It’s not just because Seth Rollins and Finn Balor are injured that Goldberg facing Brock Lesnar is the best main event for Wrestlemania.
Moreso, it’s because WWE is a big-time mainstream brand that has been betting big on pop culture but has fallen short in creating compelling new stars that we’re likely looking at two part-time performers headlining the 33rd edition of the “Showcase of the Immortals.”
All things considered, that’s not a terrible thing and should provide anyone currently wrestling within the company with an idea of exactly what it takes to be someone “moving the needle ahead” for the sports entertainment corporate monolith that is the WWE.
Here are some inarguable facts to consider. Since becoming a publicly-traded corporation on the New York Stock Exchange, WWE has lost more money than it has earned, but they’ve also likely doubled or tripled the amount of money they’ve lured in from outside investors.
In layman’s terms, this means that WWE is better in theory than in practice. As *just* a wrestling company, WWE’s fallen short at captivating their core audience. However, it’s likely the allure of what wrestling once represented that’s kept the company afloat, as outside investors continue doubling-down on an affiliation with the product.
Therefore, anyone losing sleep over the idea that Goldberg will have likely run over Brock Lesnar AND Kevin Owens en route to a Wrestlemania main-event rematch with Brock Lesnar sadly hasn’t been paying attention to WWE in especially the past decade.
Since 2011, the main event of Wrestlemania has included at least ONE part-time performer with some modicum of mainstream pop culture notoriety.
In 2011, The Rock refereed The Miz’s tilt with John Cena. In 2012, The Rock actually faced John Cena. In 2013, The Rock infamously bested CM Punk at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship, and he then wrestled Cena in a rematch at Wrestlemania.
In 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy star and former WWE champion Dave Bautista wrestled both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. In 2015, UFC and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar wrestled Roman Reigns.
Last year was out of control, as part-timers The Rock, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Shane McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Mick Foley all appeared on the show, while part-timer Triple H wrestled Roman Reigns in the main event.
Thus, Wrestlemania 33 being headlined by Brock Lesnar and Goldberg actually makes all the sense.
The key to 2017’s Wrestlemania is the involvement of WWE 2K17 game maker 2K Sports in the company’s marketing plans. Of the many pieces of WWE’s current marketing puzzle, it’s 2K Sports’ involvement at the company’s highest levels that’s most impressive.
Also read: WWE News: Jim Ross reacts to rumors of Goldberg winning the Universal Championship
In 2015, the company brought back Sting to WWE as a playable legend on WWE 2K15. As a wrestler in real-time, he was integrated into WWE’s product for most of that calendar year.
Similarly, 2K Sports has put a similar marketing push behind Goldberg for the WWE 2K17 game, and it’s entirely possible that their marketing push also involves Goldberg being a major part of WWE for 2016 and 2017 as well.
Thus, this explains Goldberg squashing Brock at Survivor Series, quickly eliminating him at the Royal Rumble, and in all likelihood wrestling him in the Wrestlemania main event.
Surely, there are those of you in the reading audience who think that from Kevin Owens to Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt and others, that there are absolutely more “deserving” main event competitors.
For as much as that would be true if WWE were a “pro wrestling” company, there’s a solid counter-argument that says that WWE isn’t actually a “pro wrestling” company anymore, but rather a corporation that presents pro wrestling as its core content product, and has to keep its investors happy.
WWE 2K17’s hottest legend versus the game’s cover boy? That’s best for business.
Yes, for as much as wrestlers who draw approval in terms of favourable feedback in their WWE Network aired matches or who have outstanding athletic or career credentials, they’re just not as popular in the mainstream as Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar.
Hell, they’re not even as mainstream-popular as John Cena, The Miz, The Undertaker, Triple H, Randy Orton, or Dave Bautista either.
If you’re waiting for Kevin Owens to be in the main event of Wrestlemania, tell him to call out his one friend The Rock, or have him emulate his best friend Chris Jericho and become a rock star, podcaster and “Dancing With The Stars” contestant. Otherwise, it’s probably not going to happen.
Because WWE is as much a content provider for corporations, advertisers, and marketers, as it is a professional wrestling organisation. Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship is the best main event for Wrestlemania 33.
Anything other than this main event is WWE failing at being exactly what it has become.
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