Bill Goldberg vs Scott Hall
Stun Gun Ladder Match
01/17/1999
My coverage across the year is limited by footage that is available (outside of some historical events that need coverage). On this day, The Quebecers beat Marty Jannetty and 1-2-3 Kid for the WWF Tag Team Gold, The Mountie defeated Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Title, and Big Van Vader won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Tatsumi Fujinami. Footage of all three of these is conspicuous by its absence, so instead we look at a chance for retribution built out of one of the worst booking decisions WCW made in a long list of bad booking decisions.
One month removed from the decision to end Goldberg’s winning streak against Kevin Nash via Scott Hall interference, the former WCW World Champion was out for revenge against the man who caused the loss. Rather than going one on one in a standard wrestling match, WCW decided to focus on the weapon Hall brandished in his attack on Goldberg – a stun gun. It would be placed above the ring and could then be utilised by the wrestler who was able to scale a ladder and bring it back down. This felt like it opened the floodgates for WCW to put many other ridiculous items above the ring or on a pole over the years leading to its demise. Clearly a title just isn’t enough.
In booking terms, it seemed as if WCW believed that the fans would rally behind Goldberg as he fought his way back to the top. Unfortunately, the bloom was off the rose, and though Goldberg in ring hadn’t changed, the aura was somewhat lost. Rather than battling the main members of the NWO in world title contests at the top of the card, the loss to Nash ended Goldberg’s only title reign and left his focus on more trifling matters away from the main event.
As Goldberg was rightly expected to roll straight through Hall, the match seemed to lack tension. To try and infuse a sense of drama into the match, a knee injury caused the Oklahoma native to lose his initial superiority and give Hall something to target. The ropes, apron and ringpost were all used to work the joint, whilst the majority of the crowd in attendance sat on their hands in response for long stretches.
After the first use of the ladder as an offensive weapon saw Hall dropkick it into Goldberg’s stomach at ringside, Hall would bust open his opponent with a head first slam into the ringsteps. The crimson mask finally felt like it got the fans’ attention as they stood up to see the damage caused to their hero. Hall proceeded to drop an elbow off the top of the ladder, before getting back suplexed off of it on his next attempted ascent. The match was finally beginning to pick up momentum.
To give credit to Hall, he bumped harder than he had for years to put over Goldberg’s offense, flying off of the ladder and colliding with the steel several times. A misplaced fall that meant to deposit Hall groin first on the ropes even saw him catapulted to land on top of his head in a moment that got the first real reaction from the crowd. He wasn’t alone in taking awkward looking bumps; after Disco Inferno interfered to push the ladder over, Goldberg found himself clotheslined throat first on the top rope in a nasty looking fall.
With the stun gun finally in the hands of Hall, a brief sequence of Goldberg playing matador to Hall’s bull-esque charges was cut short by a sidekick to the face, sending the weapon flying to ringside. After reclaiming it, Goldberg would first use it to stun Disco Inferno, before throwing it up into the air to distract Hall and allow him to nail the spear and the Jackhammer. With Hall out, Goldberg would pick up the victory after driving the stun gun into Hall’s chest; a three move sequence that did admittedly send the crowd wild. Goldberg had got his revenge, and could refocus on regaining his world title.
Or not. As the bell rang, Bam Bam Bigelow entered the ring and began to beat him down, setting up a match for next month’s PPV. By the time Goldberg finally got his hands on Nash, the title was no longer on the line. This match effectively started Goldberg’s WCW career swirling around the drain due to bad booking and nonsensical storylines; an unfortunate facet of Goldberg’s time in wrestling from 1999 to modern day.
