"Nobody expected Bill to get over that way" - WWE legend reveals his surprise at Goldberg's unexpected rise to the top

Eric Bischoff recently gave his opinion on Goldberg's rise to the top in WCW, saying that he was surprised at how fast Goldberg got over with fans.

Eric Bischoff was a WCW executive and led the promotion into the Monday Night Wars against WWE. Bischoff later became a General Manager on RAW after signing with WWE following the downfall of WCW.

Eric Bischoff recently discussed Goldberg's rise to the top during an episode of his podcast, 83 Weeks. Bischoff said that no one has gotten over with fans like Goldberg either before or since his rise to the top:

"Nobody expected Bill to get over that way. None of us. Keep in mind, Goldberg came out in dark matches just so we could kind of get an idea of how he’d react to a crowd. We had no idea the type of reaction he was going to get coming out in dark matches. This was like three weeks after he’d been at the Power Plant. We said, ‘OK, he’s big, he has some great athletic ability. Maybe we can send him out in a dark match and see how he does.’ Holy shit. And I know that sounds weird because one would assume, ‘Well obviously, he’s Bill Goldberg. You would expect him to get over.’ No you wouldn’t. Nobody else had ever gotten over like that that fast. So, it would be unrealistic to say that you would’ve expected it. That was a freaky situation. Has there been anybody like Bill since Bill? I don’t think so. Has there anybody come out of the chute and had as much impact on the wrestling business as early in their career as Goldberg? I don’t think so. Maybe I’m wrong." H/T: 411Mania

Goldberg's rise to becoming WCW Champion

Goldberg made his dark match debut against Buddy Lee Parker in June 1997. He went on to make his televised debut in September 1997 and quickly made an impact.

#OnThisDay in 1997: WCW Nitro: The TV debut of @Goldberg. He defeated Hugh Morrus. 1-0 # Streak. pic.twitter.com/qz4VvjvUKH

— Allan (@allan_cheapshot) September 22, 2017

Goldberg remained undefeated and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan less than a year later inside a packed Georgia Dome. Goldberg's 173-0 undefeated streak ended when he was finally beaten by Kevin Nash.