'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
SmackDown was a surprisingly good show, all said and done, if you consider the fact that there was no crowd at all this week. Otis lost his mind and cost Heavy Machinery a shot at the Tag Team Championships that The Miz and John Morrison hold, and Sasha Banks learned that she has a shot at her best friend, Bayley.
But what made things really interesting indeed is the contract signing segment that happened at the end of this week's show. Goldberg and Roman Reigns came face to face and while not much was said, a lot of stuff was conveyed.
Do let me know your thoughts and your comments about this week's episode of SmackDown. Did you think that it was better than last week's show or even better than RAW was this week?
Also, what do you think of WrestleMania being aired without a live audience present? Do let us know your thoughts.
In any case, these are the things I picked up on from the segment.
#5 The full-timer vs. part-timer aspect will be a part of this rivalry
The tweet that was brought up during the course of this conversation stated that Roman Reigns uses a padded surface when he plants his fist on the ramp because of the number of days that he spends to entertain the WWE Universe. This is a shot at Goldberg, who only comes back to wrestle in the big shows. This is certainly an aspect that will be brought up during the course of the build to the big match.
And it is only natural that such a thing will be brought up in this manner because there's a very real feel to the proceedings when these two gladiators take center stage. This is not sports entertainment. This feels like an all-out war.
#4 Roman Reigns is making a habit of defeating legends
When someone in the roster is chosen to be 'The Guy' for a certain generation and a certain age, the machine gets behind him to push him all the way to the moon. Roman Reigns is the man who wears that crown in this era, and the WWE machine has been backing him to the top, in such a manner that he's recognized as an all-time great.
And as he rattled off his resume, one had no choice but to agree with the fact that he was indeed a force to be reckoned with in WWE. How many others can claim that they have defeated the likes of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, John Cena, and even Triple H through the course of their WWE careers.
Perhaps this match was only set up as a means for Roman Reigns to pick up yet another big win at WrestleMania and add the fact that he defeated Goldberg to his ever-growing list of accolades. There's very little chance of Goldberg holding on to the Universal Championship after WrestleMania.
#3 Goldberg's performance at Super ShowDown last year will live on, in infamy
Last year, at WWE Super showdown, Goldberg took on The Undertaker, in what was, in every sense, a super showdown, and many fans were amazed that such a match was actually happening. On the one hand you had a man who was the heart and soul of WWE in The Undertaker, and on the other, you had the unbeatable bull from WCW in Goldberg.
The two men would collide in Saudi Arabia but the result was panned by one and all. Goldberg beat his head on the door before the match and concussed himself and the resulting match was a disappointment of absolutely gargantuan proportions.
The fact that this match is being built after referencing that incident is a testament to the fact that WWE won't live the incident down and that they will continue to mock it in their upcoming storylines. Whether or not Goldberg is worthy of the mockery and the brickbats is not something that I can personally comment on in this article.
#2 Seeds for this feud were laid months ago
If you thought that the whole Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg feud was a last-minute thing, then think again. From the looks of it, the seeds were laid a very long time ago. Who would have thought that Tweets would become the basis of rivalries for Goldberg in the year 2020, but here we are.
It is amply clear that even as far back as January, Roman Reigns took a shot at Goldberg because the plans were for Goldberg to defeat The Fiend and become the Universal Champion. As has been repeated by a lot of pundits in the sports entertainment world, this is just a bigger match than Roman Reigns vs. The Fiend, and hence, this was the road that WWE decided to take.
Because of the string of victories that Roman Reigns has racked up during the course of his career, he is arguably the biggest draw in the company right now, and WWE has even built him up in this manner from scratch. As for Goldberg, like him or not, he's arguably the biggest draw that WCW ever had, at the peak of the Monday Night Wars.
#1 Neither man is a heel
I'm pretty certain that much like me, you too were surprised at the fact that this was a contract signing segment that did not end with a flurry of fists or the slightest sign of a beatdown. If you saw the contract signing segment on RAW with The Undertaker and AJ Styles, you know that this is not how most contract signing segments generally are in WWE.
But the fact of the matter is that it played out in this manner because both men are babyfaces, in this particular scenario. Even though fans in attendance did not care for either Superstar the night after Goldberg won the WWE Universal Championship, there are no fans now and the circumstances are different.
This is not like Edge vs. Randy Orton where there's a clear good guy and a well-defined villain but two men who are at the top of their game, competing in a battle to the finish for the top prize on the blue brand, and neither man will cheat to win the big one.
