On This Day: July 6, 1998 – Goldberg Wins The WCW World Heavyweight Championship
On This Day, July 6,1998 – Bill Goldberg continued his undefeated streak to 173 straight wins. As he pinned Hulk Hogan to win the World Championship for the first time. This was the best victory in Goldberg’s legendary career and one of the most memorable moments of the “Monday Night Wars.”
WCW presented Monday Nitro from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. 41,412 were in attendance. This was especially special because Atlanta is Goldberg’s hometown. The 41,412 is one of the largest non-PPV televised attendances in wrestling history. But by all accounts, the match was booked at the last minute. Many believe that Hogan wanted to take credit for the large crowd. Show creators and Hogan knew TV executives were going to be in attendance. So, they made the decision to switch the bout from a dark match to the main event.
It was a dream match. The closest thing the wrestling world could get to a blockbuster. Ali vs. Foreman, Holyfield vs. Tyson, even Captain America vs. Ironman. Hulk Hogan is arguably the biggest star in wrestling history. At that point, he had shocked the world and turned heel as a member of the NWO. He was keeping the World Championship hostage. Fans were just hoping for someone to take it back. Well, Goldberg was that someone. At the time, Goldberg was the United States Champion. He was wreaking havoc through the entire roster in dominating fashion. If anyone could take down the mighty Hulk Hogan, it would be the ultimate juggernaut in Bill Goldberg.
The match itself was pretty decent. Hogan, aging or not, always had a limited move set. But so did Goldberg, and it really didn’t matter. All fans wanted to see was that devastating Spear and the monstrous Jackhammer. After two big Leg Drops from Hogan, Goldberg was able to kick out at two. Due to a distraction on the outside of the ring, Bill was able to recover. When Hogan turned his attention back to the match, he was speared out of his boots. The crowd went nuts when Goldberg lifted Hogan above his head and slammed him in the middle of the ring. At last, the leader of the NWO was defeated.
Watching the crowd go crazy is something most people will never forget. It sounded like the roof was going to blow off the place. With garbage and toilet paper flying in the background, Goldberg sticks out his tongue and lets out a scream. It was his signature moment. Little did we know that this would be the peak of his career. As he went on to have a lackluster run in WWE. But it was On This Day, July 6, 1998, that Goldberg cemented himself as the greatest powerhouse in history.
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