WWE History: When Chris Jericho beat up Goldberg in a real fight

The backstory

When one thinks of a David vs Goliath fight, they seldom think of something that has actually happened in real life. The visual of an underdog beating the tar out of a behemoth is something only seen in movies or TV shows. When it comes to professional wrestling, the case isn't any different.

Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 22, by defeating much more powerful athletes in Randy Orton and Kurt Angle. Sting scored a bunch of pinfalls in his legendary rivalry against Vader in WCW in the early 90s.

Little do many of the fans know that these type of feel good, David beating Goliath stories have happened backstage, in real life too! Let's take a look at the time when Chris Jericho, a cruiserweight from WCW, toppled Bill Goldberg, a legit heavyweight, and former NFL player.

This happened when Goldberg came into the WWE in 2003. The moment Goldberg caught a glimpse of Jericho, he came behind him and slapped him hard on his back, acting all playful. Jericho says in his book that this was the moment he decided that he wouldn't let Goldberg be mean to him like this anymore.

It was Goldberg's first Raw, and Jericho learned from someone that he had been badmouthing him to Kevin Nash. Jericho went straight to his locker room and confronted him.

The fight

A scathing debate between the two quickly turned ugly, as Goldberg grabbed Jericho by the throat. Jericho wrote about the fight in great detail in his book, "Undisputed: How to Become World Champ in 1,372 Easy Steps". Here are some of the snippets from the book, explaining the fight in great detail.

According to Jericho, once Goldberg made his move, the former cruiserweight reacted the only way he knew how: He swatted Goldberg's hand off his throat and gave him a two-handed push to the chest.

Goldberg rushed forward with his head down and tried to tackle Jericho, having been an NFL veteran. Jericho stepped to the side and grabbed the heavyweight in a front face-lock.

Jericho added that Goldberg was someone who could do nothing more than run his mouth and show off his physique.

I still had the idea that he was going to morph into a savage animal, throw me off, and draw and quarter me. But he never did. It seemed that the Goldschlager was all smoke and mirrors.

We scuffled back into the dressing room and were finally broken up by Arn Anderson, Terry Taylor, Hurricane, Christian, and Booker T. Nash Mantis continued to sit in his chair in the corner of the room watching the festivities.

Jericho also stated that the duo went back and forth until both of them calmed down. A bunch of wrestlers separated the two of them, after which Jericho went back to Goldberg and told him to his face that they could do this every week and he didn't have a problem with it, or else they could shake hands there. Goldberg responded by shaking Jericho's hand and ending the fight for good.

The aftermath

According to Jericho, Vince McMahon called him later and seemed mad at him for not calling him immediately to tell about the fight he had with Goldberg.

The duo reconciled and went on to have a match at Badd Blood 2003, which Goldberg won. This fascinating story has been backed up by multiple sources and is a testament to the fact that Jericho is as big of a tough guy in real life, as he is inside the squared circle.