‘Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions: Goldberg’ Review (WWE Network Original)
After The Undertaker episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions it was going to take a big name to follow that, and, for me, they didn’t follow it. I guess my thoughts on that come from the fact that I’ve never been a Goldberg fan. I watched WWF back when WCW was running and Goldberg was on top, and when he was in WWE I never really wanted to see him wrestle. Still, he’s a huge name from the history of wrestling, so I get it. He’s still popular, as can be seen anytime he appears in WWE, so this episode is likely one many people we’re happy to see. Austin has a way about him as an interviewer, bringing stories around to his personal experiences, comparing his career and life to those of his guests, and it helps the conversation feel casual and smooth (unless he’s talking to Jon Moxley, but let’s not talk about that).
Goldberg has had an interesting life, from his time growing up as a fan of pro-wrestling as a kid to his days playing football and his passion for it, signing with the L.A. Rams and Atlanta Falcons, and what caused him to end his career in football and walk into the world of wrestling. It’s always interesting to hear wrestlers talk about how they got into the business, and hearing Goldberg talk about meeting DDP, Sting and The Steiners at a gym, leading to him being a part of WCW’s training centre, the Power Plant, where he was trained by DeWayne “Sarge” Bruce. The rest, they say, is history.
Speaking about his WCW run, from his dark matches as “Bill Gold” to him running through guy after guy each week, building up a streak and becoming one of the biggest stars in wrestling in the late 90s and early 00s, Goldberg revealed his thoughts on his time there, his opinions on his ring-style, and many of the people he worked with. They covered his WCW Title win against Hogan on Nitro and his first loss in WCW to Kevin Nash, among other things, before moving on to his initial run in WWE. I remember his debut in WWE, which was greeted by a thunderous ovation at the time, and how it fizzled out as he never found his footing in a land of mega-stars like The Rock, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and Triple H. They talk about the controversial and heated match at WrestleMania XX between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, which was refereed by Austin. It was interesting to hear Goldberg’s thoughts on the match and the volatile reaction from the fans who knew that both Lesnar and Goldberg were on their way out of the company.
Goldberg talks about his family, his son, how his life changed due to his family. He goes on to discuss his second, and most recent, run in WWE, the doubt and lack of confidence that he had when he first got back into the ring on RAW, and the matches he had with Brock Lesnar.
Overall, this was an interesting episode and they covered a lot of ground. I don’t think Goldberg comes off in the best way sometimes, but I still had fun hearing his stories about his time in WCW and WWE and his opinions on certain people he’s worked with. It’s an interview well worth checking out if you’re a Goldberg fan or merely enjoy hearing about life in the wrestling business.
Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions is available to watch now on WWE Network.
