WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg has had several classic, albeit short, matches in his career. His trilogy of matches with Brock Lesnar in WWE started off rough, but recovered with a shocking upset at Survivor Series 2016, and ended with their explosive final battle at WrestleMania 33. On "Something to Wrestle," fellow WWE Hall of Famer JBL looked back on the disastrous first encounter between Goldberg and Lesnar at WrestleMania 20 in 2004.
"This was one of the most brutal things I've ever seen. I watched the whole thing, and I remember sitting backstage and I remember thinking, 'This could be bad,' I had no idea it would be that bad. I mean, we thought 'this could be bad,' but we had no idea it would be that bad," JBL said laughingly.
Goldberg and Lesnar's inter-promotional dream match was tainted when news broke that both men would be leaving WWE following the match, angering the New York City crowd that they turned on the match, booing and taunting the megastars. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as special guest referee could not save the match but delivering a Stunner to each man post-match was the saving grace.
"The fans 100% s*** on it (laughs). It was unbelievable, there was zero they could have done to- anything; you could go 30 seconds, you could go 30 minutes, you could go 30 hours, it ain't gonna matter," JBL remarked. "There was no winning that night in the Garden."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Something to Wrestle" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
