For a period in the late 90s, Gillberg was a lovable loser parody character of Goldberg, where instead of having a winning streak, he would have a losing streak. It was done as a shot at the WCW star, but Duane Gill was just fulfilling a role written for him and living his WWE dream. Therefore it comes across as quite a surprise to find out that the reason Gillberg never got action figures, t-shirts, or featured in video games was because of Goldberg himself.
This claim comes directly from Gillberg, who would tell the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast that people he knows told him, “Goldberg has a thumb on me.” This seemingly suggests Goldberg doesn’t have a sense of humor over the character and, in his own WWE negotiations, had Gillberg’s money-making opportunities squashed.
I loved the Gillberg gimmick. Goldberg has, I can’t say 100 percent, but from the people I know, they say that Goldberg has a thumb on me. I can’t have a doll, I can’t have a shirt, I can’t be on a video game. I can’t do anything at all.
GillbergGill retired from the ring in 2019 at the age of 58 and wrestled Ellsworth at an Adrenaline Wrestling show in his final match. This concluded a career that had begun in 1990 and saw him share a ring with legendary wrestlers like The Undertaker, Triple H, Mr. Perfect, Razor Ramon, and Owen Hart. Sadly though, he suffered a heart attack in 2020 but thankfully has since made a full recovery. And outside the control of WWE looks set to get his first action figure from Chella Toys sometime in 2023 under his real name.
