Goldberg Reveals The Origins Of His Spear

The Spear has been a signature part of Goldberg’s offence for his entire pro wrestling career – but it actually originated from his days as a football player.

For as long as Goldberg has been wrestling, the Spear and the Jackhammer have been the two go-to manoeuvres for him to finish a match. While the latter requires a bit more technical precision, the Spear doesn’t. It’s a running tackle in essence, something Goldberg knew about from his time as a pro football player.

Speaking to Chris Jericho on the latest Talk Is Jericho, ‘Da Man’ opened up on turning the football tackle into a Spear:

“Jamie [Tucker, the referee for the match] walking out against Manny Fernandez. Jamie says, ‘What’s your finish?’ I said, ‘Finish? What is that? I don’t have a finish.’ And he goes, ‘Whatever you do, do something impactful that people are gonna remember.’ So I get in the ring, Manny and I are circling. And I say, ‘Manny, do you trust me?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Then at the finish. Tuck your head, spread your legs and kiss your a** goodbye, but hold on.’

And I did it, and to me it was a natural move. And I went in the back and everybody’s mouths were open, hitting the floor going, ‘Whatever you do, do that every single time.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, that’s awesome.’ Because that’s me, that’s who I am. So it’s a move I didn’t have to learn to do, I didn’t have to act. It’s a move that, you know, put me on the map in the football business. And I’m just thankful that something so simple translated.”

Goldberg’s Spear is heralded as one of the greatest executions of the move, thanks in part to those taking the impact. Many, such as Dolph Ziggler, sell the move with all they have, perfectly getting across the real brutality of the finish.

The multi-time World Champion hasn’t wrestled since the Elimination Chamber card in Saudi Arabia, losing to Roman Reigns. This marked his twelfth in-ring appearance after returning in 2016, wrestling the likes of Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Lashley during this time.

He was allegedly due to be a last-minute replacement for Lesnar at SummerSlam, had ‘The Beast Incarnate’ not returned to SmackDown after walking out momentarily.