Where Are They Now? Gillberg

"Goldberg hates my guts," Duane Gill said. "He told me right to my face."

The former World Heavyweight Champion's animosity shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, Gill is the man who found his greatest success in WWE while portraying "Gillberg" — an over-the-top, comical spoof of Goldberg's wildly intense persona. But what the WCW powerhouse may not realize is that what he perceived as an offensive lampoon was actually a tribute from a man who has spent his life enamored with sports-entertainment. (PHOTOS)

"I love wrestling," Gill admitted. "There's nothing I love more in this life than walking out to that ring."

Growing up in Maryland in the 1970s, Gill spent countless hours in front of the television watching his favorite Superstars like Ivan Putski and Chief Jay Strongbow, but the young fan never had aspirations of making it in sports-entertainment. It wasn't until Gill saw a familiar face in WWE in the late '80s that he got the itch to try it himself.

"I was watching TV one day and I went, 'Oh my God, that's Barry Hardy! What the hell is he doing wrestling?'"

Hardy, a stocky, sandy-haired grappler from Virginia, was Gill's neighbor long before he began competing in WWE. The two had been friendly, so Gill reached out to him and within days he was training on carpet padding in Hardy's basement. The techniques came naturally to the Baltimore native and before long Gill was stepping into a WWE ring himself.

"I was actually lucky," Gill said. "I think my third professional match was in WWE."

Working as a team, Gill and Hardy competed under various personas, including the Road Warriors-inspired Lords of Darkness and the masked Executioners. Still, no matter what name they came to the ring under, the two old friends usually finished the match on the losing end of things. But no matter how many times they lost, Gill was always excited to be a part of WWE.

"To me, it's like watching Babe Ruth and then getting to play with him," the former Superstar said. "I got to wrestle all my idols — Jake "The Snake" Roberts, The Bulldogs, The Steiners, The Road Warriors, Jimmy Snuka, all of them."

Throughout the '90s, Gill made regular appearances on WWE television, but was never considered a full-time Superstar and maintained a job as a carpenter while away from the ring.

"I'd be siding a house and they'd call and say, 'We need you in Rochester tonight. We've got plane tickets at the airport,'" Gill revealed. "I didn't care what, where, when or how. I'd drop my tools and go."

Eventually, Gill and Hardy split as a team and Gill's appearances with WWE became more sporadic. But that would all change on a Friday in November of 1998 when he received a phone call that would change his life.

"I was working as a carpenter for the board of education and I got a call and I saw the number and I was like, 'That's WWE, dude!'"

On the other end of the line was WWE's Howard Finkel who informed Gill that he was needed in St. Louis for the Survivor Series pay-per-view. Gill didn't know it at the time, but he was about be revealed as Mankind's heavily-hyped mystery opponent in a tournament match for the vacant WWE Championship.

"Everyone, including myself, swore Shawn Michaels was going out there," Gill said. "Then I found out it was me and I was like, 'Well, I guess it ain't Shawn Michaels.'"

The capacity crowd expecting to see the return of an injured HBK was, unsurprisingly, disappointed by the sight of a Superstar who hadn't won a match since Zubaz pants were in style, but there was something about Gill's happy-to-be-there attitude that the WWE Universe couldn't deny.

"If you ever watched it you see me pointing up at the video screen going, 'Look, that's me, man!'"

Thanks to Gill's infectious smile and obvious enthusiasm, the veteran's one-night appearance went over so well that he was offered a three-year contract with WWE. The following night on Raw, the lifelong fan realized a dream when he defeated Christian to become the new Light Heavyweight Champion.

"I was crying my eyes out," Gill admitted. "Here I am, a carpenter for the board of education and now I'm Light Heavyweight Champion of WWE. I was dying, man."

Gill's unbelievable championship victory seemed like a fluke, but it would prove to be much more than that as he would go on to hold the title for more than 15 months — by far the longest reign in that championship's history. But this legendary title run wasn't the high point of Gill's career. Rather, it was his hilarious parody of a very big sports-entertainment star that garnered Gill his greatest fame.

"I was doing stuff on the indies like "The Under-faker" and "Stone Old," Gill explained of his propensity for imitation. "I was talking to [fellow Superstars] and telling them that story and I said, 'Yeah, I did Gillberg.' And for the rest of the night, every time I walked by everybody would start going, 'Gillberg! Gillberg!'"

At the time, Goldberg was the biggest star in World Championship Wrestling. A former professional football player, the big man had gained a major fan following thanks to his no-nonsense persona and his historic undefeated streak, which saw him win 173 matches without a loss. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing in at nearly 300 pounds of solid muscle, Goldberg was nearly twice the size of Gill, but their matching bald heads and goatees gave them a similar look that couldn't be denied.

Realizing the potential for comedy, Gill soon appeared on Raw under his Gillberg persona and battled the legendarily tough female competitor Luna Vachon in his first bout. The grinning impostor received a vicious beating, but the match was nothing short of hilarious.

"When I came through the curtain, everybody was standing there, crying their eyes out with laughter and clapping," Gill remembered. "It was the highest honor I ever got."

In the years the followed, Gill would continue to send up Goldberg, imitating everything from his entrance to his facial expressions, but the two men would never cross paths. All that would change however in 2003 when Gill arrived on Raw for a showdown that everyone in the WWE Universe had been waiting to see.

Goldberg and Gillberg were about to meet.

From the moment Duane Gill began parodying former World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg on WWE television in 1998, the WWE Universe anticipated a face-to-face meeting between the two men. But it would be five long years before the intense original and his hilarious impostor were in the same building. (PHOTOS)

It was April of 2003 and Goldberg was embroiled in a heated rivalry with The Rock after making his long-awaited WWE debut one month prior. To get under Goldberg's skin, The Great One recruited Gill to slip on his Gillberg tights and make a special appearance on Raw. But before Gill could surprise the man he'd poked fun at for years, the two crossed paths in the locker room. To the surprise of few, the deadly serious Goldberg made it clear that he wasn't a fan of Gill's antics.

"He told me I had a [butt] whooping coming," Gill frankly stated.

Still, despite Goldberg's stern warning, Gill went to the ring with The Rock and performed an over-the-top imitation of the bald, big man that was so funny even The Brahma Bull couldn't hide his laughter. But the hijinks came to a stop when Goldberg hit the ring and went straight for Gill.

"I tell you what, the man picked me up literally off the floor by my neck with one hand," Gill remembered.

Thanks to The Rock, Gill was able to escape unharmed. It would be the first and only time he'd make contact with Goldberg in the ring, but the thought of a big match between the two men never left Gill's mind.

"I guarantee that you could have held a pay-per-view with Goldberg against Gillberg, but I think [Mr. McMahon] saved me," Gill admitted. "He said, 'That little guy will die if Goldberg gets to him.'"

The near-fatal showdown with the man he'd mocked for years would be one of Gill's final appearances with WWE, but the man himself never left the ring. Although he hasn't shown up on Raw since December of 2007, the former Light Heavyweight Champion is still very active on the independent wrestling circuit and can often be seen at autograph signings and conventions.

"You know what a convention is to me? A way to get paid to go visit your friends," Gill said. "I have a blast."

The lifelong WWE fan is also passing on his years of experience in the ring through his brand new school. Located in Severn, Maryland, Gillberg's Pro Wrestling Academy opened for business in July of 2010 with Gill serving as owner and head trainer.

"The place is first class all the way," Gill told WWE.com. "I have two rings, a balcony, dressing rooms, three offices. It's beautiful, man."

Working with longtime friends and fellow competitors Rich Myers and Earl the Pearl, Gill is showing his students all the skills he learned through decades of matches with the likes of Bob Backlund, Goldust and countless others.

"I honestly love it very much," Gill said. "I can train young, up-and-coming wrestlers in a business that I really love."

But while Gill is an easygoing, affable character, he stresses the importance of hard work, respect and discipline at his academy.

"I'm old school," the veteran admitted. "I don't like to get [my students] out in front of a big crowd until I really feel they are ready. You have to pay your dues with me." (Learn more about the school)

As a man who wrestled for years and years in the thankless role of "enhancement talent" before earning his moment to shine, Gill truly understands the value of paying your dues. That's why the tireless worker still continues to do the carpentry work that kept his family going financially while he chased his WWE dreams.

"Right now, I'm buying houses with a buddy and fixing them up," he revealed. "Then we sell them and split the money."

The new venture has been a success for Gill thanks to his hall of fame-worthy remodeling skills.

"I'm a pretty good wrestler, but I'm ten times better as a carpenter," Gill cracked.

Now 51, the charming competitor can look back on a life filled with success both in the ring and in his personal life. A married father of two adult children, Gill also has a nine-year-old granddaughter who helps him stay young.

"It's the greatest thing in the world," Gill said of being a grandfather. "She comes out and watches me wrestle and cheers along. That's my biggest fan."

And while Gill has never made amends with Goldberg, he welcomes the opportunity for the man to visit his wrestling school someday.

"I wish he would stop by," Gill said with a laugh. "I hope he does. I'll take pictures with him. I'm serious."