Against Goldberg, every second counts.

The bell rings and the clock starts ticking.

Wrestling Goldberg in the midst of his famed undefeated streak is nothing less than grappling with inevitability itself. It's a question of when, not if, cause once the jackhammer falls, it's game over. Many Goldberg matches succeed off the euphoria of rushing to that finish line. Adrenaline surges through the body when he explodes out of that corner and just mows through someone with a spear or plants them into the dirt with the jackhammer. Interruptions to this routine are fairly few and all the more notable for when they do happen.

The magic of DDP is interrupting the onslaught and creating doubt in the face of the inevitable.

I had never seen the entrances to this match before, having primarily watched the old WWE YouTube upload of it which starts at the bell. It's a special thing to add to the drama of it all. DDP makes an extended entrance playing directly to the crowd--The People's Champ after all--even walking through the audience on his way to the ring. Goldberg, on the other hand, is about as locked in as you can get. He's more force of nature than anything, barely restrained by the cadre of guards that accompany him down to the ring. In this way, Goldberg's distant from the audience. He's not one of us at any point, but good lord are we in just absolute awe of him. Goldberg's a pro wrestling star in the truest sense, a physical specimen to be admired and gawked at, as powerful and enchanting as the circus attractions from which the sport grew out of.

It's that difference that makes DDP's struggle here so compelling. Because he's one of us, we can't help but root for him against the impossible. And god bless him, he rewards our faith, even if it means staring doom head on.

For all the talk about "no wasted motion" in pro wrestling, this match might be one of the most beautiful examples of it ever. Every single moment of offense registers, and despite the truncated runtime there's still somehow room for everything to breathe. It's the kind of wondrous achievement that comes from absolute dedication to every moment. There's not a loose hold or limp strike anywhere in this, and every bump feels cataclysmic in consequence. Just look at how these two run into that initial tie up, and how DDP flies into the corner when Goldberg's able to shove him away.

There's just so much tension throughout this entire match. And all that building suspense finds its release in ways that might surprise even those that have seen this match before. I've watched this match a few times now, but even now I find new things to marvel at. DDP sweeping the legs and Goldberg doing a full back flip out of it? Good fucking lord! It felt somewhat akin to watching Kiyoshi Tamura bust out a kip up against Volk Han. Just this moment of unreal athleticism that feels borderline out of place, but never actually shatters the illusion of anything. As noted by the commentary team, Goldberg's full of surprises especially when pushed further out than he's gone before and that back flip's just one of them. Later on in the match, he also busts out a proto-Twist and Shout which can't help but call to mind the idea that a young Tanahashi was watching this on VHS and taking notes.

As great as DDP is, Jesus Christ, Goldberg is unreal in this.

For all the bad faith discussions of him being a "limited" worker, I struggle to think of many workers that could pull off a performance as well-rounded and surprising as this. Not just that early back flip, but other things like bumping beautifully on a tijeras from DDP, basically landing on his own head for it. Then structurally too, spending the match both targeting a limb and selling one. His early attempts to soften up DDP's arm are focused and way more limber than one might expect. He gets into those armbars with some real snap and boy does he wrench on those things when he's got them locked in as well.

But really, the wonder comes from his selling of his own bad arm in the finishing stretch. This isn't just some nerdy obsession with limb selling either (though I'll gladly hold my hands up and say I'm often guilty of that). Rather, it's the entire fucking reason the match functions so beautifully. What happens when DDP dodges Goldberg into the corner and the champion charges full speed into the ringpost--beautiful bump, by the way--is that doubt creeps in. The magnitude of Goldberg's selling here has to be proportional to the awesome power he's demonstrated for over a year now. If Goldberg doesn't sell the ever living crap out of that arm, we can not believe that DDP might get this done.

But Goldberg does, and so we believe.

It's such a great arm selling performance. He's believably handicapped here, barely moving the bad arm, holding it close to his body, and importantly struggling to get DDP up for the decisive jackhammer. The bad arm provides the opening for DDP's best shot, a Diamond Cutter to counter those jackhammer attempts. Unfortunately for Page, the champion had just run him through with a big ole spear. Injured shoulder or not, absorbing the spear means that DDP can't get into the pin on time and Goldberg kicks out at two. A beautiful kick out here, one that gives DDP an out (he didn't get the cover on time) but still provides Goldberg a massive win in his column regardless.

And because every second counts, and everything in a match this hard fought has to be earned, watch Goldberg's final attempt at that jackhammer. Something that's routine, that he's done a million times over, looks like the hardest thing in the world. Even here, with the undefeated streak ongoing, with the gold on his waist, Goldberg still closes out the match feeling like he had something left to prove.

And then, the three seconds that count the most.

IS IT BETTER THAN 6/3/94? Misawa and Kawada together have never put together something quite so potent and concise at the same time. Through sheer economy of motion and time, Goldberg and DDP take the win.

Rating: ****1/2