Former WCW booker, the late Kevin Sullivan, once shared his original plan to end Goldberg‘s impressive 173-match win streak in WCW.
During a 2023 interview with WrestleZone, Kevin Sullivan revealed that, instead of the controversial finish where Scott Hall used a cattle prod to help Kevin Nash secure the victory, he wanted the match to have a clean finish. In his proposed finish, Goldberg would whip Nash into the corner and charge at him, but Nash would move out of the way. Goldberg would then hit the ring post and stumble back into Nash, who would deliver a big boot followed by a powerbomb, resulting in a clean pinfall victory and Nash winning the WCW Championship.
“And the day he got beat, I really, really, my finish was, rather than a cattle prod and 12 people running down. I wanted Bill [Goldberg] to whip Kevin [Nash] into the corner, go for his charge, Kevin moves out of the way, Bill [would] hit the post and come back out. Kevin gives him a big boot, gives him the powerbomb, and beats him 1-2-3.”
Sullivan drew a comparison to the end of Mike Tyson’s undefeated streak in boxing, explaining that just as Tyson lost clean to Buster Douglas, he wanted Goldberg to experience a clean loss.
“Why I wanted that was because he had won clean all the time. I wanted him to lose clean. It’s like when Mike Tyson went over and fought [Buster] Douglas, nobody thought Douglas had a chance. But Mike got knocked out. It was a clean knockout. It wasn’t a referee’s decision or a split decision by the referee or two judges.”
Sullivan believed that this finish could have set the stage for a compelling trilogy of matches between Nash and Goldberg for the WCW Title. By ending the streak in this manner, it would have showcased Goldberg’s vulnerability and added a new dynamic to his character. However, WCW ultimately went with the controversial cattle prod finish, which received mixed reactions from fans and critics alike.
How Long Was Kevin Sullivan A WCW Booker?
Kevin Sullivan served as a WCW booker for multiple stretches throughout the 1990s, most notably between 1994 and 2001. His booking influence came in waves, initially working alongside others before becoming one of the promotion’s lead creative voices during the mid–to–late Nitro era. Sullivan remained involved in creative until early 2000, shortly before the company entered its final year under Turner ownership.
He continued to wrestle for WCW from 1994 until he lost a retirement match to Chris Benoit in 1997, which allowed him to focus solely on his role as a booker.
