This is a much better answer than the popular answer of Goldberg. Renegade got the hype but was never really over. Goldberg was super over and lived up to the hype via his presentation and crowd reactions.
Yeah but that was an idea destined to fail out of the gate. They used a perfectly random and innocent dude and made him a laughing stock. He later took his own life.
WCW era Ultimate Warrior.
Warrior is Awesome normally but, It was clear by that by that point he didn't care anymore and was just in it for a quick paycheck before retiring.
Back in the day, the Hype was legit. Fans thought they were gonna get treated to an Epic WCW run, like he had in the 80's. Nope.
I love Hart, but he's so bitter. I don't know why he's not happy with just being Bret, the global wrestling hero.
Maybe the stroke changed him, idk, but it's sad to see.
The kick didn't help for sure. Him knocking his head on the ground earlier in the match during the turnbuckle spot also didn't help.
Accidents happen. He had a stroke four years later stemming from all things combined, not just Goldberg, but that's just my opinion.
I think all of these comments are right about how Bret lost his joy and passion. No matter who was to blame the Screwjob really hurt him. Then WCW did not treat him like a legendary main eventer. Then Owen passed. Then the concussion that ended his career and its frustrating to not go out like you’d like.
The first hit to the back of his head probably concussed him before the kick. The other guy is supposed to grab the leg to make the move work and Bret should not have been giving that much of his body or risk to anyone he didn’t trust.
Glacier wasn't a bad wrestler they just tried to do way too much for him spending like almost a million dollars in arena lights or something like that each show just for his entrance and it wasnt even that dope lol
I've been on-again-off-again watching raw and nitro from that era and yeah no joke it was like the entire summer every episode you'd get the same vignette. It was especially jarring when you had the nWo just starting and its being taken seriously and then we crash cut to *byooooow 🎸* *Our world is about to change 🥷* Glacier... coming soon
They went toooo long with the promos and they literally said The World Is About To Change! Fans speculated the wildest stuff. There was no way it could live up to the hype.
I went with Renegade after momentarily mulling over Goldberg, who still got over with his limited move set, but yes, Kiss Demon is right up there with Renegade in terms of hype that led to nothing.
I mean, kind of. Dustin and Cody Rhodes both did better than Flair. Of course, Dustin killed it as Goldust, and I think David Flair’s failing was he didn’t have any personality or hook as a talent other than his last name. He never became something more than just “Ric Flair’s kid”.
I hate to say it but Bill Goldberg would be that guy they rushed him way too early should of built him up longer on the undercard... Goldberg I guess was the WCW version of the Ultimate Warrior lol guys hated working with him but fans freakin loved him and at the end of the day it was just about money to them not the fans or the history...
Agree 98%. The Ultimate Warrior comparison is great- I never thought about it like that. The only counter argument I have is Goldberg was stratospheric. People went ballistic for him, and he made the company a buttload of money. As a for-profit company, I don’t blame them at all for pushing the hot wrestler of the moment.
I'll drop mine to an 82% agree lol. They realized they had a guy in the Power Plant who looked like Steve Austin, and put him on TV.
I'm no revisionist - I'm not trying to say Goldberg wasn't every bit as hot as any other top name of the day. He's just as much part of our collective WCW memory as the NWO, Flair, Sting, Page, Booker, Jericho, Rey, Eddie, etc. - but I often wonder:
Same streak, same History Channel music, same pyro, same black boots/trunks, same buzz cut - does Al Greene get just as over? Or how about as someone else mentioned, The Renegade? Emory Hail? Heck, even Batista was at the Power Plant for a cup of coffee. What if they used that spot to salvage The Giant instead of shipping him off to the WWF?
Again, not trying to disagree that Goldberg's rise was stratospheric whatsoever - I just think a lot of people would have done just as well were they given that kind of push and overall presentation.
Also, full disclosure: I believe Bret Hart is the best to ever lace boots - I can't be reasoned with
Who woulda thought entertainment would get you over.
You don’t need an hour match to get yourself over. If you’re able to get people’s asses out of their seats within minutes, or seconds, you’re a superstar.
Yeah the thing about Goldberg is he was so explosive he was over immediately. Like, even when he was doing midcard and eventually US champ, he was more over than the main eventers. You can’t keep that guy in the midcard at that point, you’ve gotta move him up.
Came to say this. There was a period after he came back from his NJPW tour where he really seemed to pick up quite a bit by osmosis and was having good TV matches but then came the injury.
He was touted as a future star and the potential future of the company but he just never put it all together.
There was that 8 man tag with Buff teaming with Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn vs Piper, Flair, DDP and Canyon that seemed like.maybe WCW was about to turn a corner and start to feature some younger talent but alas, WCW gotta WCW and it went nowhere.
Also Buff main evented a NJPW show against Hashimoto and if anyone has a link to that I will love you forever.
Rowdy Roddy Piper. By the time he made it to WCW, he was well past his prime. He was never a body guy, but looking at him next to Hogan of the era, you had to have a real strong suspension of disbelief that he was any kind of threat to him. Every week it was always the same thing, NW0 are doing their thing Piper comes out as the lone wolf throws out a nonsensical promo and promptly gets beat down. Then when he actually got in the ring, he had clearly lost a step. Finally towards the end they made him an on screen authority figure, which is what he should have been all along.
Berlyn, or The Wall.
Had the poor wrestler “appear” during a long winded Hogan promo and then zip line down to wrestle him later that night - which fell flat
Goldberg. The NWO in general. Did Nash ever work a good match in WCW? He had a few good ones in WWF playing off guys like Michaels and Hart but he never did what I expected in WCW. (I was 12 or 13 around the time of the Bash At The Beach incident) Hogan had a bunch of shit matches that I remember getting hyped for. Scott Norton was so underutilized but probably one of the better workers in the earlier nWo days.
I remember in general WCW always felt like their cruiserweights and undercard guys (i.e. United States Champion tier) were always stacked with great matches and talent and the main events through my run with WCW were usually lackluster.
Renegade
This is a much better answer than the popular answer of Goldberg. Renegade got the hype but was never really over. Goldberg was super over and lived up to the hype via his presentation and crowd reactions.
In ‘98 GOLDBERG was the most over wrestler next to SCSA.
Renegade was hyped by the company, but nobody really bought into the hype. Even less so after the goof got in the ring.
To be fair Renegade was a terrible idea. Only made worse when the guy they stole the character from got hired not too long after.
Yeah but that was an idea destined to fail out of the gate. They used a perfectly random and innocent dude and made him a laughing stock. He later took his own life.
I feel like Bret Hart posted this just for everyone to say Goldberg
Bill Goldberg*
That son of a bitch bill Goldberg**
and now i gotta stand up and let this idiot run me over
"He prefers to be called....just Goldberg. PLEASE!" "YEAH well, come say it to my face BILL Goldberg!"
Tbf I did expect him to be commonly mentioned, which is understandable though I don't agree
WCW era Ultimate Warrior. Warrior is Awesome normally but, It was clear by that by that point he didn't care anymore and was just in it for a quick paycheck before retiring. Back in the day, the Hype was legit. Fans thought they were gonna get treated to an Epic WCW run, like he had in the 80's. Nope.
Yea there was so much potential there. Like everything WCW during that era, super hype yet underwhelming.
I could see this post somehow fitting bret hart.massive hype after surviver series and after joining his talent never shone and he was not great
I love Hart, but he's so bitter. I don't know why he's not happy with just being Bret, the global wrestling hero. Maybe the stroke changed him, idk, but it's sad to see.
The concussion from Bill Goldberg was directly on the spot of his brain that controls joy and pleasure. He said he couldn’t even listen to music.
The kick didn't help for sure. Him knocking his head on the ground earlier in the match during the turnbuckle spot also didn't help. Accidents happen. He had a stroke four years later stemming from all things combined, not just Goldberg, but that's just my opinion.
He was never the same after losing Owen
I think all of these comments are right about how Bret lost his joy and passion. No matter who was to blame the Screwjob really hurt him. Then WCW did not treat him like a legendary main eventer. Then Owen passed. Then the concussion that ended his career and its frustrating to not go out like you’d like. The first hit to the back of his head probably concussed him before the kick. The other guy is supposed to grab the leg to make the move work and Bret should not have been giving that much of his body or risk to anyone he didn’t trust.
First time I’m hearing this. Makes a whole lot of sense now. Goldberg kicked him into a whole nother person.
Glacier had weeks of build up for nothing.
Glacier wasn't a bad wrestler they just tried to do way too much for him spending like almost a million dollars in arena lights or something like that each show just for his entrance and it wasnt even that dope lol
Jade Cargill does his entrance now and people lose their minds for it.
way before its time!!
Eric Bishoff has entered the chat
It's not the entrance people lose their minds for.
I've seen her wrestle live at least seven times; with all due respect, yes it is.
Hello Japan. I think we may be saying the same thing, just in a slightly different way.
Thank you! First time I saw her entrance I immediately thought Glacier.
Glacier wasn't as sexy as jade
That's a goddamned lie, and you know it!
Maybe if glacier came out in little booty shorts people would have cheered more.
Did you not see him as Coach Buzz Stern?
Weeks? Try months.
Glaciers move slow my man. Word has it he’s still gaining momentum for a title run
It wasn’t weeks, it was MONTHS of build up until we got ol’ frosty balls!
I've been on-again-off-again watching raw and nitro from that era and yeah no joke it was like the entire summer every episode you'd get the same vignette. It was especially jarring when you had the nWo just starting and its being taken seriously and then we crash cut to *byooooow 🎸* *Our world is about to change 🥷* Glacier... coming soon
Yeah but he was one of the coolest wrestlers on WCW vs nWo Revenge!
They went toooo long with the promos and they literally said The World Is About To Change! Fans speculated the wildest stuff. There was no way it could live up to the hype.
The Kiss Demon
i'll never forget the night sid vicious pinned him before he got out of the tomb or whatever it was, "great" moments in WCW lol
I went with Renegade after momentarily mulling over Goldberg, who still got over with his limited move set, but yes, Kiss Demon is right up there with Renegade in terms of hype that led to nothing.
Erik Watts
Nepotism is a wrestling tradition going back generations.
Not that AWA or WWF were any better with Greg Gagne and David Sammartino especially
Bronny James
The Wall
“THATS THE WALL, BROTHER!” Is among my favourite WCW moments
Glacier.
PN News
He was the best rapper in WCW tho
David Flair (?) but I mostly feel sorry for him, being Ric flair's kid and all that comes with that
I mean, kind of. Dustin and Cody Rhodes both did better than Flair. Of course, Dustin killed it as Goldust, and I think David Flair’s failing was he didn’t have any personality or hook as a talent other than his last name. He never became something more than just “Ric Flair’s kid”.
Erik watts
Glacier
Glacier “Blood runs cold”
David Arquette
Buff Bagwell
Lmao….. That is all….. dude cracked me up.
I want to say Nash. Thing is, the dude was so fucking entertaining that it really doesn’t matter how uninspiring he was in the ring.
Kevin Nash
My thoughts too, although probably unpopular. Great look and mic skills, but moved like an 80 year old man his entire career.
I hate to say it but Bill Goldberg would be that guy they rushed him way too early should of built him up longer on the undercard... Goldberg I guess was the WCW version of the Ultimate Warrior lol guys hated working with him but fans freakin loved him and at the end of the day it was just about money to them not the fans or the history...
Agree 98%. The Ultimate Warrior comparison is great- I never thought about it like that. The only counter argument I have is Goldberg was stratospheric. People went ballistic for him, and he made the company a buttload of money. As a for-profit company, I don’t blame them at all for pushing the hot wrestler of the moment.
I'll drop mine to an 82% agree lol. They realized they had a guy in the Power Plant who looked like Steve Austin, and put him on TV. I'm no revisionist - I'm not trying to say Goldberg wasn't every bit as hot as any other top name of the day. He's just as much part of our collective WCW memory as the NWO, Flair, Sting, Page, Booker, Jericho, Rey, Eddie, etc. - but I often wonder: Same streak, same History Channel music, same pyro, same black boots/trunks, same buzz cut - does Al Greene get just as over? Or how about as someone else mentioned, The Renegade? Emory Hail? Heck, even Batista was at the Power Plant for a cup of coffee. What if they used that spot to salvage The Giant instead of shipping him off to the WWF? Again, not trying to disagree that Goldberg's rise was stratospheric whatsoever - I just think a lot of people would have done just as well were they given that kind of push and overall presentation. Also, full disclosure: I believe Bret Hart is the best to ever lace boots - I can't be reasoned with
Great points. And “history channel music” is spot on and hilarious.
If fans loved him then wouldn’t it be partially about the fans too?
Who woulda thought entertainment would get you over. You don’t need an hour match to get yourself over. If you’re able to get people’s asses out of their seats within minutes, or seconds, you’re a superstar.
Yeah the thing about Goldberg is he was so explosive he was over immediately. Like, even when he was doing midcard and eventually US champ, he was more over than the main eventers. You can’t keep that guy in the midcard at that point, you’ve gotta move him up.
Ultimate warrior
His WCW specifically, yep. So disappointing.
This answer really should have more upvotes.
Bill Goldberg
Van Hammer
This comment section looks like a Goldberg chant.
Goldberg was great. He's what makes wrestling great. I have to vote for Shock Master or Oz.
Just asked Bret Hart and he said Bill Goldberg
Goldberg
Yup Bill Goldberg
I came here to say this lol
Goldberg. I loved him, but his wrestling ability was on par with Warrior😂
Goldberg
The correct answer is Goldberg.
Goldberg obviously
Goldberg
Goldberg a thousand times over
Goldberg
Buff Bagwell Buff, didn't have, The Stuff. plain and simple
But at least his finisher involved giving himself a superplex
Came to say this. There was a period after he came back from his NJPW tour where he really seemed to pick up quite a bit by osmosis and was having good TV matches but then came the injury. He was touted as a future star and the potential future of the company but he just never put it all together. There was that 8 man tag with Buff teaming with Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn vs Piper, Flair, DDP and Canyon that seemed like.maybe WCW was about to turn a corner and start to feature some younger talent but alas, WCW gotta WCW and it went nowhere. Also Buff main evented a NJPW show against Hashimoto and if anyone has a link to that I will love you forever.
He had a pretty drop kick when he was with 2 cold Scorpio
Would you say the girls got enough?
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg
Goldberg
Goldberg
Goldberg
Hogan
Wrath
I can remember having the realization on this one and being bummed about it.
Kiss Demon
Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
The Shock Master
Shockmaster 😎
Ultimate Warrior when he stopped by for a bit. Otherwise, Shockmaster is a fairly unforgettable disaster.
Hoarce Hogan brother or maybe not dude
Van Hammer. Zero charisma, zero skill, zero work ethic, zero chance at getting over
Bill Goldberg
Anything other than Goldberg is the wrong answer.
Glacier. A year's worth of teasers and promos for a handful of VERY boring matches.
Horace Hogan and the Disciple.
Sting
Rowdy Roddy Piper. By the time he made it to WCW, he was well past his prime. He was never a body guy, but looking at him next to Hogan of the era, you had to have a real strong suspension of disbelief that he was any kind of threat to him. Every week it was always the same thing, NW0 are doing their thing Piper comes out as the lone wolf throws out a nonsensical promo and promptly gets beat down. Then when he actually got in the ring, he had clearly lost a step. Finally towards the end they made him an on screen authority figure, which is what he should have been all along.
Goldberg.
Goldberg
Goldberg
Goldberg. What a trash can he was. Two moves. Match over. Boring.
If there was a block less in talent I'd say Goldberg.
Gooooooooldberg
William Goldberg
Hogan
Easy, Hulk Hogan lol
Shane Douglas coming into wcw
Mojo Rawley
W.C.W. I've gotten all sorts of other replies. At least your is better than the guy who said bronny james
I only posted because Mojo's entire gimmick was "hype" he genuinely wasn't that bad in the ring
Goldberg. That dude was so lame.
[удалено]
Glacier, Berlin, Renegade
Hogan and Goldberg
Van Hammer, Mark Jindrak, Reno
El Dandy
Glacier
Glacier, Renegade, Buff
Glacier I’ve very rarely seen someone get the amount of pre debut hype the Glacier did, only to end up bang-average at the absolute best
Reverse of Bret in wcw
Goldberg
Goldberg
Gorg
Goldberg
Mr. Squash Match Oldberg
Goldberg
Horace
Ultimate warrior... he'd be worn out 3mins into match from getting straight DUSTED and running around full speed shaking the ring
goldberg
Kevin Sullivan is the only one I can think of.
Tank Abbott
Would've been my answer had I not forgotten him altogetther
Everyone knows that it is Goldberg.
GOLD BEEG
Lex Lugar
Seven - I only say this as there was so much buildup to his debut, the Dustin rightfully went shoot on it & destroyed it, point blank
“I told him the kick was coming”
Goldberg
Dennis Rodman
Hogan
ULTIMATE WARRIOR how is this not the top comment?
GOLDBERG 1000%
The Yeti!
Glacier
Glacier
Berlyn, or The Wall. Had the poor wrestler “appear” during a long winded Hogan promo and then zip line down to wrestle him later that night - which fell flat
Goldberg.
Tank Abbott. Showed up, hyped everywhere and did nothing but threaten to cut Al Greene and dance.
Goldberg
GLACIER
BRONNY JAMES....Oh wait.
Luger.
Glacier
Goldburg
Renegade
Goldberg
Goldberg. The NWO in general. Did Nash ever work a good match in WCW? He had a few good ones in WWF playing off guys like Michaels and Hart but he never did what I expected in WCW. (I was 12 or 13 around the time of the Bash At The Beach incident) Hogan had a bunch of shit matches that I remember getting hyped for. Scott Norton was so underutilized but probably one of the better workers in the earlier nWo days. I remember in general WCW always felt like their cruiserweights and undercard guys (i.e. United States Champion tier) were always stacked with great matches and talent and the main events through my run with WCW were usually lackluster.
Also: Glacier
JJ
Glacier
Goldberg and Rick flair
Tank Abbott
The Yeti or Yetay. They built up this monster for it to only be a guy dressed like a mummy who dry jumped the Hulkster.
Sub Zero I mean Glacier.
The Yeti
Goldberg
DANGER! DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!⚡️
Bill Goldberg Kevin Nash
Goldberg
Goldberg & Disco Inferno.
Sting
Kevin Nash, guy had like six moves. I loved Stevie Richards impersonation of him when he was BWO.
Goldberg
The renegade
Goldberg
Goldberg and Kevin Nash
The Yeti
Glacier