ROUND ONE: Stone Cold Steve Austin (1) vs. Goldberg (8)

[Everlong]

The Ultimate Wrestler Tournament
ROUND ONE: Stone Cold Steve Austin (1) vs. Goldberg (8)

We get things started off with two people who were at the forefront of the Monday Night Wars in the 90s... Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bill Goldberg.



Stone Cold's star power is legendary, and he nearly single-handedly made wrestling "cool" again after some low points for the WWF in the mid-90s. An underrated ring worker who put the "Attitude" in Attitude Era.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*WWF Championship (x6)
*WWF Intercontinental Championship (x2)
*WWF Tag Team Championship (x4)
*King of the Ring (1996)
*Royal Rumble Winner (x3, a record)
*Triple Crown Champion
*WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009
*2x 5 Star Match by Wrestling Observer

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT





Goldberg became WCW's response to Austin mania. His streak of victories in WCW is the stuff of legend, and the slow build that the company used with him made him into one of the company's biggest stars at the time.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*WCW World Heavyweight Championship (x1)
*WWE World Heavyweight Championship (x1)
*WCW United States Championship (x2)
*WCW World Tag Team Championship (x1)
*Triple Crown Champion

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT



VOTE NOW and be sure to give your reasons!

[prophet]

Later on in the tournament I'll be sure to go into detail and thoroughly explain each choice I make but being honest in a few of the Round 1's I don't think I even need too.

I vote Austin as he was the better wrestler, better talker, bigger icon, did more for the business etc...

[Everlong]

Later on in the tournament I'll be sure to go into detail and thoroughly explain each choice I make but being honest in a few of the Round 1's I don't think I even need too.

I vote Austin as he was the better wrestler, better talker, bigger icon, did more for the business etc...

Yeah, really not much that can be said about this one. I think Goldberg gets a little too much crap by fans these days who mostly remember his WWE run -- he's definitely underrated in terms of his star power and what he did for WCW, even as the rest of the company was beginning to fall apart. But Austin was basically better in every category, and Goldberg will always kind of be thought of as a poor man's Stone Cold.

[Tom]

Goldberg was awesome. Anybody who shits on him are people who have probably never seen him during his WCW days. When I watched WCW during 1997/1998, his stuff was always a part of the show I looked forward to. I could remember thinking at the time that I couldn't wait for him to get in the ring with Hogan and kick his ass

In terms of character creation, WWE could only wish that they could do it as well as WCW did with Goldberg. Everything fit with him, his entrance, his music, his impact moveset, his catchphrase. He had a memorable finisher, and a move that set that one up as well. His character may not have worked today but back then it just clicked. Goldberg truly was one of the stars of WCW and the main breakthrough superstar that they put forward during then Monday Night Wars. Pity they ended up screwing it up.

Like everyone else though, I cannot look past Austin. He really was the driving force that helped WWE get back on top of their domestic market and related with so many fans. I don't really wanna say much about him because I think I will need to showcase it further in the later rounds, and I don't really want to bore people. But in my opinion, Austin wins this because he had more classic matches, participated in more standout feuds and appealed to me and fans for a much longer period than Goldberg!

[ShaneOfan]

Austin because he is Austin

[KaiserGlider]

I feel bad for Goldy. I think he could have gotten to Round 2 but getting paired up with Austin here gives him no chance to survive. And LOL at Tim posting the limo destroying segment. That's the one Goldberg botched and ended up breaking his hand and putting himself on the shelf.

[Everlong]

I feel bad for Goldy. I think he could have gotten to Round 2 but getting paired up with Austin here gives him no chance to survive. And LOL at Tim posting the limo destroying segment. That's the one Goldberg botched and ended up breaking his hand and putting himself on the shelf.

It was just luck of the draw really, Goldberg was the last person in the tournament and Austin was the top vote getter. That meant they were to get paired up together in the first round.

But really, I don't think Goldberg beats any of the top seeds.

[Viazon]

Austin. I was never really into WCW and I'm sure Goldberg was great for them, but Austin is one of the very best. Had it all. Could put on a great match and have the mic skills to boot. Not to mention he basically saved the WWE.

[The Legend]

This is clearly Austin's win to take. Goldberg was great in the role he was placed in and the opportunity he was given. But he was largely built because of booking and because of a streak that he was given to make seem important. Austin was so immensely talented that no matter what he was doing and what gimmick he was in if you listen to people who knew him in the early days they all knew he would get himself over in a major way and would refuse to not be a star. There's the huge difference.

[AkydefGoldberg]

Even though Goldberg gets a mention in my username, I'd say Austin.

Goldberg had, tbf to him, a very good package. Good look,theme music, that aura about him especially in WCW but despite his WWE run being under-whelming, he had a good run in the business.

But yeah Austin wins this one. One of the biggest stars ever.

[SortaCreative]

This is quite one sided.

[Ace]

Goldberg will always be one of my favorites. He had an awesome aura/charisma about him. Awesome in-ring action with lots of martial arts/high impact moves. Goldberg was the WCW's response to WWE's Austin & he worked for them. Coming to the WWE wasn't a good idea because they already had plans & superstars they were already pushing (Triple H) so Goldberg got the shit end.

That being said Austin is/was the WWE. He escalated the WWF into an era of smash-mouth/beat em up wrestling that to this day is considered the best era for professional wrestling. Austin has had awesome feuds with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Triple H & definitely the Rock. Austin was even awesome as a heel.

Austin wins this one...

[Cena54]

ok see this is a tough one for me because these guys were both true blue ass kickers, and stone Cold is one of the best ever. But Goldberg had the most DEVESTATING spear and i think he may be able to beat up stone cold IRL. But all in all I gotta give this one to austin, because he was the toughest SOB in the business.

[Str8Shooter]

No doubt Austin wins. But it's bad luck as hell that Goldberg drew Austin.

I'm gonna give Goldberg some love though since he's toast after this. I don't think people who started watching wrestling after 1999 have any clue at just how big Goldberg was in his prime. He was literally, no joke, neck and neck with Stone Cold during 1998 as the absolute BIGGEST thing in all of wrestling, during a ridiculously hot period in the industry. I remember people at school during that time talking about how awesome an Austin vs Goldberg match would have been.

Goldberg's streak and his meteoric rise to the top can possibly only be rivaled by Brock Lesnar and maybe Kurt Angle. Go watch Goldberg vs Raven from Nitro for the US title and Goldberg vs Hogan on Nitro for the World title and you'll see just how massively over he was.

So yeah, Goldberg is underrated by many people now days who didn't get a chance to see him at his peak and mainly remember his WWE run and mess with Brock at Mania.

[JDD]

No need to go into that much depth here. I like Goldberg, but Austins going far in this tournament. He gets the vote.

[VaderBomb]

Goldberg is nowhere near as good as Steve Austin.

[Hanley!]

I'm glad to see some people giving Goldberg some love. I didn't end up nominating him, as I knew he'd go out in the first round regardless. And it's probable that he wouldn't have made my top 20 regardless. But he is really underrated by a lot of people nowadays.

The brief WWE run, and even more so WWE's propaganda over the years, have somewhat diminished what Goldberg did back in WCW. The guy was one of the biggest wrestling draws of all time back in those days. And while the booking had an awful lot to do with that, the performer did a lot of the work too. Goldberg had a great presence about him - probably even more so than Austin. And while he wasn't a technical mastermind in the ring, he was in some good matches and hit his big moves well. His spear looked immense, the Jackhammer was a great finisher. He had an intensity about him that you rarely see these days.

That being said, he's up against Austin. A man who had an even better career, who was an even bigger draw, who was much better in the ring and an even more memorable personality. Austin was probably going to steamroll over whoever he faced in the first round, but it's appropriate that it ended up being Goldberg. There was a time when people wondered which of them would become the biggest name in the industry and that's a battle that Austin deservedly won.

[Daz]

I'll give Goldberg all the credit in the world, he came into WCW as an unpolished worker and by virtue of being an absolute beast he became one of the biggest stars in the industry. Austin, you just can't go against really. The guy proved to be a great tag team wrestler alongside Brian Pillman, he showed he can be a great talker in ECW, he was a great mechanic (yeah, I listen to the podcast ... could you tell?) in the mid-card during the early days of his WWE run and then went on to become one of the most significant characters/performers the WWE ever had.