5 Top superstars who were away for so long that WWE fans lost interest

CM Punk
CM Punk

#2. Goldberg - Only had small spells with WWE since 2018

Goldberg opening the show at the 2021 Royal Rumble.
Goldberg opening the show at the 2021 Royal Rumble.

Goldberg returned to WWE after 12 long years away in 2016. His return was an instant success, and he took out Brock Lesnar in 1 minute and 26 seconds in a shocking Survivor Series main event.

It led to him returning at Royal Rumble 2017 and culminated with a Universal Championship win and a defeat to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. 2017 seemed to be the perfect place for Goldberg to have his farewell, as he went out on his back and righted the wrong of WrestleMania 20.

His WWE Hall of Fame induction a year later cemented that, but it wasn't the end of his run. He had a few stints in between, including a disastrous "dream" match against The Undertaker, a short but fun match against Dolph Ziggler, and a return to win and lose the Universal Championship.

His most recent run saw him lose to Drew McIntyre at the 2021 Royal Rumble, and minus a few appearances, there hasn't been too much buzz about his returns. If he were to quietly retire from WWE, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Quick Links

Edited by Kaushik Das
sk promotional banner
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications