On this date in WCW history: Steven Regal unsquashes himself against Goldberg

by Jesse Holland on Feb 9, 2012 10:00 AM EST in History

Do work, son.

By February 9, 1998, the Goldberg formula was pretty easy to figure out: Get doused with sparklers, shadowbox your way to the ring, squash a mid-carder and then scream at the fans.

Simple, right?

Not for Steven Regal, which is why this date in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) history had Goldberg lost at sea during Monday Nitro when their proposed squash match evolved into a five-minute bout with actual wrestling.

Yes, Mr. "Who's Next" was forced to wrestle.

A lot of theories have been proposed as to what really happened that night. Some say Regal was trying to teach him a lesson. While Goldberg later admitted that Regal made him "look bad," Steve-O insists he misinterpreted WCW management when they told him to make Goldy "look good."

He thought, you know, make him look like an actual wrestler, when what they really meant was make him look like an invincible killing machine. Whatever the case, Goldberg looked like a deer in the headlights during several spots and Regal was subsequently fired.

While popular opinion has his termination based on the Goldberg blunder, in reality, it probably had more to do with Regal's substance abuse problem and out of control behavior. This match may have just been a case of poor timing.

Or perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back?

See it all go down, after the jump.

How about it Cagesiders, what's your take on how this all went down?

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Comments

I think the latter point probably holds a lot of water

Regal is pretty clearly not in great shape, and kind of sloppy. You can tell Goldberg looks unprepared for some of the spots, which his probably both a combination of his being so green and Regal not working with him and clearly getting frustrated and just going solo at some points.

But this goes to show that once Goldberg kind of got rolling, WCW did very little to grow him as a performer. I know in Bret Hart’s book he made it out that his problem wasn’t a lack of work ethic or care for the guys in the ring, just that he was being pushed faster than he could learn.

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by Billy Gomila on Feb 9, 2012 10:23 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

you summed it up nicely

This clearly wasn’t supposed to be the typical Goldberg squash, it was supposed to add another dimension to Goldberg, showing that he could actually “wrestle”. But the execution was, like you said, sloppy.

Bret said he didn’t think that Bill was unsafe or sloppy on purpose, but he kind of insinuates that Bill’s intensity and strength combined with lack of experience and knowledge was a very dangerous combination(See: Goldberg shoots on car window, nearly dies of blood loss, career ending mule kick, etc)

by thejasten on Feb 9, 2012 10:34 AM EST up reply actions

In hindsight...

Being an insufferable smark at the time, I remember being thoroughly convinced that Regal intentionally stretched Goldberg out. Watching it now and hearing how intently the announcers are putting over the “Goldberg’s going to have to actually WRESTLE” angle, it looks more like it was supposed to be a scientific Goldberg win that simply got botchy.

by Mike-El on Feb 9, 2012 10:47 AM EST up reply actions

I still think Goldberg had an interesting moveset

But after a few weeks, they basically stopped pushing him to develop them at all. Personally, I think they still could have gotten him over as a monster without EVERY match being a 30-second squash. They just had to put some thought into it. And it was WCW.

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by Billy Gomila on Feb 9, 2012 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

In fairness to WCW, I think the fans had a lot to do with that as well, kinda like 80’s Hulk. They wanted Goldy to come out and squash somebody. Keep it succinct. In, squash, out. Intermittent yelling and flexing, etc.

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by Jesse Holland on Feb 9, 2012 1:19 PM EST up reply actions

I had no issue with Goldberg’s squash push. They pulled the trigger on the title win and the end of the streak a little to quickly, but still… Overall it made Goldberg into a HUGE star at a time when WWE had all the momentum. Simple and effective.

by thejasten on Feb 9, 2012 1:23 PM EST up reply actions

That's what I was thinking, too

Either that, or the announcers had the think-on-their-feet smarts to turn “WTF?” into “He can wrestle, too”.

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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 9, 2012 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

See: Goldberg shoots on car window, nearly dies of blood loss, career ending mule kick, etc)

Elaborate please.

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by *Californication* on Feb 9, 2012 11:43 AM EST up reply actions

He beat the crap out of a windshield

WCW did take precautions to keep him from hurting himself but he got a little carried away and ended up slicing himself open

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by WVPiratesfan on Feb 9, 2012 11:57 AM EST up reply actions

mule kick – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=106dbrN-XKA&feature=related .

Car window – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSgFffrghBE

Apparently he was given a steel pipe to break the windows with but decided against it….He ended up with severe tendon damage in his forearm. He nearly sliced his arm in half. There’s a detailed story in Bret’s book and I think Nash talks about it on an RF shoot as well.

by thejasten on Feb 9, 2012 1:34 PM EST up reply actions

The concealed pipe thing (the idea was supposed to be that he was really punching the windows out) flew into the limo, so that’s why he stupidly decided to elbow his way into the next window.

by ThisOneGoesToEleven on Feb 9, 2012 3:43 PM EST up reply actions

This is why Regal will remain king in our hearts forever.

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by y2jayjk on Feb 9, 2012 10:51 AM EST reply actions 3 recs

Am I the only one that would love to see more technical grappling in today’s product?

by davidhamilton83 on Feb 9, 2012 11:14 AM EST reply actions

No.

I miss the days of Eddie and Chris and Angle.

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by marsexxxy23 on Feb 9, 2012 12:30 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I just feel that it would make the high spots that much bigger while really telling a story… specifically related to “athletic ability”

by davidhamilton83 on Feb 9, 2012 2:03 PM EST up reply actions

I went on an Eddie binge the other night on YouTube.

I seriously love him and think he should be talked about in the Top 3 of all time, with HBK and Bret Hart as the other two in no particular order. Eddie was so amazing at everything, and he never had a problem putting someone over.

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by Kyle Rancourt on Feb 9, 2012 3:04 PM EST up reply actions

Sir William Regal

a real man’s man

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 9, 2012 11:30 AM EST reply actions

what was regals substance of choice to abuse?

because it looks a lot like it was cheesburgers

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by theroosevelts on Feb 9, 2012 11:43 AM EST reply actions 2 recs

My guess

Alcohol

by WVPiratesfan on Feb 9, 2012 11:53 AM EST up reply actions

From the ever-accurate Wikipedia

While in WCW, he was arrested during a flight from Japan back to the United States when he got drunk and urinated on a stewardess. By [his] account in his book, he claims that he was so drunk that he could not remember the incident and woke up in a cell in Anchorage, Alaska.

So… yeah.

by Damnatio Memoriae on Feb 9, 2012 2:03 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe he should roid out of his mind so you find he sexy, this is why wrestlers die.

by MVP Raiders on Feb 9, 2012 3:53 PM EST via Android app up reply actions

He did have a stint with roids a few years ago

I think he was in WWEs ECW at the time, but I could be mistaken. He failed a drug test though and got a wellness suspension.

by hfl2013 on Feb 9, 2012 5:30 PM EST up reply actions

People always say that Goldberg looked confused here.

I have seen this match about ten times now, and I don’t really think so. This actually was a pretty solid TV match.

by Razztopia on Feb 9, 2012 12:53 PM EST reply actions

I don't see it either

I see, at points, it does look sloppy (4:20 to 4:40, for example), but it doesn’t look like Goldberg doesn’t know what the hell is going on or what to do.

As an aside, I actually think this would’ve been an interesting story- brute strength versus technical knowledge.

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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 9, 2012 1:16 PM EST up reply actions

Regal not selling any of his moves had to be frustrating

"I guess I can’t do anything if you’re just irrational, but to point it out and move on."

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by J Theory on Feb 9, 2012 2:39 PM EST up reply actions

I never liked Goldberg

His promos sucked, he sucked in the ring, he was terrible.

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by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Feb 9, 2012 1:35 PM EST reply actions

Never liked him too much either

When he first burst onto the scene, I liked him. After a while though, even as a ten-year-old, the same old thing over and over started to get tired.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 9, 2012 3:05 PM EST up reply actions

He never sold a move

Even in the clip above, he’d get hit and do that stupid shake it off thing

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by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Feb 9, 2012 4:03 PM EST up reply actions

He wasn't supposed to be selling moves, though he did in main event level matchups.

You can’t have your big wrecking ball selling moves. Brock Lesnar didn’t sell a move until he wrestled The Rock. Andre rarely sold, and when he did, it meant something.

I’m not saying Goldberg is as awesome as Andre because it is scientfically impossible to be as awesome as Andre unless your name is Randy Savage or maybe Memphis-era Jerry Lawler, but he should not have been selling at all, especially not for a midcard guy like Regal (who I think is great, of course).

by Razztopia on Feb 9, 2012 8:31 PM EST up reply actions

When I first read this

I kept reading “Goldust” instead of “Goldberg”. Made it a confusing article.

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by OPace on Feb 9, 2012 2:04 PM EST reply actions

I’m definitely a bigger fan of Regal than Goldberg, but you gotta hand it to Goldberg for staying professional and not leveling Regal here. Or maybe he didn’t out of respect for the fact that Regal would tool him.

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by FarmerInTheCity on Feb 9, 2012 2:32 PM EST reply actions

just another example of William Regal's awesomeness

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by 49erLou on Feb 9, 2012 4:56 PM EST reply actions

Can't recall exactly where, maybe in his book.

Anyway, Regal said that the goal was to add to the Goldberg character, take the match a bit further, give him some places he had to come back from, and then in the match, Goldberg just quit communicating with him, like he just froze up. So Regal took over and generalled it, but you can also see Regal didn’t look his best, so even if that’s accurate, it’s hard to move around a 280 pound guy who’s not playing ball.

Shit, not communicating in the ring is one of the worst things that can happen in match. Some guys can pull a Steamboat/Flair, but if you’ve not worked an opponent and you’re not familiar with his stuff, it can be a train wreck if you don’t talk in there.

by buzz_killr on Feb 9, 2012 6:28 PM EST reply actions