The 2018 Hall of Fame class was rounded out and the first man who was announced and the first inductee this year is Bill Goldberg. Of all the inductees this year, Goldberg was the last one to be in a WWE ring full-time, having left after WrestleMania 33. While he did start his career in 1997 with WCW and “retired” after WrestleMania 33, Goldberg has barely ten years under his belt as an active wrestler, nine with WCW/WWE and a stint with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Despite a rather short career, Goldberg’s name will forever be known by the hardcore fans of wrestling. After a stint in football playing with the University of Georgia, LA Rams, and Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg turned to pro wrestling after he couldn’t physically compete at a high level in professional football. He started in WCW and went on a historic 173 win streak; the streak has since been broken by Asuka. He is a WCW Triple Crown Champion, a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and former WWE Universal Champion.
As a Hall of Fame inductee, Goldberg will be inducted by someone who has had great meaning to his career. There is a list of possible people who match this requirement, but the rumors surrounding Goldberg is someone that very few would consider.
Paul Heyman
That is correct, fans. The advocate, voice, and manager of the current and longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is said to be the one to put Goldberg into the Hall of Fame. Heyman did cross paths with Goldberg, being a middle man between Goldberg and Lesnar during their feud that led up to their title match at WrestleMania 33, which Lesnar won. Heyman was the one to issue the challenge against Brock to Goldberg and the person who helped carry the feud. However, it is still a surprise that Heyman is the current front-runner. He and Goldberg only crossed-paths with for a limited time during the Lesnar angle, although it was memorable. He did suffer a spear from Goldberg at one point.
Sting
The Icon himself, Sting, was one of the people who talked Goldberg to first get interested in pro wrestling. At the time, Bill was heavy in MMA and powerlifting. In addition, Goldberg defeated Sting in a WCW Heavyweight Championship match, even though he wasn’t rewarded the title. As a very influential figure in all of pro wrestling and a fellow WWE Hall of Famer, Sting inducting Goldberg would be a high praise. He played a very vital role in making Goldberg’s career a reality. Regardless of this, he and Goldberg barely competed against each other.
Diamond Dallas Page
Goldberg once said that his favorite match in his entire career was against DDP: Diamond Dallas Page. Goldberg defeated Hulk Hogan for his first WCW Heavyweight Championship and Page was next up as a contender for the title. He was not successful in his first title match, but put on quite a show, as it voted “Match of the Year” in WCW Wrestling magazine. He is a personal close friend with Goldberg in real life and would be a sentimental choice to induct Goldberg.
Brock Lesnar
This seems like an obvious choice at first look. During his first short stint in WWE, he feuded with the likes of The Rock, Chris Jericho, and Triple H; quite a list of Hall of Fame talent. None of them touch Goldberg’s first encounter with Brock Lesnar. When the young bull boasted that he could beat anyone in the world: enter Goldberg to answer. Their feud started to escalate when at the 2004 Royal Rumble, Lesnar cost Goldberg the Rumble match even though Goldberg was quite dominate and the favorite. The two bruisers would trade blows over the next few months, which would ultimately end at WrestleMania XX. The two of them were set to leave WWE and everyone was watching closely. Goldberg was victorious over Lesnar and they seemed to end their rivalry forever. That was until Goldberg started a social media war with Lesnar nearly 12 years later when Goldberg was announced as a special DLC player on the WWE 2K17 video game. When Paul Heyman finally called out Goldberg to return and put actions to his big words, he finally returned to WWE. Their first match since WM XX was at Survivor Series and was heavily built up. Goldberg absolutely destroyed Lesnar in a remarkable one minute and twenty-six seconds. Their next match was selected to be at WrestleMania 33, the best stage to end their rivalry again. Lesnar beat Goldberg, fixing the one blemish on Lesnar’s resume.
Out of all the possible options, Lesnar makes sense to be the one to cement Goldberg’s legacy since he was a huge part of each stage of his career. Sadly, there is something that prevents this and it is the one thing that has devalued Lesnar’s championship reign: his strict schedule. Lesnar has been even more strict on his appearances as of late and is talking about a move back to UFC after WrestleMania 34. It is not likely that Lesnar will make an additional appearance to talk up Goldberg. This actually makes Heyman a good second choice, who is pretty much the voice of Lesnar. It is still a surprising choice, but in the end, makes sense. There is no official word on whether or not Heyman will be the person to induct, but whoever is chosen will be hosting one of the most fierce competitors to compete in WCW/WWE.
