The recent news of Goldberg’s potential return to WWE and a match with Brock Lesnar has turned the wrestling world on its ear. After a 12 year hiatus from the ring, the 49-year-old former world champion has everyone talking about a match that in some eyes should not happen.
I for one am in that camp. It’s a confrontation that is going to happen, but should it happen? No because of what it really means to WWE and the message the McMahons are sending to the current roster of both Raw and SmackDown Live.
This is what happens when there are missteps in booking and ratings take a tumble for whatever reason. The company that claims to be innovative attempts to re-invent the wheel on a consistent basis. Most times, that wheel gets stuck in the mud.
Will the news of Goldberg’s return spark interest from other retired superstars who might have an itch they need scratched? It’s possible. There have been rumours for years of other former WWE superstars looking for a chance to relive their youth and prove they still have it – when in fact they lost it many moons ago.
Here are five former wrestling superstars who need to forget the pipe dream and concentrate on retirement.
#1 Ric Flair
The fact Flair said he thought he could wrestle John Cena if he had a month to prepare for a match with the 15-time world champion tells me two things: Flair hasn’t gotten the wrestling bug out of his system and the Nature Boy has a few screws loose.
Flair is well past his prime, stumbles over words and looks like he is in a zone all to his own when he is on camera. I love the Flair character, but age has taken over and the man who was “the man” is no longer “the man”. Flair isn’t involved in WWE at the moment and should seriously consider giving up the ghost permanently.
#2 Vader
Leon White, at 61, looks like he could still give it a go in the ring. But looks are deceiving, so please stay away from the ring.
He won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (the first non-Japanese holder) and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, but never was a WWE World Champion.
He appeared twice on Raw in 2012 as part of angles of legends returning to face Heath Slater. That’s where it should stop. Vader cannot compete with today’s talent at his age despite being one of the best big men in the business, ever.
#3 Batista
Batista moved on from WWE, which looks like it is a permanent vacation for him from the wrestling wars. But never say never. On different occasions, the former world champion has been offered a chance to return to the company he left.
He is only a few years removed from his last return to the ring, where he won the 2014 Royal Rumble and headlined WrestleMania XXX. Batista has enjoyed success out of the ring as an actor and it is more than likely will stay away from potential wrestling matches.
There had been some talk of him being asked to return to WrestleMania the past two years – potentially as an opponent for the Undertaker this last April.
#4 Mr. McMahon
The dirtiest player of all time should never – EVER – return to the ring in a wrestling role. As the Mr. McMahon character, Vince McMahon has a permanent place in the company and history.
McMahon created chaos and cash for his company in becoming a champion himself and wrestling the likes of Steve Austin – creating the greatest feud in wrestling history. Time, however, has passed him by. To his credit, not many 71-year-old men are as jacked as he is and he still looks like he could hurt someone in the ring if given a chance.
Still, the fact that he was injured recently while working out gives you an idea that the notion of locking it up again with an opponent is as bad an idea as any in recent memory.
#5 Sting
Let’s be clear on this. There is still some fight left in The Icon and there has been ample talk that although he “retired” from the ring at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Steve Borden could still go at it.
He proved he could hold his own against Triple H at WrestleMania and showed he could still compete for a world title when he was in the ring with Seth Rollins. As we all know, he was injured in the match at Night of Champions last year, ending his career.
The one match we all want to see is him in the ring with Undertaker – but even that is now a stretch and should not take place. We can only wonder what would have been had he signed with WWE 10 years ago.
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