In a recent episode of his “My World” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett expressed doubts about Goldberg succeeding in a heel role. He expanded upon this topic in the podcast.
Delving into whether Goldberg would make a successful heel, Jarrett suggested, “Looking back, I remember thinking, ‘Jeff, just shut up. That’s not gonna work. Bill Goldberg’s character became popular as a one-man wreaking havoc. It’s not about his short matches, he had some long ones as well, but his persona, his mentality; he doesn’t really possess any typical heel attributes. It seemed like an uphill battle to me. He would have to carry much of the narrative verbally, as I don’t envision him — and he doesn’t need to — act cowardly or even truly cheat. I pondered how he would manage to make people hate him enough to want to see him get beaten and, to be honest, I just didn’t see that happening. Regardless, it’s lucky that my opinion wasn’t the final say.”
On the likeness between Goldberg and Steve Austin, Jarrett observed, “Steve resonated with audiences as ‘the average Joe’ – beer-drinking, hard-working; his character was relatable, and was meant to symbolize the everyday man taking on the slick corporate empire embodied by Vince McMahon. This narrative was successful, caused box office records to shatter, and padded the WWE storyline with multiple highs and lows. By contrast, Goldberg was portrayed as an unstoppable force of nature. I don’t see any real similarities in their verbal or wrestling skills, except for the lack of hair, which just feeds into their physical resemblance. After that is where the similarities end, at least in my view.”