WWE News: Bill Goldberg Says UFC Influenced His Style

Bill Goldberg was one of the biggest stars in WCW when they were on top of the world during the Monday Night Wars. He was easily the second most popular star behind only Sting when he was on his undefeated streak. The Ringer spoke with Goldberg about his career in wrestling and the former WCW and WWE world champion said that he patterned his entire style after the UFC style of fighting.

It is an interesting situation because, at that time, the UFC was still in its infancy. It wasn’t until later that former UFC champion Ken Shamrock brought the style to the WWE, but before that, it was Goldberg using his knee strikes and blows to beat down his opponents.

Goldberg used that MMA style to beat his opponents into a weakened state so he could hit his spear and jackhammer finishing move to win his matches, many of which he won in under two minutes. Goldberg said that he got his idea for the fighting style thanks to a gym he owned that many popular UFC stars worked out at.

“I knew that the UFC and that mixed martial arts in general was going to prosper because I was extremely selfish and cocky, and I thought: ‘Hey, if I like it, everyone’s gonna like it.’ Well, it came to fruition, and I chose a character that was not a far departure from myself at all.”

Bill Goldberg listed UFC legends like Don Frye, Tank Abbott, and Randy Couture as names that worked out at his gym and influenced him when patterning his career. Goldberg also said that he felt he needed to be different to succeed in wrestling, calling himself a performer and not an entertainer.

Bill Goldberg started out as a football player, something he said that he was born into. However, his NFL career ended and he knew that he needed to find something new. Thanks to the UFC fighters that he met and watched, he realized that he could turn himself into a star in professional wrestling using that unique UFC style.

It isn’t so unusual now. CM Punk used the MMA striking style in his matches and he is now preparing to make his UFC debut. Brock Lesnar went from the WWE to the UFC and held the world titles for both companies. Now that Lesnar is back in the WWE, one has to wonder about a rematch between Goldberg and Lesnar.

Fans might remember that last match for Bill Goldberg in the WWE. Brock Lesnar was leaving the WWE for a shot in the NFL and Goldberg was retiring. The fans hated the WrestleMania match and the only thing that saved it was when Stone Cold Steve Austin dropped both men with Stunners after it ended.

While Goldberg’s wrestling career crashed when he finished up his WWE run, he said that there is still a respect for him. Bill Goldberg even said that many UFC fighters still respect professional wrestlers, even as many fans of the UFC dismiss the WWE.

“All those guys wanna be us. All the fighters wanna be in professional wrestling, I don’t care what they say. There’s a huge parallel in it and they [the MMA fighters] very much appreciate those guys [the pro wrestlers] and conversely we very much appreciate what they do. Those are the real tough guys, all we do is act like we’re doing it sometimes.”

Now that many wrestlers implement the UFC style in WWE matches, Bill Goldberg should fit right in if he wanted to return. Even Undertaker uses MMA holds and strikes in his matches.

With 411mania reporting that Goldberg would like to wrestle more matches possibly in the future, he might find a spot similar to that of Brock Lesnar if he decides to make one last run . There is still a chance that Bill Goldberg could go out on top this time around in the WWE.

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