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Rebook the end of Goldbergs streak


Guest DietSoda

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Guest DietSoda

Now, I think it's safe to say that Goldbergs streak was a double edged sword. It certainly could have ended better than it did without burying Goldberg, but what really could you do to end that kind of a streak? Would you have used it as a vehicle to get a new heel over?

 

The book is yours.

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I’ve never understood why Golderg’s streak is treated as some sort of unique booking problem.

 

Guys being booked with undefeated winning streaks have happened many times.

Guy who has undefeated winning streak that leads to title is pretty standard formula.

It’s an old formula that works and there are plenty of good old formulas that can be worked with it.

 

The Nash v Goldberg match was especially stupid. You don’t end the streak and the title at the same time as you can get mileage out of both.

 

But there are plenty of formulas for providing losses.

 

There is the possibility of having Goldberg take a loss in a tag match:

Flair/Valentine v Snuka/Iron Sheik, Arn/Dustin v Bunkhouse Buck/Terry Funk, Flair/HHH v Carlito /Masters formula.

You can pretty much plug anyone into role of Goldberg tag partner (DDP, Benoit, Sting, Booker T, Coach Buzz Stern) who goes on to brag about costing Goldberg first loss. Leads to angry Goldberg and opponent getting title shot.

 

It’s a formula that is hurt by how many guys had turned too many times. As each time the impact is lessened. Still basic formula that’s worked for over a quarter of century.

 

Basic Bruno booking:

Goldberg looses to Nash at Bash do to count out while brawling with Bigalow on floor. Goldberg holds onto title.Then can either go to Nash as guy who brags about costing Goldberg first loss or Bam Bam as guy who brags about costing first loss.

Goldberg v Bam Bam where Bam Bam gets Goldberg to loose by count out. Goldberg hold onto title.

Goldberg v Bam Bam where Goldberg looses by DQ (Bruno getting his Italian up and loosing temper). Goldberg holds onto title.

Goldberg v Bam Bam with NO Dq or in cage with Goldberg winning cleanly.

 

You can run the Flair/Valentine v Snuka/Iron Sheik formula straight into the Bruno formula. These are easy simple formulas that work. No real magic, nothing that makes Goldberg so unique that the basics shouldn't work.

 

Once you’ve milked Goldberg with title for long enough you can eventually have Nash or Ronn Reiss or Prince Iaukea or whoever win the title.

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Eh, booking undefeated streaks in complicated.

 

Goldberg lost all (most) of his heat following his first major loss and of all people to lose to, Kevin Nash, did him no favors. Goldberg needed to lose to someone of near equal status, or someone the crowd could actually see pulling off the major upset.

Sting would be an obvious choice. But in WCW at that time frame, no one was really booked as massively strong as Goldberg.

He soundly defeated everyone up to that point, DDP/Hogan were the two biggest ones. Unless he beat Sting, I don't recall a clean pin in their match, a no decision is what I remember (?).

 

A undefeated streak is fundamentally screwed from the beginning. The wrestler has to lose sometime, whether by pinfall, submission, or count out/disqualification (although I don't consider the latter to be streak-enders). Unless a promotion wants to go out of business, they can't have someone be undefeated forever. If they were champion, sure the title would have prestige up the butt, the only downfall is that feuds for the title would get little heat because "B will not defeat A".

 

Samoa Joe suffered the same kind of loss of momentum after his two streaks were obliterated.

After he won the ROH title, he was the destroyer of worlds. After Aries pinned him cleanly, he started losing to all sorts of guys, the worst was Jay Lethal.

He had a similar, albeit much longer streak in TNA, until Angle beat him. Look at what happened to him? He's losing three minute matches to Red....

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Curious. What is this formula?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x70gc5_bu...vs-dustin_sport

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x70ghd_bu...vs-dustin_sport

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6129c_tr...s-masters_sport

 

Undefeated streaks are basic wrestling booking and they can be ended with basic wrestling booking. Once Goldberg had the title he didn't need the undefeated streak too.

They had him loose the undefeated streak and the title at the same time which left him with nothing.

 

Samoa Joe suffered the same kind of loss of momentum after his two streaks were obliterated.

Joe lost undefeated streak early in his ROH title run. Lost several tags, including loosing tags against the Briscoes setting up singles matches against both and a non title street fight to Homicide real early into his title.

 

ROh like many feds didn't know what to do with a guy once he lost tile. Samoa Joe lost title to Ares, and ROH didn't have any real challengers waiting in the wings ready for Ares and also didn't know what to do to sidedrain Samoa Joe. This is title booking problem not "undefeated streak" booking problem.

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Unless a promotion wants to go out of business, they can't have someone be undefeated forever. If they were champion, sure the title would have prestige up the butt, the only downfall is that feuds for the title would get little heat because "B will not defeat A".

Wrestling history disagrees with this. Bruno didn't suffer a pinfall loss in the North East from May 17th 1963 until January 18th 1971 and the fans weren't ready for him to lose even then. Hogan didn't suffer a clean pinfall loss in the WWF from January 23rd 1984 until April 1st 1990 and with the benefit of hindsight that loss might have been a mistake. I never understood why the focus was on ending the streak; the focus should have been on how to keep Goldberg strong, as he was clearly carrying the promotion by the summer of 1998.

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It's not like Inoki did many jobs either. When you've got an ace to build your company around that people will pay to see him win all the time, it's really not that complicated to book. It's complicated if the only question you ask yourself is "How to end the streak", but it's not the right question. The question is "How to milk the streak as long and strongly as possible." Goldberg could have been kep undefeated (or at least form a clean pin) for a long long time before it got old with WCW fans. The issue is how to keep people over, and if never losing works, what the hell, let the guy win.

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Curious. What is this formula?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x70gc5_bu...vs-dustin_sport

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x70ghd_bu...vs-dustin_sport

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6129c_tr...s-masters_sport

 

Undefeated streaks are basic wrestling booking and they can be ended with basic wrestling booking. Once Goldberg had the title he didn't need the undefeated streak too.

They had him loose the undefeated streak and the title at the same time which left him with nothing.

[

Sorry, I guess I meant what was the storyline with Flair/Valentine vs. Snuka/Shiek?

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https://www.msu.edu/~lattimej/Mid-Atlantic.html

RIC FLAIR & GREG VALENTINE V. JIMMY SNUKA & IRON SHEIK JIP Valentine refuses to tag in, allowing the heels to get the pin. Then Valentine takes Gene Anderson’s cane and blasts Flair in the nose with it, legit breaking it! The fans are completely enraged and are on the verge of rioting! Flair provides intense commentary. Great 5***** angle!

There's a little more to the build to the tag and turn but still tag partner refusing to tag and eventually attacking partner. Surprsingly can't actually find it on web. The Dutsin/Arn match has same structure and is awesome. The Flair/Helmsley is a little different in that Helmsley alsomakes sure to bury the other heels. Still its a simple basic formula that works.

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