Goldberg’s WWE return should be surreal to see, but there’s just something missing about it.
Goldberg will make his WWE return on the October 17 episode of Raw. He’ll answer Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s challenge, which should lead to a match at Survivor Series. This will be the former WCW star’s first match in 12 years.
Goldberg once was one of the biggest names in the wrestling industry. He tore through WCW with his unprecedented undefeated streak, won multiple world titles, and had been one of the company’s few home-grown stars. After WWE bought WCW, it took Goldberg two years to appear, but he had a solid run for his 12 months there. This included a World Heavyweight Championship reign.
12 years later, we’re about to see the Master of the Jackhammer return to WWE programming. Something is missing, though. There doesn’t seem to be the necessary buzz around this wrestling legend’s return.
No Surprise Factor
When WWE 2K17 got announced earlier this year with Goldberg as the pre-order exclusive, it sparked discussion of if he’s going to return. This lasted for months, including a SummerSlam rumor, and even one about WrestleMania 32. The most recent ones saw talks of an impending WWE return and a match for Survivor Series. So, it seemed there was every reason to think this return would happen. To top it off, Goldberg appeared on ESPN to talk about a WWE return and the video game, which Heyman responded to.
With all the rumors and speculation, this took the surprise element out of play. No longer does it feel like a shocking spectacle that Goldberg is returning to WWE, but just a “yeah, we knew that already”. It has been a spoiler report that some fans have read up on for months. Already knowing the result of anything in advance takes away lust from the situation, something that’s evident here.
Lack of Intrigue for WrestleMania XX Rematch
Goldberg wrestling another match in WWE may have been a desire of many. He hasn’t shown up in 12 years. So, for one more nostalgic moment of the Attitude or Ruthless Aggression Era, it may be something special to see him wrestle again.
However, the last look everyone had at Goldberg wrestling was his WrestleMania XX match with Brock Lesnar. This bout of two of the industry’s best disappointed with poor crowd reactions and a mediocre story told in the ring. Couple that with knowledge of Lesnar and Goldberg planning to leave WWE after the show, creating a recipe for disaster.
12 years later, we’re back to Lesnar vs. Goldberg: The match hardly anyone wants to see. Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report even noted how not even Paul Heyman could sell this match.
Why should we want to see a failed match happen again? With the WWE Network, fans can go back to see the experience that was this WrestleMania XX bout. Then, to think this would happen again, but with each wrestler 12 years older. One of them hasn’t wrestled since (and was never a technical wizard) and the other recently had WWE avoid suspending him after being flagged by the USADA for a UFC fight.
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Brock Lesnar is Stale
From WrestleMania XXX to Battleground 2015, The Beast Incarnate may have been WWE’s hottest star. He built momentum for himself after crushing John Cena at SummerSlam 2014 and going to battle with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31. It’s no coincidence this was against two of WWE’s most hated stars either.
Once the summer of 2015 came around, though, Lesnar’s star started fading. He got placed into a feud with The Undertaker, which arguably should have taken place months earlier to capitalize on momentum. Then, their match at SummerSlam 2015 had a bizarre finish with Lesnar passing out, after the referee missed Undertaker tapping out.
WrestleMania 32 may have hurt the former Next Big Thing the most, or put the icing on the cake. He had a highly-anticipated bout with Dean Ambrose that could have been one of the hardest-hitting matches of the year. Instead, this saw Lesnar and Ambrose smack each other with a few chairs and do nothing to go over the top. The Lunatic Fringe even noted this in his appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast.
What connects this all together is predictability. We know Lesnar is on a part-time schedule. We know Lesnar’s schedule only includes the biggest shows and one or two episodes of Raw in between. Most predictable of them all, we know Lesnar is going to win every time.
There should be little doubt about who walks out victorious between Lesnar and Goldberg. It’s a similar situation to Sting vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31. Why give the person who won’t be around the win when it could benefit the wrestler that’s going to return?
It’s a waste to make Goldberg fodder to Lesnar’s stunted growth. If this had been the former World Heavyweight Champion facing a younger, full-time star, maybe this is a different story. He could have competed against someone like a Kevin Owens or Roman Reigns, stars of this generation that could use the rub. Things like this helped the previous era of WWE stars in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s. So, why isn’t this being replicated to help the current product?
Goldberg’s WWE return feels like it’s going to be yet another wasted opportunity by WWE to recreate something that wasn’t.
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