Looking at The Return of Goldberg

If you could go back in time to witness one moment in professional wrestling, what would it be? Would you want to see a historic match? Do you want to experience the thrill of watching an unbelievable angle or promo? Perhaps you want to relive the storytelling unfold in a classic feud. Is there a year, or era that you would have loved to have witnessed as it happened?

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

The WWE Network does a great job of having a video library stocked with some of the greatest moments in wrestling history. From Hulk Hogan defeating the Iron Sheik for his first WWF World Heavyweight championship to the WrestleMania era, the modern day WWF/E footage is well preserved. For fans of the NWA/WCW, you can watch the first Starrcade up until the final Nitro. Practically every ECW television moment is on the Network, as is footage of other promotions like Mid-South, the AWA, World Class, and Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

However, as great as it is to watch these hundreds of hours of historic wrestling footage that the WWE Network provides, it isn’t the same as seeing it live as it happens without the 20/20 hindsight of history telling us whether the moment left a lasting impression. Nineteen years later, I can still remember being at the Garden when Steve Austin delivered his first Stone Cold Stunner to Mr. McMahon. I can still feel the heat given off by the fans at the ECW Arena when Jerry Lawler invaded ECW. The heat was both due to the temperature inside of the building as it was packed with fans, along with wrestling “heat” as these people booed so loudly that you couldn’t even hear Jerry Lawler’s promo. That night was the closest that I had ever come to being around “white hot heat” that you would hear about from wrestlers during the days of the territories.

Sometimes you watch something, and you realize that the business is about to change forever. If felt that way immediately following the main event of the 1997 Survivor Series. Right after the “screw job” took place, I immediately knew that something big just went down. This was no wrestling angle, but it was something that would change the face of the industry (although I never dreamed it would change the WWF as much as it did). When watching CM Punk’s pipebomb, while I knew that the WWE would never allow Punk to “shoot” on the company without prior approval, it still had the feel of just witnessing history.

Even great matches can have a lasting impression. I was live in the second row for WrestleMania X to see two five star classics in Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart and the Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon ladder match. Those two matches helped to catapult the careers of Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramon, as Bret Hart was already an established main event wrestler. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, to this day, has impacted many fans and wrestlers alike. When a match is really great, you know it’s special, and that you’ve witnessed something that others will be talking about for years. These matches don’t get a “This is awesome!” chant because it happens to be the best match on the show during that particular night. Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker I at WrestleMania XXV comes to mind. A great match can be used as a stepping stone to greater things for the participants, like the final match between the Hardys and Edge and Christian in the Terri Invitational Tournament. It can be admired for the historical significance that it represents. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair, The Rock vs. John Cena, and even the WWWF’s rare babyface match between Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales are perfect examples. When you watch that rare match that you know you have just witnessed something special, there is nothing else like it. Sure, the ESPN-ization of society will lead you to believe that every next great match is the best match ever. However, you know this isn’t the case, because on that special night when all of the stars align, and the two performers in the ring create a magic rarely seen, you know that you have just watched something that can never be duplicated. No matter how many times you rewatch the match on the WWE Network, you may appreciate the match, but the “mark out” moments that you experienced while watching the match live are gone forever.

TONIGHT, WE’RE GONNA PARTY LIKE IT’S 2004

The WWE is hoping to provide the fans with a trip in their Delorian, as they set the date back to 2004. The company was going through a transition phase. The megastars of the Attitude Era, Steve Austin and The Rock were done as in-ring competitors. There was no WCW for the WWE to acquire talent with national name recognition anymore. The WWE was in the middle of burning through the remnants of the Monday Night Wars, as well as creating the stars of tomorrow with help from Ohio Valley Wrestling. As 2004 began, the WWE was on the verge of having two WCW cruiserweight wrestlers become the standard bearers of the two television branded shows. Eddie Guerrero was about to win the WWE championship from Brock Lesnar, and Chris Benoit was set to main event WrestleMania where he would win the World Heavyweight title. Triple H was the top in-ring veteran in the company. The rising stars from Ohio Valley, Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin, Batista, Randy Orton, and John Cena were quickly making a name for themselves, with the latter about to become the face of the franchise.

Even though, he was a rising star, Brock Lesnar was set to fade away from the WWE. He was tired of the travel and being on the road. He didn’t want to be a 40 years-old wrestler hooked on vodka and Vicodin, as he mentioned in his autobiography. At the same time, WCW’s biggest creation during the Monday Night Wars, Bill Goldberg was nearing the end of his one year WWE contract. He was unhappy in the WWE, and had no intention of resigning.

The WWE had booked Brock Lesnar to face Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania XX with Steve Austin as the referee. In one ring, you had the two of the biggest stars for the WWE and WCW from the late nineties, as well as the biggest current star for the company. Originally, the WWE was going to have Brock Lesnar go over Goldberg to cement his standing as the “next big thing.” However, Brock Lesnar decided that after WrestleMania, he was going to join Bill Goldberg in leaving the WWE immediately following WrestleMania XX. In a surprise, the WWE decided to switch the result of the match to have Goldberg get the pin. The WWE has historically favored the WWF/E creation over a WCW produced star when the two would face off in a “dream” match. Since both were departing, it seemed like they would just give the victory to the WWE guy. At the time, Brock Lesnar said that he was going to try to play football in the National Football League. The WWE probably believed that they had a better chance of eventually bringing a disgruntled Goldberg back into the fold, then ever seeing Brock Lesnar again (little did they know).

BROCK vs. GOLDBERG: PART TWO

It took twelve years, but the WWE has finally gotten Bill Goldberg to rejoin the family, even if it’s just for one match. You would think that the WWE would want to have him make his in ring return at the show of shows, WrestleMania. Nope, the WWE wants to bring him into wrestle at the Survivor Series. It actually isn’t a bad idea. WrestleMania is always packed with big matches. A Goldberg return at WrestleMania could get lost in the shuffle with everything else the WWE has planned heading into the event. Plus, the WWE wants to build up the prestige of the Survivor Series as being one of the original “big four” pay per views. They probably also believe that despite this being a “one match” event, they could probably get Goldberg to do another match at WrestleMania if needed.

With the event scheduled, the next piece of business should be Goldberg’s opponent. Do you want him to face one of the newer WWE performers, like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, or AJ Styles? Would the fans rather see a “dream match” with Goldberg and Ryback, I mean John Cena? A Goldberg vs. John Cena match would be interesting. Both are powerful men. Both were the faces of their respective companies. The WWE decided to forgo a John Cena vs. Goldberg match, at least for the moment. Instead, the WWE is providing the fans with the rematch that is twelve years in the making. Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg II.

As far as “dream match” potential, this match-up does fall into that category. When running through the WWE roster, Brock Lesnar doesn’t have many believable opponents left for him to face that the fans would buy as competition. Despite not wrestling in over a decade, Goldberg is still a very credible name in the world of professional wrestling. The big problem lies in the fact that their first match was a major dud. Both men had both of their feet out of the WWE’s door. The fans in the building were crapping all over their WrestleMania XX encounter. They were working like they just wanted to get the match over with, and to get the hell out of the building as quickly as possible. After it was over, this was one “dream match” that was considered a nightmare. There wasn’t a fan in the world that was clamoring for a second installment for Goldberg vs. Brock.

Twelve years later, Brock Lesnar is a former UFC Champion, and has revitalized his WWE career since coming back the night after WrestleMania XXVIII. Bill Goldberg has stayed away from the ring, and is now 49 years old. Both men are in tremendous shape. However, there’s being in shape, and being in “wrestling” shape. Goldberg was never known for his tremendous work rate and ring endurance when he was in his thirties. Time may not be kind to him in his return. The WWE will probably use a lot of smoke and mirrors, like they did during Sting’s WrestleMania XXXI match against Triple H, to ensure that the two have a match that exceeds their WrestleMania XX disaster. While this will not be a five star AJ Styles spectacle, the rematch that no one wanted to see should be better than expected. Paul Heyman’s initial promo challenging Bill Goldberg was great. With Heyman at the helm as the main mouthpiece trying to sell this match, the WWE should have a great build up leading to the Survivor Series match. Interest in this match has already picked up, and should be at its peak by the time November rolls around. Will the promos and match be remembered fondly years from now to the point where fans would want to go back to this moment in time to relive the moment all over again? Probably, not, but that doesn’t mean Goldberg vs. Lesnar II will be a disaster. It will probably turn out to be one of the highlights of an already memorable 2016 for professional wrestling. If it does bomb? Well, at least you can have an exciting Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg clash by playing WWE 2K17.