Childhood & Early Life
Bill Goldberg was born on December 27, 1966, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Ethel and Jed Goldberg, in a Jewish family. His mother is a classical violinist and award-winning flower breeder, while his father was a doctor.
He graduated from Tulsa Edison High School, where he was active in sports. He loved playing football and wanted to pursue a career as a football athlete.
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Wrestling Career
He undertook power lifting and mixed martial arts after his NFL injury. He was spotted by Sting who asked him to try his hand at professional wrestling. He decided to take a shot and started training at the WCW Power Plant.
He worked as Bill Gold and made five appearances on TV for ‘Saturday Night’ in 1997. He would next be seen in Nitro, where he was successful. He was encouraged to work as a single wrestler.
He made his pay-per view debut in early 1998 at Starrcade. He started climbing to the top and eventually titled Raven for United States Heavyweight Championship. He won his first championship after defeating Raven.
He became the number one contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship held on July 6, 1998. He defeated Hulk Hogan to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
His achievements from 1997 to 1998 remain unparalleled as he had over 173 matches without any defeats. However, this has been contested often.
He won his second United States Heavyweight title after defeating Sid Vicious in 1999. The rivalry between them continued for many more matches before Sid regain the title back.
Bill Goldberg’s career was stopped by another injury in 1999 while shooting for ‘Thunder’. As a result of the injury, he missed his match at the Tokyo Dome Show. He returned in May 2000 for ‘Nitro’.
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Goldberg’s winning streak was often called into question as he was being defeated easily. However, Goldberg put these ideas to rest after defeating Kronik and Lex Luger. His storyline towards the end indicated that he was injured and scheduled for a surgery.
When WCW was taken over by WWF, they did not bid for Goldberg. He eventually opted for a contract buyout.
He returned to the ring in a different location; Japan, in 2002. He joined All Japan Pro Wrestling and began a successful stint; consequently, WWE signed him for a one-year contract in 2003.
He made his WWE debut on Raw where he started a rivalry with The Rock. He began his winning streak again. He challenged Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship and won it on September 21. He successfully defended the title from Chris Jericho and Triple H.
In what was understood to be his last match, Goldberg fought the WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, in 2004 for WrestleMania XX. He went on to win the match.
He made a comeback to professional wrestling in 2015 at Citi Field, New York. He was next seen in the Legends of Wrestling event in Miami.
Lesnar’s and Golberg’s rivalry continued to make the talk, and they continued slamming each other on social media. A match between the two was set up at Survivor Series where Goldberg defeated Lesnar again.
He was later seen in various episodes of Raw and was challenged to fight Kevin Owens. He defeated Owens to gain the Universal Championship crown. He formally appeared for his farewell on Raw Talk, but hinted at returning to the ring.
He has also co-authored his biography ‘I’m Next: The Strange Journey of America’s Most Unlikely Superhero’. He currently runs his own podcast where he interviews guests every week.
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His character is currently a part of many videos games in wrestling, including WCW Nitro, WCW Mayhem, WWE WrestleMania XIX, WWE 2K17, and WWE2K18.
Other Works
Apart from wrestling and football, he has appeared in several entertainment shows. He was a special guest on ‘Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling’. He also hosted three seasons of ‘Bullrun’.
He was seen in the movie ‘The Longest Yard’ alongside Adam Sandler in 2005 and the thriller ‘Half Past Dead 2’ in 2007.
He owns and operates the Extreme Power Gym in Oceanside, California.
He is currently the host of ‘Knife or Death’, a competitive series aired on the History channel. The premise of the show is that contestants must use weapons that were either forged or fabricated by them personally.
Awards & Achievements
In 2018, Bill Goldberg was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame, class of 2018.
He is a two-time World Champion, two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and holds one WCW World Tag Team Championship to his credit.
Personal Life & Legacy
Bill Goldberg is currently married to Wanda Ferraton since April 10, 2005. Wanda is a stunt double and they met each other while filming a movie. They currently live in California and have a son Gage.
He has also spoken for his community and his Jewish family as he is deeply spiritual. He was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
He also advocates for animal rights and is a spokesman for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). As the spokesman, he addressed the Congress in his aim to raise awareness about illegal animal fighting.
