1. Goldberg Defeats Hollywood Hulk Hogan for WCW World Heavyweight Championship: WCW Nitro July 6, 1998
The biggest star in WCW throughout much of the late 1990’s came in the most organic way possible. Bill Goldberg debuted in September of 1997 on Nitro as an unknown newcomer, but less than a year later, Goldberg would be at the pinnacle of sports entertainment.
The building of Goldberg was a process spanning over several months of being an undefeated monster who took out everything in his path. Goldberg won the United States Championship in April of 1998, but he would soon reach an even bigger level.
Goldberg’s big break came on the July 6, 1998 edition of Nitro where he challenged WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan in front of about 40,000 fans at the Georgia Dome where Goldberg used to play football for the Atlanta Falcons. It was a huge deal, and the match did everything it needed to do and then some.
As chaos ensued on the outside with DDP and Karl Malone neutralizing the nWo’s Curt Hennig, Goldberg planted Hogan with a spear followed by the most important jackhammer of his career to defeat Hollywood and win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was arguably the greatest moment in Nitro’s history along with arguably the biggest crowd pop in WCW history.
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Goldberg defeating Hogan in the Georgia Dome for the world title could be argued as the peak of WCW and is, without question, the biggest moment pro wrestling has ever seen inside the Georgia Dome.