Goldberg Talks About His Pre-WCW Negotiations With WWE

[Liz]

In a recent conversation with the RomanAtwoodPodcast, Goldberg shared some of the earliest details of his wrestling career, citing a meeting with WWE before he ultimately signed with WCW (via Wrestling Inc). "I flew up to WWE and I met with them first. Jim Ross, who was a commentator, who was also living in Tulsa, Oklahoma when I was growing up and he covered me in High School Football. He worked for WWE and I picked up the phone and called him and said 'Please, just get me an introduction.' I went up and it was completely foreign to me," Goldberg began.

"I lived in Atlanta where WCW was and it was based and all those guys I knew." Goldberg shared how he flew to Connecticut without agency representation for his meeting with Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. Ross apparently told Goldberg, "Oh no, Mr. McMahon hates agents." That prompted a decision for the wrestler. "So I immediately thought 'Ok, I gotta get one, right now.' So I go in there and I meet with [Vince] and Jim Ross, and they offer me a training deal, and I flew back to Atlanta and I called the owner or the President of WCW."

The president in question was Eric Bischoff, with whom Goldberg says that he was already acquainted. "Our paths had crossed, I'm not gonna tell you how, but we had seen each other a number of times in a number of places," Goldberg continued. "I called him and said 'Listen, here's the deal. I want to do this wrestling gig. I'm not gonna be one of those $500 throw-around-the-ring punks, I'm gonna make a difference in this business. And that's just the confidence that I had."

You can watch the full episode for more details below.