What’s the story?
Wrestling fans may have figured out that Goldberg stands a pretty good chance of toppling Universal Champion Kevin Owens at WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view, but now we may know why.
According to a report from Ringside News, Vince McMahon wants to put the red belt on Goldberg to build for WrestleMania. With Goldberg set to face Brock Lesnar in a huge match at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, McMahon reportedly wants to make that match even bigger by adding the top title from the company’s flagship show.
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Goldberg confronted Owens and his best friend Chris Jericho on Monday’s episode of RAW to challenge Owens for his title. Jericho accepted the challenge for him, adding a little more tension to the two Canadians’ relationship.
Goldberg, now 50 years old, may have never held the relatively new Universal Championship, but he was a United States Champion and two-time World Heavyweight Champion in WCW before coming over to the WWE and winning the world title there. A former Ring of Honor and NXT champion, Owens held the Intercontinental Championship twice before becoming the second Universal Champion.
The heart of the matter
With the Lesnar-Goldberg matchup already in the works for WrestleMania, it was hard to see him losing to Owens at Fastlane. Scheduled for March 5, the event is RAW’s final pay-per-view before WrestleMania.
Further, it’s not surprising that McMahon would be focused on hyping up a match involving older part-time performers at a major show. This will be the second matchup between Goldberg and Lesnar in the last year, and WrestleMania 32 featured Lesnar, Undertaker, Shane McMahon, The Rock and Triple H in major matches or segments.
What’s next?
A popular phrase in stories about angles that did or didn’t happen is “Vince changed his mind.” It’s always possible that fan reaction to Goldberg as a potential champion or even how things go on RAW for the next few weeks could shift McMahon’s thinking.
Fans will be left to watch the product over the next couple weeks, where we’ll likely see some cracks in the JeriKO relationship that will lead to the expected breakup, possibly surrounding Owens’ loss to Goldberg.
Sportskeeda’s take
Even if this could be completely expected from the booking, this is a disappointing turn of events. Owens is an extremely talented performer whose first major title reign has been defined by outside help, similar to Seth Rollins’ first run in 2015.
Beyond that, it’s disheartening to see another major show that focuses more on stars well past their prime than the loaded roster of full-time talent. That said, one could also assume that the Lesnar-Goldberg match was going to be a main event anyway, so adding a title to the match will at least keep it from upstaging one of the company’s major belts. That’s a small consolation, though, to be honest.
This is to take nothing away from Goldberg, Lesnar or their work in the business, but it’s time for the WWE to move on and let the younger stars have the spotlight.
