WWE Elimination Chamber Flops and Hits: Brock Lesnar seals his champion vs. champion match against Roman Reigns, big title rematch confirmed for WrestleMania

#5 Flop at Elimination Chamber: Goldberg’s underwhelming match, potential retirement?

The first match of Elimination Chamber saw Goldberg challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal title. This match was in the making for two years, and the creative team did a decent job building up the encounter in the limited time period. However, the payoff was quite underwhelming at the show tonight.

Reigns vs. Goldberg started quite well, but the energy dropped within the first couple of minutes. It was evident that both superstars were buying time inside the squared circle to extend the match duration.

There were a few good spots in the bout, but it all eventually ended with Reigns holding Goldberg in his signature submission maneuver. The WCW icon eventually faded out, allowing The Tribal Chief to retain his title at Elimination Chamber.

It was expected that the match would go this way, but the execution was far poorer than we had previously imagined. To put things into perspective, Goldberg was much better during his match against Bobby Lashley.

He can’t be blamed entirely as the age is catching up with the Hall of Famer, and it might be the right time for him to hang up his boots. This could very well be his last match and it would be a right way to go out, especially considering that he technically put over a modern-day superstar.

As for Roman Reigns, he could marvel at the fact that he defeated another big name to extend his historic title reign. But it begs the question, was it necessary to book this clash barring financial motivation at Elimination Chamber?

There are other SmackDown Superstars who could have used the title feud against the biggest heel in the company. For instance, if Reigns wasn’t going to lose his title, then wouldn’t it have been better to have him engage in a brief feud with someone like Sheamus, who could use a good return to the title picture?