This Survivor Series was different from the ones that preceded it. This year many old-time fans tuned in to catch the return of their favourite superstar- Bill Goldberg. Away since 2004, and having left on bad terms with the company, Goldberg made his heroic comeback to the ring a few weeks ago to answer Lesnar’s challenge.
Drowned in a chorus of ‘Goldberg’ chants, the return was magical in many ways. In the weeks that followed, we saw a build up like never before. We were building up to a contest between two monsters of sports entertainment. The two behemoths would lock horns and give us the battle of a lifetime. And as the two battle beasts squared off at Survivor Series, this much-anticipated encounter lasted less than 2 minutes, not counting their entrances. While this could come as a shocker to millions, we believe that WWE had a few legitimate reasons for taking this bold call. We present them here.
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#5 Goldberg could never work long matches
In an interview, Perry Saturn revealed that after a slightly longer match than Goldberg was used to, he needed oxygen, back during his celebrated WCW run! As Eric Bischoff himself confesses, the fact that Goldberg got over, was mainly due to ‘smoke and mirrors’.
His shortcomings were concealed in short squash matches against all his opponents. Because Goldberg never had to work long matches, he was over, as a celebrated star in WCW. All his flaws were exposed during his first WWE run, where he had to face The Rock and Triple H, who were far better ‘wrestlers’.
Today’s match played to Goldberg’s strengths and gave the fans a chance to see him as the monster he was.
#4 This match followed a real show stealer
Before the main event, we had an almost hour long match, which felt like the main event. The biggest stars of the two competing brands, faced off in the ring and delivered a traditional Survivor Series match that was actually good, for a change, as Survivor Series hasn’t been known to host entertaining traditional 5-vs-5 matches.
There were some incredible spots during the match, that involved Randy Orton pulling off a mid-air RKO, Roman Reigns possibly seriously injuring Shane McMahon with a deadly mid-air spear, and a Shield reunion. Regardless of how good Lesnar vs. Goldberg could have been, it wouldn’t have been able to compare to this incredible match.
This is why the bout's short duration was so apt.
#3 Fans wanted to see a ‘vulnerable’ Lesnar
Kevin Nash once said that he had ended Goldberg’s streak, because the fans were chanting ‘Goldberg sucks’ during his 173-0 reign. They were tired of seeing Goldberg win in every single match, week after week. The same thing has happened with Brock Lesnar now. Because of his dominant booking, he has been made to look simply invulnerable.
Fans wanted to see Brock taken down, and appear just as weak as he makes his opponents look. Goldberg gave his fans exactly what they wanted, with his 2-minute long squash match.
#2 Old and possibly injured Goldberg
Going into this match, we were quite worried. Following a segment on Raw, where Goldberg attacked a bunch of security guards, he said that he had tweaked his shoulder and injured himself, days before this encounter.
In a way, this could be WWE being merciful to Goldberg and honouring the legacy of the man. Goldberg was injury prone even during his prime, and at the age of 49, injuries are a scary thought. The match at Survivor Series could be Vince McMahon’s way of telling Goldberg to go out and be the superhero he once was, in a safe and protected environment.
#1- It sets up yet another rematch
We know that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman do not take any punishment lying down. Despite the outcome of today’s match, Brock Lesnar is still one of the most dangerous men alive, both in the real and the kayfabe world of sports entertainment.
There will be more matches in this program for sure, and what that will translate into, is greater ratings for the flagship TV show- Raw. The show suffers from the lack of big star power, and with these two men making more appearances, numbers can be improved.
Moreover, Royal Rumble is happening in the Alamodome, which has a massive capacity and to quote WCW announcer Tony Schiavone, needs to put butts in seats.
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg 3 in 2017? Hell yeah!
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