Real Name (Goldberg): Bill Goldberg
Biggest Fan: Joe Timmins
Other Aliases: Hercules Hernandez
Biggest Fan: John Rohner "He has a steel chain. He and Paul Roma beat the Rockers at Summerslam."
This tie for 89th place makes a lot of sense. In many ways, these two superstars are quite similar: both were big, powerful guys who would use their strength to batter opponents. They were fairly similar in size, Goldberg being just three inches taller and outweighing Hercules by nine kilos. Of course, when Herc was carrying his signature steel chain, he probably outweighed Goldberg by a healthy margin. Neither of these behemoths was big on talking, either. Yes, they had a lot in common. They did diverge, however, when you look at the types of careers each man had. Hercules had a solid twenty-year run as a professional wrestler, many of those years spent working with major promotions, after paying his dues on the independent circuit, of course. Goldberg, on the other hand, burst onto the scene with an unprecedented undefeated streak, fanfare and hoopla galore and no dues-paying to speak of. Goldberg's career barely lasted one-third of the time that Hercules' had, and his biggest success and popularity was primarily relegated to his first two years in the business.
In 1985, Hercules ditched the mask and went to join the WWF. He didn't arrive in time to compete in the first WrestleMania, but he did participate in WrestleMania 2, losing to Ricky Steamboat. It wasn't until Bobby Heenan began to manage Hercules that he received his biggest push. Hercules even had a shot at the WWF Heavyweight Title on a late-1986 Saturday Night's Main Event. He battled Hulk Hogan for six-and-a-half minutes before the champ eventually defeated him. Hercules continued to appear at all the biggest pay-per-views, the highlights would have to be defeating King Haku at WrestleMania V and lasting over forty minutes in the Royal Rumble match in 1991. Near the end of his WWF career, he formed a well-respected tag team with Paul Roma called Power & Glory. From 1992 on, Hercules wrestled mostly in independent promotions before retiring in 1999.
Goldberg was at the height of popularity at this time. Although his miraculous streak of 173 victories had been broken the previous year, Goldberg was still very much a force in WCW. He captured the WCW Tag Team Championship in tandem with the legendary Bret "Hitman" Hart, although their union was short-lived and during an ensuing feud, an errant Goldberg kick concussed the Hitman and effectively sent Hart into early retirement. Things didn't get much better after that, as WCW was sold to the WWF and Goldberg's contract kept him from competing there. When he eventually did arrive in the WWF, the shine was off the apple for Goldberg. He wasn't the most exciting thing in sports entertainment like he was in 1998, and his WWF tenure seemed like a grand opportunity gone to waste. By 2004, the former Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle retired from wrestling, focusing his talents on acting and color commentary.
Without a doubt, Bill Goldberg had an impact that few athletes have ever had on their sport. He dominated WCW like nobody had before, and he captured the attention of people outside of professional wrestling's normal audience. If his career hadn't been so disappointingly short, he likely could have been in the Top Ten on this list of superstars. As it stands, though, a special three years for Goldberg is roughly equal to a workmanlike two decades for Hercules who, sadly, died in 2004.
I think having a chain is as good a reason as any to like a wrestler.
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