You'd think by now, after years of seeing ESPN's brain rot scroll across my algorithm, I would've learned to completely ignore any content that First Take provides.
Alas, they've got me again. Stephen A has decided to dip his neck tie into the realm of professional wrestling and fire off his list of the greatest to ever do it in the squared circle.
Truthfully, I love how much the Pro Wrestling "Mount Rushmore" can differ from one person to another.
Sure, we have our favorite athletes in other sports. But much of the GOAT discussion in football or basketball has a through line that is predicated on statistics and how many RANGZ a person has.
In Pro Wrestling, there is such a wide net that is cast in regards to personas, gimmicks, and in ring styles, which can lead to a large variance on who people view as the greatest to ever do it.
Stephan A has every right in the world to construct his list as he chooses. You certainly see a lot of Golden Age royalty in the top 5 between the Nature Boy, Hulkamania, and the Road Warriors. You also see the Rock make an appearance, who rose to prominence during the Attitude Era.
But there's something about stuffing Bill Goldberg into the number one spot that makes me sick to my stomach.
I'd like to set the record straight by mentioning that I was born in the late 1990's. I was a mere goo-goo baby when Goldberg was lighting the wrestling world on fire during his undefeated streak in WCW. He was booked as a killing machine that won 173 consecutive matches, although that number may have been inflated for promotional purposes. He'd get in the ring, murder someone, and get the 1-2-3 in under 2 minutes most of the time. The streak had tons of momentum, and Goldberg became one of the top guys in the sport during that era.
I'm trying hard not to rag on anyone who's got Goldberg at the top of their list. But his return to WWE in 2016 has left me completely jaded on this dude.
Goldberg returned to WWE in 2016, in what seemed to be a promotional ploy alongside his character being a pre-order bonus in the WWE 2K17 video game. Old guy's return all the time. Promote the game, let Goldberg strike a nostalgia cord with a couple matches, all is fair. However, what proceeded made absolutely no sense.
In his first match back, he beat Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds. Yes, a dude in his 50's beat BROCK LESNAR in less than 2 minutes. Like what are we doing here. I get it, it's wrestling, but this is just dumb.
Over the next couple of years, Goldberg would be inserted in main event championship matches, eventually winning the WWE Universal Title not once, but twice. Each time Goldberg was slated to return for a match, the more people my age groaned in agony. Yes, neglect the young talent on the roster, and bring in an old dude that has 3 moves and will probably botch 2 of them. Give me a HELL YEAH.
I can't blame Iceberg for coming back every time and cashing that check. Vinny-Mac had dreams of those nostalgia dollar signs, and he couldn't resist.
And is it fair to dock someone's all time ranking based on stuff you saw when his prime was over? Probably not, but I'm going to do it anyways. I don't think he holds a candle to what some of the other guys in his era were able to accomplish.
Stephen A did this on purpose. Even Wrestling isn't sacred when it comes to his click-baiting. He knew I would go on this diatribe, spending my Friday evening writing out a blog that nobody will read. You've done it again SAS.
-WhataMark