Brock Lesnar

During Goldberg’s two respective stints in WWE, one of his arch-rivals would be Brock Lesnar. Their first two matches, in 2004 and 2016 respectively were won by Goldberg, yet it took Lesnar until WrestleMania 33 in 2017 to finally defeat him.

Lesnar would pin Goldberg in a featured match on the grandest stage of them all to win the Universal Title. This match was notable because the match exceeded all expectations, as it featured fun spots and highlighted both men at their very best. The match also marked the first time in wrestling history that Goldberg had been pinned 100% clean.

The Undertaker

Goldberg vs. The Undertaker was at one stage, considered a dream match. However, when the match finally went down in 2019 at the Super Showdown PPV, the match was a total disaster. The match was crammed with dangerous botches and blunders, and it was a miracle that the two legendary performers walked out of the match without medical assistance. The match was heavily panned by fans, and even Goldberg and The Deadman would speak out regarding how atrocious the match was. The match would end in a clean manner, when The Undertaker hit a lacklustre looking Chokeslam on the former World Champion.

Braun Strowman

One of the top matches on the WrestleMania 36 match card was supposed to see Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns. This match would be for Goldberg’s Universal Title, yet when the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world, Reigns decided to take a leave of absence from WWE, and this left WWE in a difficult position.

WWE had to find a suitable alternative to fill in for Reigns, and there were several options, but WWE ultimately decided on Braun Strowman. This was a booking decision that fans questioned, as the peak of Strowman’s popularity was in 2017, and there were hardly any fans crying out for a Strowman World Title reign.

The match itself was a by the numbers title match, and it would come to an end after Strowman delivered four powerslams on Goldberg. This would mark Strowman’s first and only World Title win in WWE.

Some fans felt like WWE booking Strowman to defeat Goldberg clean at WrestleMania was a massive waste, and the huge win could have been used to push someone else up the card. Nevertheless, WWE have always been selective on who pins Goldberg, and Vince McMahon evidently believed that The Monster Among Men was the best option at the time.

Drew McIntyre

Goldberg made it his mission to win the WWE Title at the 2021 Royal Rumble, as he would challenge reigning champion, Drew McIntyre.

Similarly to the Strowman matchup, this match occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the match itself took place in the Thunderdome.

The build for Goldberg vs. McIntyre was bizarre, as Goldberg would claim that McIntyre had been disrespecting legends, yet this wasn’t the case, so it was unclear if Goldberg was supposed to be a hypocritical deluded heel in the feud.

Fans were rightly concerned that WWE were going to have McIntyre drop the title to Goldberg, as WWE had no reason for Goldberg to defeat names such as Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt in prior years, yet they still proceeded with the controversial booking decision.  

Thankfully, this wasn’t the case with McIntyre, as McIntyre would defeat Goldberg clean. The match was a vast improvement over Goldberg’s prior WWE matches, and Goldberg actually managed to put over McIntyre in a convincing and legitimate way.

Roman Reigns

WWE would finally get to present their planned WrestleMania 36 match in 2022. Goldberg and Roman Reigns would collide at the 2022 Elimination Chamber, and WWE labelled the match as a dream match between two legends. The match was interesting, as it acted as Goldberg’s last WWE match to date, and it could end up being the WWE Hall of Famer’s final ever wrestling match.

When it comes to the match, it was extremely short at just six-minutes, and in a rare-visual, Goldberg lost the match via a pass-out after Reigns locked in his trademark guillotine submission hold. This was the first time in wrestling history that Goldberg had lost via submission in a clean capacity. Goldberg had lost via submission in WCW, yet as was typical for WCW, there were always shenanigans that led to Goldberg losing the matchup in question.

Booker T In WCW?

Depending on the subjective definition of a ‘clean loss’ depends on whether this specific Goldberg loss counts as clean.

In the year 2000 in WCW, Booker T defeated Goldberg on Nitro, and the match featured interference that ultimately cost Goldberg the match. Due to the match being a NO DQ encounter, and the interference being technically legal, some wrestling historians and critics would label it a fair and somewhat clean victory.