Goldberg is one of the most dominant wrestlers in history. A man whose explosive in ring style inspired a generation and helped WCW to win the ratings war against WWE for a record 83 weeks. With him out with a horrendous arm injury for a long period, his absence turned the tide of the war and eventually caused WCW to go under.
His dominance in WCW made him one of the most popular stars in that era. He won 173 consecutive matches (Well, not really but go with it) en route to beating Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship before losing it all in his first loss ever.
There are only a select few wrestlers who can boast beating the legend himself – but which wrestlers beat Goldberg?
Wrestlers Who Beat Goldberg
In his legendary run in WCW, WWE and in Japan, only 10 different men can claim to have victories over Bill Goldberg. This is an astonishing list of so few men that have beaten him in singles matches that it is hard to believe – yet it is true. From his debut in 1997 against Hugh Morris on WCW Nitro all the way to his final match (so far?) against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2022, 10 superstars have managed to defeat Goldberg. Just stepping into the ring with him and living to tell the tale is one thing, but to actually hear the referee count to three and raise their arm is a sight to behold.
Ten wrestlers beat Goldberg during his career in one-on-one matches, on television or pay per view. These include former WWE Champions, Hall of Famers and potentially the greatest British wrestler of all time. Here is all the wrestlers that have defeated Goldberg in his career;
- Kevin Nash
- Bret Hart
- Booker T
- Scott Steiner
- Brock Lesnar
- The Undertaker
- Braun Strowman
- Drew McIntyre
- Bobby Lashley
- Roman Reigns
Goldberg’s first loss came a year into his career, at the end of his legendary 178-0 win streak. He fell to Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998, losing the WCW Championship after Scott Hall shocked him with a cattle prod to cost him the match. This was his first lost ever on TV/PPV and greatly reduced the appeal of Goldberg to the average WCW fan.
His next match would place in the next year, where he would be defeat back to back to back by Bret Hart. Their second encounter, at Starrcade 1999, was where Goldberg kicked Bret Hart in the head an eventually ended his career. Bret Hart would defeat him for the both the WCW United States and World Championships.
It would be the next year before he would lose again. To everyone’s surprise, Booker T defeated Goldberg on the July 24, 2000, episode of Monday Nitro, thanks to interference from Jeff Jarrett and Ernest Miller, as well as Booker T’s brother Stevie Ray. In the match, Booker T defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
His final singles loss in WCW came at Fall Brawl 2000. Goldberg and Scott Steiner faced each other in a No Disqualification match, which for some reason featured interference from Vince Russo. In a brutal battle, the bout ended with Scott Steiner winning the match after 13 intense minutes in one of his best singles performances in WCW.
In 2001, WCW went under and was purchased by WWE. Due to his two year, multi-million dollar deal still being paid by Turner, Goldberg sat out the wrestling world for two years before debuting after Wrestlemania 19, confronting The Rock. He wrestled for the next year, winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H and his only losses being in multi-man matches.
His first singles WWE lost would shockingly come over a decade after his debut. 13 years after he beat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemanai XX, in his last match in WWE, he lost to The Beast during an incredible bout at Wrestlemania 33. Brock Lesnar beat Goldberg in a short yet explosive match that brought fans back onto both men’s side and avenged Lesnar’s two losses he suffered from Goldberg already.
Goldberg’s next loss would come soon after, against The Undertaker. A match with The Deadman had been a dream match for many years and the fans had been so excited by the tease at the Royal Rumble in 2017 that they simply had to book it. It took place in Saudi Arabia in 2019 at WWE Super Showdown 2019. Unfortunately, it was one of the worst WWE matches ever and an embarrassment for everyone involved. You can read more about the dreadful match here.
He would then suffer four losses against current WWE superstars that were long overdue. He lost to Braun Strowman at Wrestlemania 36 for the Universal Championship, following him failing to defeat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the 2021 Royal Rumble.
He next faced defeat against Bobby Lashley at Summerslam 2021, in a dream match that rather disappointed. If it was ten years prior then it could have been great, but Goldberg was older and slow which just made this one sad.
Goldberg’s final defeat (in maybe he last match ever) took place once again in Saudi Arabia. He wrestled Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2022, in a bid to win another world title in WWE. Roman Reigns beat Goldberg with a spear – a move the former WCW Champion was said to invent – to end his career with a sense of irony and to retain his World Championship.
Goldberg is rumoured to be still under contract with WWE and could wrestle again. However, he is 55 years of age and already part of the WWE Hall of Fame, so it is very likely he has quietly retired and will never wrestle again, especially after so many losses.
Goldberg didn’t sit out entirely for the two years while Turner fulfilled his contract, he also wrestled in Japan in 2002 and 2003
That’s right