WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has revealed that The Rock had a great influence over fellow legend Goldberg during their run in WWE and even implied that he helped sign the former WCW Champion.
The Rock had just defeated “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIX and was gloating about his victory on Raw the next night to the WWE Universe.
However, he was soon interrupted by the incredible WWE debut of Goldberg, the WCW legend who had not been seen inside the ring in nearly 3 years.
He speared the Brahma Bull out of his shoes and made a huge statement to the fans of the WWE.
He went on the defeat The Rock at Backlash 2003. The Rock vs Goldberg was a dream match for so many people, although most would have preferred to see Austin take on Goldberg in a “bald, goateed wrestler” match up.
Nevertheless, the duo put on a fantastic main event match that set up Goldberg for a monster run as the top star in the WWE.
Jim Ross spoke on his podcast about how The Rock was a huge reason for Goldberg’s signing and run in the company.
He wanted to work with the former WCW Champion, which was a factor in “that whole negotiation” with Goldberg and was a huge influence on him during his run.
On his Grilling JR podcast, the AEW commentator said;
“Yeah, Rock had a great influence and impact in that whole negotiation, because he was a top guy.
He was The Rock, and anytime you can get, you know, anytime you can get the top guy to vouch for you and want to work with you at the biggest event of the year? How could it not make you feel pretty good?”
Goldberg would have a mixed run in the WWE after his match with the Rock. The bulk of his time was spent in a feud with Triple H over the World Heavyweight Championship.
He defeated the Game for the title but only after losing multiple times to the legend, harming his unbeatable aura and damaging his once impenetrable level of star power.
His last match before leaving was in 2004 when he defeated Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XX, in a bout that even Steve Austin as referee could not stop from being one of the worst matches in Wrestlemania history.
You can click below to read about the Texas Rattlesnake’s thoughts on the infamous match.