Recalling Goldberg's Brief Stint Wrestling in Japan

Streamers lay at Goldberg's feet as he bounced on the mat, a snarling animal eager for the coming violence.

The fans inside Tokyo, Japan's Nippon Budokan arena chanted the former WCW's champion's name. A covey of cameramen bent over the ring apron, aiming their lenses at the powerhouse's gleaming muscles. Goldberg then snaked his arms around Satoshi Kojiba's neck and heaved him to the canvas. 

This was Aug. 30. 2002, the opening night of a short-lived run, one often forgotten in Goldberg lore. 

Fourteen years before stunning the WWE world by plowing through Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in less than two minutes, Goldberg was a storm blowing through Japan. In between being a main event attraction for World Championship Wrestling and a world champion in WWE, he signed on to transfer his smash-mouth act to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Goldberg had previously been an enthralling force of nature for WCW.

In the late '90s, he stretched an undefeated record to 173 straight wins. He captured WCW's United States and world titles. Along the way, he became one of the company's biggest assets, a key player in WCW's ongoing battle for ratings with WWE.

When the Monday Night War ended, though, Goldberg was out of action.

The football-player-turned-grappler recovered from a shoulder injury when WWE bought out WCW in 2001. Many of the company's stars shifted over to Vince McMahon's circus at that time. Not Goldberg.

He still owned a hefty contract with Time Warner. A buyout never happened. 

Instead, once Goldberg's shoulder healed, he traveled east where he inked a short-term deal with All Japan Pro Wrestling. 

Goldberg said in an interview with Submission Radio, performing in Japan had always been a goal for him. And he admired the physicality of Japanese wrestling.

"In all honesty, I like the style better because it's stiffer. They're not going to crying to their mommy if you hit them," he said.

He got to experience that style firsthand in 2002. At the AJPW Royal Road event, Goldberg clashed with rising star Kojima.

In some ways, this match was a continuation of what made him famous in WCW. His M.O. was the same—dominate, overpower, overwhelm. And the contest lasted only four minutes.

But Goldberg's in-ring arsenal differed this time.

Rather than put Kojima away with his signature spear and Jackhammer combo, he pinned the eventual headliner after a swinging neck-breaker.

The next night, Goldberg took down Hawaiian-born Taiyo Kea in the same building. Again, the bout ended around the four-minute mark. Again, the contest served as a showcase for Goldberg's power.

The gladiator in black trunks took a series of kicks to the ribs and welcomed more. Then he planted Kea into the mat to cap off a one-sided match.

Goldberg soon found himself facing more familiar opponents, fellow New York Yankees and WCW alumni. On Nov. 17, 2002, he brawled with Rick Steiner. 

The fans in Yokohama, Japan experienced the scripted animosity between these men up close. Goldberg and Steiner moved their fight from between the ropes to into the stands. A wave of cameramen rushed behind the titans. 

Steiner barked at the crowd in between throttling his foe with a steel chair. 

In the end, though, the result was a familiar one. Goldberg claimed victory.

AJPW looked to be trying to replicate what WCW had done with Goldberg, namely present him as a beast devouring lesser men. But he would get nowhere near 173 wins in Japan. He only battled in four matches for the company during this run.

His final one came on Jan. 19, 2003. Inside the famed Tokyo Dome, Goldberg teamed with Japanese legend Keiji Mutoh against KroniK (Americans Brian Adams and Bryan Clark).

His entrance ended up being more notable than the action. 

In a bigger version of his typical walk to the ring as a WCW star, uniformed servicemen led him down the entrance ramp. Goldberg strode through a wall of pyrotechnics with intensity pulsing through his face.

Mirroring the first part of his WCW run, Goldberg went undefeated in Japan. 

It wasn't long after these latest wins on his resume that McMahon signed him. Goldberg debuted in his new home after WrestleMania XIX in March of 2003.

Goldberg's uncomfortable exit from the company a year later, his dominance at WCW and most recently his emphatic return to WWE are what fans most talk about regarding his career. The Japanese period is often glossed over.

That's largely thanks to how small a percentage it is of his timeline. The powerhouse's Japanese tenure, like so many Goldberg matches, was over shortly after it began.

Match information courtesy of CageMatch.net.