Former WWE Writer Recalls When Triple H And Shawn Michaels Didn't Think Goldberg Should Be In HOF
When Bill Goldberg left WWE following his WrestleMania XX match with Brock Lesnar in 2004, there were many occasions where he would not speak very highly of the company. He has also said in past interviews that he did not believe the match was bad, but the crowd inside the Madison Square Garden was going to crap all over it because they knew that both competitors were slated to leave WWE after the match was over.
WWE reconciled their relationship with Goldberg, and many feel that his run from October of 2016 to April of 2017 was astronomically better than the one that lasted from March of 2003 to March of 2004. Goldberg would even say himself during the WWE 24 WWE Network special that his last run was the first time he could actually say that he was happy as a professional wrestler.
When Goldberg was announced to headline the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018, Triple H tweeted:
.@Goldberg brings passion and intensity to everything he does...on the field, in the ring, and especially with his family.
His intensity and character made him one of the biggest stars in our industry...so #WhosNext?
The #WWEHOF. Congrats, Bill. pic.twitter.com/pu3OpYAwre? Triple H (@TripleH) January 15, 2018
Conversely, former WWE writer Kevin Eck in his latest blog at Sporting News recalled a moment in 2010 when Triple H talked to SB Nation Atlanta about Goldberg in the Hall of Fame. In addition to calling Goldberg a "hodge-podge guy" that he did not have a classic rivalry with, he also said that Goldberg did not belong in their Hall of Fame.
"Bill's trying to get into the Hall of Fame," Triple H said. "If there's a rumor about him coming back, he probably started it. I've not seen any mention of his name."
He added, "So when you say, 'What about Goldberg?', no offense to Bill, but you've got guys like Bruno [Sammartino] that were legends with longevity that should be in there, but they're holding out because they think they've got one more run. Just using Bill as an example, how many years did he wrestle? Not many."
Shawn Michaels would also chime in during this 2010 interview regarding Goldberg, stating, "To me, he's not even in the ball park. Not because he's not talented, but greatness doesn't happen in a few years. Greatness is established over a long period of time. We try to promote people and get them over, but you can't do it that quickly. In our line of work, there are other qualities that make somebody viable besides just whether they're tough or not. In every other line of work — like if you're a lineman who can't play, everybody knows you can't play."
Eck also gave his thoughts on this past Monday's RAW 25 as well as SmackDown Live, you can check out his full column by clicking here.
Source: Sporting News