wrestling / Columns

Goldberg – Face of the New Era?

February 19, 2017 | Posted by Andrew Hughes
Bill Goldberg Credit: WWE

Ever since the WWE Draft back in July, both Stephanie and Shane McMahon have been proclaiming that the “New Era” is upon us. John Cena has cited the tagline in his promos, proclaiming that it’s not the “New Era” but the “My time is now era.” The idea behind it is that the WWE is making it clear to the WWE Universe there is a new breed of superstars that will be the featured stars on both brands. After several failed eras, where guys like Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Wade Barrett and a handful of others fell flat due to up and down booking, the WWE is hoping that the men and women who established themselves in NXT before being called up to the main roster.

The three former members of the Shield, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and most recently Bray Wyatt have broken through as the faces of the New Era. For the women, the rise of the four horsewomen in WWE has truly began the “Diva’s Revolution.” But for all of the success that the aforementioned superstars have achieved, there is only one who has been booked to be the most unstoppable force in professional wrestling…and there’s nothing “new” about him.

Goldberg, at this point, is the top guy in the WWE right now. No superstar has ever looked as invincible as the former WCW heavyweight champion has since his return in November. When it was initially announced on ESPN that Goldberg would face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, many were expecting the then-49-year-old to be taken to “Suplex City.” Lesnar had been on one of the most dominant runs in the history of the WWE, ending the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak and squashing John Cena to claim the WWE championship at Summerslam 2014. Lesnar had even parlayed a UFC win (since tainted by the results of his failed drug test) into a legitimate beat-down of Randy Orton at Summerslam. Lesnar had to defeat Goldberg, a man who had not stepped foot in the ring for over 12 years, for the sake of the legitimacy of the roster.

Then Survivor Series happened. Lesnar not only lost to Goldberg, but as Michael Cole put it, the Beast Incarnate was “embarrassed.” Goldberg had slayed the beast in just one minute and twenty nine seconds following two spears and a jackhammer. Lesnar, after dominating just about everyone on the roster including WWE’s golden boy Roman Reigns, couldn’t get one move in on Goldberg. The WWE could have easily spun it into a situation where Lesnar was “caught” by Goldberg. Maybe Lesnar took him too lightly and would destroy Goldberg the next time he saw him.

Well, that didn’t happen either. Goldberg laid Lesnar out with a spear and tossed him from the Royal Rumble unceremoniously. He also laid out several superstars, including current WWE champion Bray Wyatt and eventual Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton. In the buildup to the Royal Rumble he speared Braun Strowman, who has been presented as the ultimate monster in the WWE. Worse yet, his elimination came at the hands of the Undertaker, who did his classic sit-up and tossed him but only after the Deadman was speared by Goldberg. The WWE had their ultimate legend be the one to take out Goldberg and that was only because he had his back turned after eliminating Luke Harper.

This sequence of events makes the new crop of superstars look terrible. Goldberg can be inactive for over a decade and run through anyone in front of him. If Brock Lesnar can’t stand toe to toe with him, how does that make the rest of the roster look when they couldn’t go toe to toe with Lesnar? When Goldberg comes down to the ring and interacts with the likes of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, he screams in their face and makes them look weak. Everyone fears Bill Goldberg, even though he isn’t even a full fledged member of the roster. Hell, his name plate in his entrance even says that he is from WWE 2K17 and not Raw! WWE gives has more trust in a 50 year-old Goldberg than any full-time member of the roster. He is portrayed to be more dominant and is subsequently more over than most of the roster. Sure that works during WrestleMania season, but what is going to happen after he leaves following his match with Lesnar in Orlando?

Now Goldberg is slated to fight Kevin Owens at Fastlane with the Universal title on the line. With the rematch with Lesnar already penciled in at WrestleMania, it is very possible, if not likely that match will be the main event of the evening with the title on the line. Between the mainstream coverage Goldberg and Lesnar both bring and the nature that Goldberg has been booked since returning, many fans’ worst nightmare may come to fruition. Two part-timers will be main-eventing WrestleMania while the talented superstars that spend over 300 days on the road all year are pushed down the card.

It is possible that Owens does come away from Fastlane with the Universal title intact. There is no shot that if that happens it wouldn’t be through shenanigans though. Either Brock Lesnar will return the favor after Goldberg cost him his WWE title in 2004 (which wouldn’t make sense story-wise considering Lesnar-Goldberg is already on the WrestleMania card) or Chris Jericho will get involved. Kevin Owens will not defeat Goldberg cleanly, mostly because he hasn’t beaten anyone cleanly since winning the title in the first place. Essentially Goldberg is untouchable. He is an unstoppable force that cannot lose or even be touched most nights.

Why couldn’t this push be given to someone else? Sure Goldberg is a big name from the past that draws viewers in and pops the crowd at events. But that is because he was booked correctly during the late 1990s. No one today is booked as well as Goldberg was, who won 173 consecutive matches to begin his career. That is why a 50-year-old Goldberg is the face of the New Era.

Follow me on Twitter @ARJHughes

article topics :

Goldberg, WWE, Andrew Hughes