goldberg later retained the championship against Saturn at Slamboree, Konnan at The Great American Bash, and Curt Hennig on subsequent programming.
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Bill Goldberg's rise continued throughout the summer, eventually positioning him as a contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship held by Hollywood Hogan, the leader of the New World Order.
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Bill Goldberg won both contests, capturing the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in front of over 40,000 fans in his hometown.
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Bill Goldberg retained the world title against Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc in a match that was praised by fans and later cited by Goldberg as his personal favorite.
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However, Bill Goldberg was not featured in matches at Fall Brawl or World War 3, despite still holding the championship during those events.
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Homemade signs tracking Bill Goldberg's record became common at events, with some fans removing them after inconsistencies became apparent.
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At Spring Stampede in April 1999, Bill Goldberg defeated Kevin Nash, avenging his first career loss from the previous year.
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Bill Goldberg resumed a feud with Diamond Dallas Page and his allies in the Jersey Triad, culminating in a victory over Page at Fall Brawl.
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Bill Goldberg then turned his attention to Sid Vicious, targeting Vicious's undefeated streak and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.
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The rivalry culminated at Halloween Havoc, where Bill Goldberg defeated Vicious via referee stoppage to capture the title for a second time.
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Later that same night, Bill Goldberg accepted an unsanctioned open challenge from WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting and won, appearing to become a double champion.
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Bill Goldberg participated but was eliminated in the first round by Bret Hart, following interference from Sid Vicious and the Outsiders, which cost him the United States Championship.
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At Starrcade, Bill Goldberg challenged Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
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Hart subsequently turned on Bill Goldberg and joined Hall, Nash, and Jeff Jarrett to reform the New World Order.
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Bill Goldberg was taken to a hospital for emergency surgery and was sidelined for several months, missing a scheduled appearance at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Tokyo Dome event in January 2000.
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Bill Goldberg returned to WCW on the May 29,2000, episode of Nitro, interfering in a handicap match involving Kevin Nash.
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The alliance was short-lived due to another injury, after which Bill Goldberg returned as a fan favorite.
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Bill Goldberg defeated Nash at Bash at the Beach with assistance from Scott Steiner and later faced both men in a number one contender's match at New Blood Rising.
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Bill Goldberg walked out midway through the match after refusing to take Nash's finishing move, an action that was scripted to reflect tensions between Bill Goldberg and WCW head writer Vince Russo.
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Bill Goldberg subsequently feuded with Steiner, culminating in a no-disqualification match loss at Fall Brawl following outside interference.
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Bill Goldberg continued winning matches under this stipulation, including a handicap elimination match against KroniK at Halloween Havoc and a feud with Lex Luger.
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At Sin in January 2001, Bill Goldberg teamed with his trainer DeWayne Bruce in a no-disqualification tag team match against Totally Buff.
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The match ended in defeat after a planted ringside spectator used mace on Bill Goldberg, leading to his first loss since the undefeated streak reset and triggering the retirement clause of the storyline.
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Bill Goldberg, who was still recovering from surgery, did not join the WWF roster.
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Bill Goldberg remained under contract until May 2002, when he reached a buyout agreement.
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Bill Goldberg initially joined All Japan Pro Wrestling, defeating Satoshi Kojima and Taiyo Kea.
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Bill Goldberg went on to defeat Rick Steiner in a match for the W-1 promotion and teamed with Keiji Mutoh to defeat KroniK.
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Bill Goldberg defeated Christian the following week on Raw in a steel cage match.
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In early 2004, Bill Goldberg entered a feud with Brock Lesnar.
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Bill Goldberg won the match; both he and Lesnar subsequently received Stone Cold Stunners from Austin.
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Bill Goldberg made his return to professional wrestling on June 7,2015, at the Legends of Wrestling show at Citi Field in New York.
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Bill Goldberg performed a spear on Steiner and a Jackhammer on Doc Gallows.
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On January 23,2016, Bill Goldberg made a second return for the Legends of Wrestling event in Miami, where he delivered another spear to Steiner after his match with Chavo Guerrero.
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On May 31,2016, Bill Goldberg was announced as the pre-order bonus for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game.
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Bill Goldberg would appear at the WWE 2K SummerSlam event the weekend before the pay-per-view event took place, fueling speculation he would be appearing at the event to confront Lesnar.
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The match took place at Survivor Series, where Bill Goldberg defeated Lesnar in 1 minute and 26 seconds giving Lesnar his first pinfall loss since April 2013.
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Months later, Bill Goldberg would participate in the Royal Rumble match on January 29,2017, where he entered at number 28 and eliminated Lesnar following a brief confrontation and a spear, as well as eliminating Rusev and Luke Harper before being eliminated by The Undertaker.
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At WrestleMania, Bill Goldberg lost the title to Lesnar in what was his first clean singles loss in his entire career.
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Bill Goldberg appeared the following night on Raw Talk to wish the fans farewell, but ultimately did not rule out a return in the future.
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On January 15,2018, ESPN announced that Bill Goldberg would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
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At SummerSlam, Bill Goldberg lost due to not being able to continue after incurring a knee injury.
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At Crown Jewel, Bill Goldberg defeated Lashley to end their feud.
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At Elimination Chamber, Bill Goldberg lost to Reigns via technical submission.
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When Gunther came out and insulted him and Gage, Bill Goldberg tried to attack him, but was held back by security guards.
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Diamond Dallas Page and Bobby Lashley claimed that Bill Goldberg was the most popular wrestler at one point in time.
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Bill Goldberg has been named as the favorite wrestler of figures such as Big E, Randy Orton, Madcap Moss, and Bron Breakker.
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Bill Goldberg's rapid rise to popularity in WCW led the WWF to parody him during the Attitude Era with longtime jobber Duane Gill being repackaged as Gillberg.
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Bill Goldberg was initially unhappy with the parody, but later embraced the character and was happy that Gill was able to have a more substantial run during his career.
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Bill Goldberg was a special guest star on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling.
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Bill Goldberg went on to host three seasons of the Speed Channel show Bullrun.
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In 2005, Bill Goldberg starred in the Happy Madison produced Adam Sandler movie The Longest Yard, as an inmate, along with fellow wrestlers Kevin Nash, The Great Khali and Stone Cold Steve Austin, as well as actors Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds among others.
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In March 2010, Bill Goldberg appeared on the ninth season of Donald Trump's reality series The Celebrity Apprentice and was eliminated in the sixth episode.
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In 2016, Bill Goldberg starred in the documentary film Nine Legends alongside other notable wrestlers, former boxing star Mike Tyson and UFC fighter Randy Couture.
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In 2018, Bill Goldberg started hosting a knife-based reality show called Forged in Fire: Knife or Death on the History Channel.
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Bill Goldberg appeared in Season 10 Episode 7 of NCIS: Los Angeles as Special Agent Lance Hamilton.
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On July 17,2022, Bill Goldberg was the subject of the Biography: WWE Legends.
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Bill Goldberg participated in MMA training sessions, though without intention to compete himself.
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Around this time, Bill Goldberg was challenged by Bob Sapp to either a professional wrestling match or a mixed martial arts fight, but nothing came from it.
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On July 22,2006, Bill Goldberg served again as color commentator, this time in World Fighting Alliance King of the Streetss pay-per-view in Los Angeles, California.
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On June 2,2007, Bill Goldberg commentated on K-1 Dynamite USA.
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Bill Goldberg became a color commentator for the EliteXC organization during their inaugural event.
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Bill Goldberg sponsored the Monster Jam truck "Bill Goldberg", which was driven by Tom Meents from 2000 to 2001 as part of a deal between WCW and FELD Motorsports.
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Since 2022, Bill Goldberg has appeared multiple times on the "UnsubscribePodcast".
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Bill Goldberg has been noted for being open about his Jewish background, which was uncommon in the professional wrestling world, especially during his prime.
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Bill Goldberg celebrates the Jewish holidays but has downplayed the religious aspects of his Jewish background, admitting in 2005 that he is "so far from religious it's not even funny".
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Bill Goldberg owns over 25 vintage cars, including a Plymouth Barracuda, AC Cobra, and Boss 429 Mustang.
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Bill Goldberg owned one of the biggest MMA gyms in the world during the early 90s where he trained MMA with the likes of Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Kevin Randleman, and Don Frye, among others, but after realizing how much money they made in MMA, he chose to follow a pro-wrestling career.
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Bill Goldberg has a long scar on the right side of his torso from a tear suffered during a college football game that had required surgery to repair.
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Bill Goldberg acquired a scar on his right forearm from an altercation in WCW, which kept him out of action for an extended amount of time due to the surgery needed to fix it.
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Bill Goldberg has a large tribal tattoo on his left shoulder, which became his professional wrestling logo, and a skull tattoo on the inside of his right biceps.
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Bill Goldberg regularly participated in the now-defunct Jimmy V Golf Classic, a golf tournament with the profits going towards cancer research, and often visits children in hospitals who are undergoing cancer treatment.