On a late December night in 1998, just days before the new year, undefeated Bill Goldberg defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Kevin Nash at Starrcade. With an incredible 173-0 winning streak, Goldberg seemed unstoppable—until Nash stepped up.
This is the true story of how Goldberg’s historic streak ended and the many missed opportunities that followed. In the end, it would all be for nothing.
Goldberg and Kevin Nash face off at Starrcade 1998 with Goldberg’s WCW World Heavyweight Championship and 173-0 streak on the line.
Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash: The Night WCW Changed Forever
Goldberg and Kevin Nash face off at Starrcade 1998 with Goldberg’s WCW World Heavyweight Championship and 173-0 streak on the line. Photo Credit: WWE.
The sixteenth installment of Starrcade took place on December 27th, 1998. The show was somewhat of a one-match card, despite featuring the talents of Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, and DDP.
On this show, it was all about the main event: Bill Goldberg defending his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Kevin Nash.
Nash had secured his title shot at World War III by winning the battle royal. The world was ready to see this confrontation go down.
At this point, Goldberg had already won the United States Championship, as well as the top prize, and had racked up a ton of wins.
The Legend of Goldberg’s Undefeated Streak
Goldberg, undefeated and unstoppable, stood as WCW’s biggest star before his streak ended in 1998. Photo Credit: WWE.
“I’ll be perfectly honest with you,” Bill Goldberg admitted on WWE’s The Bump in late 2020, “one of the beauties of the streak was that it was organic. I didn’t know what was going on, and every time I went to the building, I thought I was going to lose.
“I always had to put myself in that position. I think the fact that it was organic, the fact that it grew, it had a mind of its own, and we listened to the crowd.”
Scott Hall’s Role in Goldberg’s First Loss
Scott Hall interferes with a stun gun, leading to Kevin Nash’s shocking victory at Starrcade 1998. Photo Credit: WWE.
The crowd seemed to signal that it was time. At Starrcade 1998, Goldberg’s long-standing undefeated streak finally came to an end at the hands of Kevin Nash.
The match itself was fairly standard for a no DQ bout. Nothing particularly memorable happened until Scott Hall made his presence felt, using a stun gun to prevent Goldberg from spearing Nash.
From there, Nash capitalized and secured the victory, ending Goldberg’s legendary streak.
Kevin Nash: The Man Who Ended the Streak
Goldberg’s streak was finally broken by Kevin Nash in a controversial match at WCW Starrcade 1998. Photo Credit: WWE.
Goldberg was now 173-1. Even though the official numbers were inflated (his actual win count during the streak was closer to 120-0 to 150-0), it was still an impressive record. Goldberg had remained undefeated for 461 days.
That’s a powerful achievement in wrestling. The crowd’s interest in him lasted long enough to make it possible, and that shouldn’t be underestimated.
His first loss was a big deal because of how long the streak had lasted.
To this day, the pros and cons of giving the win to Kevin Nash are still debated. However, the idea behind the decision was to re-establish the nWo as the top heel faction, setting up Bill Goldberg to fight his way through them.
The Fingerpoke of Doom: The Aftermath of Goldberg’s Streak Ending
The Fingerpoke of Doom: One of the most infamous moments in WCW history, occurred just days after Goldberg’s streak ended. Photo Credit: WWE.
For those unaware, just eight days after this, on WCW Nitro, we witnessed the infamous “Fingerpoke of Doom”. During the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match, Hulk Hogan lightly poked a defending Kevin Nash in the chest. Nash dramatically fell to the mat, allowing Hollywood Hogan to pin him with ease.
The fix was in, with nothing but heels triumphing. This was meant to be the start of a new chapter, with Goldberg set to fight back against the nWo from there.
Kevin Nash Explains Plan Behind Ending Goldberg’s Streak, Restablishing the nWo
Kevin Nash explains the plan behind ending Goldberg’s streak and reestablishing the nWo. Photo Credit: WWE.
Kevin Nash has discussed the subject many times, including in an interview with Sports Illustrated, where he said, “It’s just like the Fingerpoke of Doom. People say that killed WCW. Well, no, it didn’t. How else were we going to put together a heel factory for Goldberg to run through?”
Nash continued, “The only thing that had any validity was the nWo, and the plan was to have Goldberg go through every one. He got [angry], and then he eventually got hurt, but that was the original plan."
In reality, Goldberg wasn’t injured until a year later, but that’s beside the point. It wasn’t a bad plan.
How The New World Order Propelled Goldberg To Wrestling Greatness
The New World Order helped propel Goldberg to the top, but their heel turn set the stage for his first loss. Photo Credit: WWE.
Say what you want about what the nWo became, but they were most effective as a heel group. They were able to build superheroes, as evidenced by Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, and Goldberg himself.
The New World Order played a significant role in helping Goldberg reach the top. He had to defeat Scott Hall on the same night he beat Hollywood Hogan in the Georgia Dome. It was a proven formula.
For Goldberg’s rise, the nWo was the only way to go.
Goldberg’s Thoughts on His First WCW Loss
Goldberg reflects on his first loss, acknowledging Kevin Nash was the right man to end the streak. Photo Credit: WWE.
Goldberg spoke about Kevin Nash being the one to end his streak on that same episode of WWE’s The Bump, saying, “I look back on it, and I’ve been [upset] at my answers a number of times. That’s childish. The fact is that Kevin Nash was the perfect guy to do it at the time. It was the perfect time to do it.”
Goldberg and Kevin Nash face off at Starrcade 1998 with Goldberg’s WCW World Heavyweight Championship and 173-0 streak on the line. Photo Credit: WWE.
“I think the streak was losing some momentum,” Goldberg maintained, “and who am I as a professional wrestler to give my opinion? I’m not a booker. I’m just the guy who takes the story and tries to act it out in front of the crowd.”
In retrospect, Nash breaking the streak can probably be labeled a failure. It led us directly into the “Fingerpoke of Doom,” which is also connected to the legendary Mick Foley, Tony Schiavone “butts in the seats” moment that saw 600,000 viewers switch the channel from Nitro over to Monday Night Raw to see Mankind win the WWF Championship.
The end of Goldberg’s streak marked a pivotal moment in WCW history that still resonates with wrestling fans. Photo Credit: WWE.
It’s one of the biggest moments in the fabled Monday Night War. The night Eric Bischoff and WCW fumbled so hard, they lost over half a million viewers.
It all comes back to the end of Goldberg’s undefeated streak.
Eric Bischoff’s Justification for Ending Goldberg’s Streak
Eric Bischoff believed Kevin Nash’s size and credibility made him the right choice to break Goldberg’s streak. Photo Credit: WWE.
Eric Bischoff himself went into the decision to end the streak on his podcast 83 Weeks, saying, "We had been talking about it, from what I can recall, for a couple of months. As I have touched on in previous shows, we were running out of guys for Goldberg to go through.
“Once we got to the point of whatever it was—173-0 or whatever (laughs)—we reached a point where we had to start telling stories. We had to expand the storytelling process with Bill. We knew it had to be done."
Bischoff continued, explaining that Kevin Nash was chosen for credibility’s sake.
“It was probably a couple of months previously that we started discussing it and getting serious about it. In terms of, ‘Was it always going to be Nash?’ No. We were exploring a lot of different opportunities. But because of what was going on and the sheer size of Kevin Nash, he was the most believable and credible to tell that story.”
How Ending Goldberg’s Streak Backfired for WCW
The fallout from Kevin Nash ending Goldberg’s streak led to one of WCW’s biggest missteps during the Monday Night Wars. Photo Credit: WWE.
There has to be an endgame with an undefeated streak. At some point, someone has to defeat the monster. Nobody stays unbeatable forever, and eventually, someone always steps up to conquer the beast.
The end of Goldberg’s undefeated streak has earned a significant place in wrestling history. Just one week later, one of the most critically despised moments in professional wrestling took place.
Had Goldberg stayed healthy and gone through the newly reformed nWo heel factory, would we view things differently? Would we remember the “Fingerpoke of Doom” as the start of a great story between Goldberg and Hollywood Hogan? Or would it have been the same disappointment?
Looking back, when you consider what happened eight days later with the “Fingerpoke of Doom,” Goldberg’s first loss was for nothing. There was no payoff, just an achievement for Kevin Nash’s character and a topic for shoot interviews for Nash, the man.
Wasted potential is the true legacy of this story, which is remarkable when you consider the talent involved. Kevin Nash defeating Goldberg was never able to serve its intended purpose. Nash handed the title to Hogan the next night, and from there, the situation only worsened. It’s a story of what could have been.
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Joseph Finnegan, a longtime contributor to Pro Wrestling Stories, is a published author and produced screenwriter with a BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University. Recently, he starred in, co-directed, and co-wrote a feature film called Interstate that is coming to Red Bank, New Jersey on November 16th, 2024, at 2 PM. Get your tickets via the link above and support a talented independent filmmaker.
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