WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg is a superstar unlike anyone else. At the peak of the Monday Night Wars, Goldberg was one of the most recognized names in the entire business. He was so charismatic that despite never being that well-gifted inside the ring, he did create an uproar outside.
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Over the years, things have changed a lot. Goldberg has changed a lot. He’s still popular among wrestling fans and has the status quo of a legend in the business. But one thing that’s very different from when he started wrestling is his body.
Childhood
Everyone loves seeing their favorite wrestler’s childhood images. There’s something about children that bring smiles to everyone’s faces, and this feeling is very amplified when it’s a popular celebrity.
This is an image from Goldberg’s childhood where fans can see his beaming smile. At that time, probably no one would’ve thought this kid would become one of the most phenomenal wrestling acts of all time.
With A Mustache
There are so many wrestlers with iconic looks built around their persona that fans just can’t imagine them looking different. Take Rey Mysterio and his iconic mask for example, or The Undertaker with his long coat and his French beard. When fans think of Goldberg, they think of his shaved head and goatee.
But during his college days, Goldberg looked different. Here he’s sporting a mustache — something that wrestling fans have never seen on television — and also has dark hair on his skull. That’s a young Goldberg for you.
A Rare Look
Some fans may have seen that one rare video of Goldberg’s from his university days where he was talking about his competition in the NFL, and how players aren’t just competing on a team-to-team basis, but also against one another as well. In the clip, fans saw a version of Goldberg that they had never seen before. He was in his early 20s at that time and obviously looked young and even unrecognizable to many fans. He didn’t have his goatee, or a shaved head.
NFL
Some of the top wrestlers in the game always aspired to be wrestlers, since their childhood. Now there were definitely some wrestling prodigies who didn’t get into the sport out of passion. Goldberg was one of them.
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He had one goal in his mind, to play football. His brothers did that, his father did that, and he did that too. Unfortunately, his NFL career ended following an abdomen injury.
WCW Superstar
So how did a former Georgia Bulldogs defensive tackle end up becoming the most popular homegrown WCW superstar ever? According to Diamond Dallas Page, it all started when he first met Goldberg at Gold Club. He introduced Eric Bischoff to Goldberg, and since the latter couldn’t compete in the NFL anymore, he decided to become a wrestler after seeing the incredible money potential.
This was the best career decision he ever made. Goldberg became an overnight star in WCW, and his iconic 173-match win streak (which in reality was somewhere around 156 matches) is still talked about to this day.
First WWE Run
Even after WCW ran out of business, Goldberg continued to receive a hefty paycheck due to his contract with AOL Time Warner. He then had a brief spell in Japan and debuted in WWE the next year. His first feud was with The Rock and he defeated him at Backlash. He had several high-profile feuds in the next months until he met Brock Lesnar during a backstage segment at Survivor Series 2003.
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Their rivalry officially started at Royal Rumble 2004, where Goldberg got eliminated by Kurt Angle thanks to interference from Brock Lesnar. They had a match at WrestleMania, where Goldberg defeated The Beast and left the company afterward.
WWE Return
Following his WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar, Goldberg left the wrestling business. He eventually returned to WWE to have another match against Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016.
Fans will agree that Goldberg looked in really good shape back then, even though he was 49 years old. He wasn’t as jacked as he was a decade ago, but he was still pretty close to that physique. The only obvious change was his goatee turned gray. Even in the next few years, Goldberg's physique didn't change that much.
Still In A Great Shape
It’s been a while since Goldberg wrestled his last match in WWE. According to him, Vince McMahon had promised him a retirement match after his Roman Reigns match at Elimination Chamber 2022, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Throughout Goldberg’s entire wrestling career, his look never changed drastically. Sure, there are always some small gains and losses here and there, but they don’t stand out that much. Even at 56 today, Goldberg has one of the best physiques in the whole business for someone his age. He’s continuously putting more effort into his training, despite being away from the ring. He’s not as big as he used to look during his peak in wrestling, but again, it doesn't really matter.
