When Goldberg came back a few weeks before Survivor Series, looking surprisingly spritely for someone who’s not stepped into a WWE ring for more than a decade, the fans didn’t realistically know what to expect.
Would he be the same unconquerable monster of old? Or would it be another case where Father Time had inevitably caught up with a legend, and all we’re left with is a shell of what the man once was?
It is solely down to the clever booking of WWE Creative that we’re still waiting on the definitive answer to those questions.
Ever since returning to acquaint the kids that grew up listening to the “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” rhetoric to some Attitude Era badassery, Goldberg has been led through a feud against WWE’s resident bully, Brock Lesnar, safely nestled in bubble wrap.
His victory over the Beast Incarnate at Survivor Series – and especially the devastating manner of it – has mustered enough momentum to keep the feud ticking over until WrestleMania, papering over the fact that both the part-timers have only managed a handful of appearances on TV to further their rivalry since then.
And while Goldberg claims that one of the more salient high points of his return has been performing in front of his young son, the jury is still out on whether his second run in the WWE has been one that has been beneficial for the overall complexion of the product.
Admittedly, the man himself has left no stone unturned in physically preparing himself for his first WrestleMania bow in 13 years. So much so, that he contritely describes the experience in his second WWE stint as “miserable”.
But is it really him who’s been handed the short end of the stick?
As fans, while our nostalgia was certainly stimulated when he emerged – intense as ever – through the sparks, one can’t help but question if his return was a fleeting feel-good moment that has since been overshadowed by how miserable the remainder of his run has been.
Here’s why.
#1 Outdated approach to wrestling
Goldberg, from the time when he was mowing down opponents in WCW and breaking them in half, has always been a “blow your load” type of performer. He gets in, destroys whoever is standing opposite him in the ring, and gets out.
There are hardly any unnecessary frills attached to his performance, and for the longest time, that has also been his unique selling point; unbridled intensity and an imposing physique coupled with a 0-100 mph gear that usually leaves his opponents writhing around in pain, staring at the lights long before they’ve even realised what’s happening.
But the inherent drawback of this type of approach is that he could never put on 30-minute wrestling clinics.
Also read: 5 ways to book Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania 33
And in today’s climate, where a match like the one that headlined NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada or the Cirque duSoleil-esque athletic exhibition between Will Ospreay and Ricochet is the flavour of the hour, Goldberg’s style finds itself tolerated at best but hardly embraced.
The one worst affected by this limitation has been Kevin Owens – a fantastic wrestler who was grossly underserved by Goldberg’s inability to sustain a longer duration of match at Fastlane.
Yes, all in all, not a very favourable scenario for the WWE at all. But it only gets worse...
#2 Taking a WM main event spot away from a deserving candidate
Rumour has it that Vince McMahon proclaimed, on the back of Wrestle Kingdom 11, that the main event of WrestleMania 33 will outdo the monumental “six-star” masterpiece that Omega and Okada had sculpted.
Most purveyors of the sport, right off the bat, would confess that it was a claim borne more out of the boss’ competitive fire, than cold hard logic.
Not because the WWE doesn’t possess the talent to give NJPW a serious run for their money, but purely because it just isn’t possible for the WrestleMania main event to scale those heights when a ring general like AJ Styles is likely stuck in a mindless spot fest, and the likes of Kevin Owens are brushed off the centre-stage and relegated to an afterthought on the card.
And while Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar certainly qualifies as a blockbuster on paper, it’s not going to last more than five minutes, and in the process, also deprives a full-time wrestler the chance to showcase their talents in the main event spot.
Harken back to CM Punk, who actually had the chutzpah to walk out on the company when he was meted out similar treatment, and you’d realise that the WWE hardly learns from their mistakes.
Whether it be with the Rock or Goldberg, they’ve showed an unhealthy inclination to risk part-timers who tug on the strings of nostalgia, rather than take a healthy gamble with a star of tomorrow who can make that WrestleMania main event spot their own for years to come.
Tsk. Tsk.
#3 Not giving the rub to the next generation
As though it isn’t bad enough that Goldberg’s match at WrestleMania has likely snatched away a main event spot from other deserving Superstars, the story arc that has seen him land there has been nothing short of preposterous.
Usually, a wrestler that still retains the magnetism of their prime even as they get on in years, ends up giving the rub to the next generation in the WWE; it happened when Ric Flair allowed Shawn Michaels to superkick him to oblivion, and even when the Hulkster stared at the lights for The Rock.
And when the time comes, I’ve no doubt that The Rock would do the same for a star of the future, or Triple H for that matter too.
Even Brock Lesnar, who’s as close to a timeless fighting machine as you’re ever likely to set eyes upon, is being primed for the eventual ‘pay-off’ loss to Roman Reigns, knowing Vince McMahon.
But what has been the purpose of Goldberg’s return? To amplify Brock Lesnar’s aura? Having already been the one in ‘21-1’, I’m not quite sure why it even required a further leg-up in the first place.
The fact that Goldberg can still do justice to the invulnerable ass-kicker persona that he rocked back in the day only underscores the gravity of the opportunity that the WWE has let slip by (likely) having him fall prey to the beast at WrestleMania 33.
Which brings me to my next point...
#4 Predictability in the storyline
Much of the Brock Lesnar – Goldberg feud this time around has played out like a patchy episode of Déjà Vu. Paul Heyman loudly extolling the virtues of his client, check. Brock Lesnar impressively puffing out his chest and not saying much, check. And most importantly, the opponent who eventually succumbs to the Beast, check.
It doesn’t even matter that Goldberg managed to unleash shock and awe tactics to keep Lesnar’s shoulders down for the 3-count at Survivor Series in between all of this; we all know how this rivalry is going to end.
With the former WCW stalwart highly unlikely to stay on with the WWE after the completion of WrestleMania 33, the only plausible outcome is that Brock Lesnar will get his own back and send him packing for good.
While affording him a fitting sendoff at the Show of Shows is a nice gesture on the part of the WWE, what irks me is that I can’t recall the last WrestleMania match in the recent past (other than Rock–Cena 2) that I was approaching with a greater dearth of intrigue.
If the outcome of one of the main events of Mania is already set in stone, where’s the Thrill in that?
#5 Goldberg didn’t need the title
Goldberg – the proprietor of the only other streak in contemporary professional wrestling to rival that of the Undertaker’s – paces impatiently on one corner of the ring, the very picture of intensity and vigour, flexing his trapezius muscles, as though to forewarn his opponent of impending doom.
On the other corner, accompanied by the prostrations of his reverent and loyal advocate Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar repeatedly shuffles his weight from one foot onto another, ominously, as though shaking off all remaining vestiges of humanity that he may bear, before tearing into his prey.
Goldberg may have bested Lesnar at Survivor Series, but it was a shock victory more than a dominant one; a scenario that segued seamlessly into a final, deciding encounter at the Show of Shows. Winner takes all, loser leaves town.
Quite a tantalising narrative isn’t it?
Did you notice that I’d missed out mentioning the WWE Universal Title? You didn’t, did you? That’s exactly my point.
Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar is a grand spectacle that practically sells itself. It’s the ultimate showdown between, arguably, two of the biggest alpha males that the WWE has seen in this generation.
It teems with mainstream appeal, and despite the predictability of the result this time around, it checks all the boxes that a rip-roarer of a WrestleMania event should.
What then, I ask, is the purpose of inserting the WWE Universal Title into the mix?
It wasn’t too long ago that John Cena elevated the gravitas of the US Title by stringing together a series of stellar matches where he defended it against all comers, week in and week out.
With that title run serving as a shining yardstick for the WWE to follow, it baffles as to why the Universal Title has been wedged between two titans of the industry whose mere presence in the ring sells tickets.
Whatever other drawbacks Goldberg’s current WWE run entail, for a passionate fan of the industry, the decision to thrust the WWE Universal title on him seems to be the most cringe-worthy of the lot.
And especially after Kevin Owens’ unsatisfactory run with the belt, it was the last thing that the WWE should have been gunning for.
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