(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page – WCW Halloween Havoc ’98

Ah, Goldberg, the textbook definition of “it was fun while it lasted” in pro-wrestling.

Goldberg was such an incredible success story that his run is still talked about to this day. Despite having wrestling skills ranging from passable at best to non-existent at worst (depending on one’s point of view), Goldberg is still considered a legend by many current and lapsed wrestling fans. He was so successful that not only did WWE try to mock him with parody character (that failed and only made him an even bigger star) but many wrestling companies tried to replicate his success, only to fail, be met with deafening “Goldberg” chants, or both.

But when it came to the few non-squash matches in his career, was Goldberg any good? Read on to find out.

Previously I was writing for a site called TJR Wrestling and now this series is coming to Blog of Doom. For now you can check out the series in its entirety here.

The story

This is literally the simplest story in wrestling: Goldberg never lost and won all of his matches decisively. By 1997 pretty much everyone over the age of ten knew that wrestling was scripted, but there was something special in seeing a guy come out, wreck people without breaking a sweat, and then leave. Goldberg didn’t need to play a character, dress up, or even talk to get over; all he had to do was win. And who couldn’t identify with that kind of person?

Over time Goldberg racked up win after win. His first televised win took place on September 22, 1997 and from there he went on one of the most famous undefeated streaks in modern wrestling history. Though it has been subject to embellishment and dispute many times, it’s widely believed that, in the end, Goldberg won 156 consecutive matches…including this one.

DDP won the main event of the 1998 WarGames event to earn a world title shot against Goldberg. In doing so, DDP hoped to do what so many people tried to do but failed and that’s beat Goldberg. Sting couldn’t do it. Scott Hall couldn’t do it. Konnan couldn’t do it. The Giant couldn’t do it. Curt Hennig couldn’t do it. Not even Hulk Hogan could do it. Few people believed that Goldberg would lose to DDP here, but enough of them were present in the arena at Halloween Havoc to believe that maybe, just maybe, DDP was the guy to end Goldberg’s streak.

The match

This match took place on October 25, 1998. It was rated ***1/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

After some trash-talking DDP rushes Goldberg and tries locking up with him but Goldberg out-powers him each time. DDP lands an armdrag but Goldberg bounces right up and locks-up so tightly that both men fall through the ropes. The referee separates them at ringside and forces them back into the ring as the fans chant for Goldberg. Goldberg powers out of a headlock, does a backflip, and no-sells a leg sweep. He follows with a shoulder throw into a cross armbreaker but DDP gets a ropebreak. DDP hits a jawbreaker followed by some shoulder thrusts but Goldberg can be seen absorbing them like they’re nothing. DDP tries the Diamond Cutter but Goldberg shoves him forward sending him to the floor.

DDP returns to the ring after a breather and locks-up, at which point Goldberg starts working an arm. DDP shows off some chain wrestling but Goldberg shoots him off and shoulderblocks him to the floor again. With Goldberg it’s literally running into a wall and the wall knocking you back. frustrated, DDP hotshots Goldberg on the top rope and hits a swinging neckbreaker. A Russian legsweep gets DDP a two-count so he applies a front chancery that goes on for a bit until Goldberg twists his way out.

DDP goes for a spear but Goldberg catches his head and lands a neck lock suplex. A sidewalks slam gets Goldberg a two-count so he goes back to DDP’s arm. DDP gets a ropebreak to escape another cross armbreaker and then counters a sidewalk slam with a headscissor. Goldberg answers with a side kick and charges for a spear but DDP sidesteps Goldberg hits the ringpost shoulder-first and falls to the floor.

Goldberg’s slow to return to the ring but when he does DDP hits a diving clothesline for a two-count and then counters a hiptoss with a DDT. DDP motions for the Diamond Cutter but Goldberg hits first with a spear. Goldberg struggles to setup the Jackhammer but tries anyway because he’s Goldberg. He tries lifting DDP up but can’t and so DDP counters into a successful Diamond Cutter. Both men collapse but DDP eventually crawls over and only gets a two-count. DDP tries a suplex of his own but Goldberg counters with a successful Jackhammer for the three-count to retain his title.

Winner and STILL WCW World Heavyweight Champion after 10:28: Goldberg

Review

This match has long been heralded as Goldberg’s best match and it isn’t hard to see why. It was longer and far more competitive than most Goldberg matches thanks to an incredible effort from DDP. DDP worked his ass off to not only make Goldberg look great but also have a competitive match that didn’t diminish Goldberg’s aura.

That isn’t an easy thing to do; all too often wrestlers fall into the false notion that a longer and more even match is automatically a better one. That doesn’t work for some wrestlers and especially not Goldberg, whose entire shtick was that he brushed off attacks and hit out of nowhere with explosive force. DDP didn’t do anything to contradict Goldberg’s gimmick or weaken it; instead, he worked within the parameters of the story and built things around Goldberg’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s no wonder the match was such a success: Goldberg looked like he might lose for a few seconds, but that was due to DDP taking advantage of Goldberg’s own momentum blowing up in his face.

Not only that but DDP actually looked good in losing, unlike most of Goldberg’s other victims. It took more effort than usual for Goldberg to put DDP away and for much of the match DDP stayed in lockstep with Goldberg no matter what the champion threw at him. He even came pretty close to winning after that gorgeous Diamond Cutter counter which got a huge pop from the crowd. Some people clearly wanted to see DDP win and held onto feint hope, even as DDP’s last chances dissipated once Goldberg overcame his damaged shoulder and landed the Jackhammer. So even though DDP was sent in against WCW’s monster here, he wasn’t fed to the monster.

Final Rating: ***3/4

This match encapsulates why Goldberg was so thrilling to watch. Even though he was far from the smoothest most technically adept wrestler, he compensated for these shortcomings by hitting hard, focusing on what he did best, and building this aura of craziness and destruction. He did unexpected things as a wrestler that showed he wasn’t just a one-trick pony that didn’t leave his feet. Those things kept DDP on edge and forced him to try and short-cut he could, yet he never came off as a clear-cut “heel”. Both men were equally loved here and some people would’ve been happy with a title change. They didn’t get that, yet they left with a solid and entertaining match all the same.

This was ten minutes and change well spent. It’s far from the greatest wrestling match of the year but was certainly a positive note on which to end the show. It’s proof that you don’t need to wrestle at a breakneck speed for twenty minutes to put on a compelling match; sometimes less is more, especially when you’re dealing with a monster with an undefeated streak.

Thanks for reading.