Looking Back At Goldberg's Title Run

Goldberg did indeed lose the Universal Championship to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Now that it is over, was the push really worth it?

Goldberg returned last year for Survivor Series to squash Brock Lesnar. After that, he announced his intentions to be Champion again and entered the Royal Rumble to get a title shot. He lost that. He then showed up on Raw to accept another match with Lesnar, and also get a title shot from Kevin Owens. Wins and losses obviously don't matter. Goldberg lost the Royal Rumble match and just gets a title shot. Anyway, he did win the title. His continued feud with Lesnar now became a title feud. We all know what happened at Wrestlemania.

First thing to look at, ratings. Ratings were terribly flat this Wrestlemania season. Can you put all the blame on Goldberg? No, but what is the point of putting the belt on this part-timer, not to mention everything else they did with him, if you don't expect him to draw. I know some reports want to claim ratings were bad because the WWE did not advertise The Undertaker being there on Raw a few weeks. No, that is not an excuse. This is Wrestlemania season. Fans are supposed to expect surprises and legends popping up. Big things happen. Big storyline development happens. And that is the issue. The WWE has done a terrible job creating that kind of atmosphere, especially for Raw. Is it a surprise if the WWE tells you exactly when The Undertaker or The Rock will show up every time? No. I don't blame them for not advertising when legends will show up all the time. I blame them for not doing a better job making things fun and exciting.

The other thing to consider is WWE Network subscriptions. I haven't seen any numbers yet. But you can at least look at numbers for the prior few months with Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. Those few months obviously featured Goldberg. Once again, I would say numbers were a little flat. The subscription pattern has already entered a seasonal roller coaster, much like you see with ratings. It is no longer steady growth every quarter. Goldberg's return has not been a massive success to draw big in this regard, either.

What are some of the reasons why Goldberg's return underachieved? I would say having him continue to feud with Brock Lesnar so much didn't help. Lesnar is another big part-timer that has lost his luster. Beyond that, people just want fresh feuds. This feud should have ended for good at Survivor Series. Create something fresh for Goldberg after that.

I remember watching the closing segment last week between Goldberg and Lesnar. The crowd reactions were weak. Yes, there were "Goldberg!" and "Suplex City!" chants, but they were not as huge as it should have been. Just because something is getting a reaction does not mean it is getting a great reaction. You would expect better for guys treated like Lesnar and Goldberg are.

Aside from having to work with Lesnar all this time, another issue is Goldberg just not showing up for a number of weeks. That is what you expect from a part-timer, but I would say it might have contributed to the poor ratings. What is the point of making him Universal Champion if his reign isn't going to be long and fans won't see him regularly on the show during that short reign? There were just some nights where it seemed like Raw didn't have a main-event Champion. The WWE did not create a draw here.

Was it worth it? Considering all the other sloppiness that went on this Wrestlemania season, I don't think so. The WWE just failed to create something with Goldberg that was a legitimate draw. They might have been better off creating another feud for the Universal Championship. Keep both Goldberg and Lesnar out. You now have another part-timer getting a title reign he does not need. One bad situation may have led to an even worse situation.

Wrestlemania 33 Preview: Part 4

It is Wrestlemania season and one of the World title matches I am talking about is Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt. I was a fan of this feud when it first started last year, but I never thought this would be a WWE Championship feud back then. Needless to say, this feud has had some issues.

Let me start with issues I have seen other fans bring up recently. First, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton have not really interacted physically in the last few weeks with each other. It is obviously nothing wrong in terms of injury. Both men have had matches. The WWE has just kept them apart. Personally, it does not bother me. There are some feuds where you want to keep the guys away from each other to make their PPV encounter feel more special. I don't think this is the kind of feud that needs that, but there is that idea. Nevertheless, I can understand if some fans are irked by this. This whole feud has strayed from the norm these days, and people tend to have mixed feelings when that kind of thing happens.

Another issue I have seen some fans bring up is that the feud has become too much about Sister Abigail and not enough about the WWE Championship. And that goes back to a point I have made before, this feud did not need the WWE Championship and Royal Rumble victory involved. There was enough there to make it good. Even with the questionable storyline development it has gotten, it was still a good elaborate storyline. This is the stuff elaborate storylines are made of. Unique segments. Character development. Use of supporting players. And it has obviously been given a lot of time to develop. Again, the development could have been handled better, but it was good enough to not need a title.

Don't get me wrong, there are some good feuds that can also involve a title even when not necessary. Look at Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens. There is a good feud. Jericho and Owens were friends. Jericho helped Owens retain his title numerous times. But Owens turns on Jericho. Solid betrayal storyline. The United States Championship was not needed in this feud, but I am not complaining that it's there.

Go to TNA last year. Look at the feud between Matt & Jeff Hardy. I wouldn't have hated it if the TNA Championship was involved in that feud. It was the biggest thing TNA had going. The characters and segments were a success. TNA didn't really have anything else that great going on. But they chose to spread things around by letting other guys fight for the top title, and I can respect that decision. Matt vs. Jeff did not absolutely need the title.

Why do I not respect the WWE's decision to include the WWE Championship in Smackdown's most elaborate feud going right now? Because, unlike TNA last  year, there are other men and other feuds that could have used that title that the Wyatt/Orton feud does not need that badly. John Cena is stuck in a position that is beneath him. AJ Styles is stuck in a position many fans dislike. Dean Ambrose is in a midcard feud. These are all guys that were WWE Champion in the last few months that Bray/Orton has been building. They now find themselves in feuds that were thrown together in the last two months or less. Dolph Ziggler looked like he was on fire a few months ago, and is now in a battle royal on the pre-show. Miz looked like he regained his main-event form, only to be put in this feud with Cena that looks like it will do more for Nikki Bella than anyone else. The WWE very much could have put together better feuds for the Smackdown roster.

Regardless of all the issues, here we are. Who wins? The Royal Rumble winner has not been successful at Wrestlemania in recent years. Triple H won the Royal Rumble, and the title, last year and lost at Wrestlemania. Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble and lost at Wrestlemania the year before that. The year before that was the Batista fiasco. I think the tradition continues. I don't feel Orton wins this match, even if it is so close to his birthday. Bray Wyatt retains.

Speaking of feuds that don't need a title, Goldberg defends the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar. Letting Goldberg win the title is one thing. But did they really need to continue this feud? The guy is old and obviously cannot go like he used to. With what few matches they could get out of him, they should have built a fresh feud for him. His feud with Kevin Owens was hardly even a real feud. It was overshadowed by Goldberg/Lesnar and Owens/Jericho. The feud was really just used to develop these other feuds. Goldberg/Lesnar should have just ended for good at Survivor Series last year.

Unless some change of heart happens, it seems Brock Lesnar is winning the title. Even disregarding reports, what's the point of continuing this feud if Goldberg keeps beating Lesnar? But what has Brock Lesnar done since his last title win to deserve another? Get caught using illegal substances? Give Randy Orton a concussion? Nothing? Yeah, that's the one. And this will be the first time since the WWE started embracing part-timers so much that a top title will go from one part-timer to another. That is a terrible thing. Is this going to become a habit? I would probably be less against it if it was The Undertaker winning the title from Goldberg. I do not consider myself a fan of Taker, but it would be nice if he had gotten one more title run. But Lesnar? Not this again.

The story of this match is also an issue. Reports are claiming this will be a squash match. It seems kind of ridiculous for Lesnar to just squash Goldberg and end things there, but given that Goldberg doesn't look like he can handle a long match, I am not doubting the possibility this happens. Still, I feel like the WWE might pull some swerve to protect Goldberg. He won't just walk into an F5 and lose.

Previewing The Fastlane 2017 Main Event

I was going to title this "Should Kevin Owens Get Squashed?" What else was there to really talk about with this match? It just seemed obvious what the outcome would be. Kevin Owens does not need the Universal Championship for his feud with Chris Jericho, who still holds the United States Championship. The WWE loves giving big names that are coming back as part-timers title reigns. Goldberg vs. Lesnar might be better if something more was on the line than just Lesnar trying to finally beat Goldberg. Fans were just anticipating Goldberg getting the title. Even without bringing up dirtsheet reports, it just seemed obvious that Goldberg wins. Now that there is more speculation about a possible finish that might lead to Owens retaining, I have to bring that up.

But let me start with the original question I brought up. Should Owens get squashed? Why even ask such a thing? Because Goldberg's last singles match was him squashing Brock Lesnar, a guy that no one expects to get squashed. After something like that, you just expect to see Goldberg run over basically anyone else, and that includes Kevin Owens. It would just look weird to see a competitive match between Goldberg and Owens.

Of course, they could give Owens some time to put up a fight. Maybe not for his own benefit. They might expose some weakness in Goldberg to make him look more human for his rematch with Lesnar. Fans have already seen Goldberg get the best of Lesnar multiple times, including the squash I brought up. Maybe the WWE might feel fans won't be as interested as they were the last time these two wrestled each other at Survivor Series. Adding the title is one thing, but they might lower Goldberg's power level a bit to make people think Lesnar vs. Goldberg III will be competitive.

Looking at both arguments, I say the former option is the best. Let Goldberg squash Owens. Keep him strong. Make it look like Lesnar has a real challenge in front of him. Too many of Lesnar's matches since he came back as a part-timer have been him just dominating. A lot of fans want to see something else. This could be the best singles match Lesnar has had in a while. And it would help the feel of this feud even more if Goldberg was kept strong heading into it.

Or will Goldberg even have the Universal Championship? There is speculation and rumors that the WWE might officially make Triple H, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe a stable at Fastlane. I brought up the possibility of this stable recently. The group could screw Goldberg out of the title. I just think now is not the time to do that.

So many of the feuds for this Wrestlemania season have just been developed poorly. I could just run down the list, but it would take me an hour. You have Triple H not showing up for months and Seth Rollins getting injured hurting that feud. You have the WWE getting way too fancy in the feud between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. You have John Cena stuck in a feud with Miz that was just thrown together a month before Wrestlemania.

Even this feud with Goldberg and Lesnar is not something I would have done. Even then, it could have been handled better. Goldberg comes out after beating Lesnar at Survivor Series and says he's coming after the Universal Championship and entering the Royal Rumble to get there. The WWE once again proves that wins and losses don't matter. Goldberg loses the Rumble, shows up on Raw to accept Lesnar's challenge, and then gets a title shot against Owens, anyway. He doesn't even need to win a #1 contender's match. The WWE could have done better to build an epic feud. And if the title is not involved in Goldberg vs. Lesnar, that might hurt this feud even more.

Of course, there is a counterargument. If Goldberg wins the title and loses it to Lesnar, does Goldberg get a rematch? The Rock didn't get a rematch at the WWE Championship after losing it to Cena a few years ago. And if Goldberg does get a rematch, and likely loses, guess what? They're tied! Both Goldberg and Lesnar would have beaten each other twice. Doesn't that call for another match? Enough is enough with this feud. Both of these guys should be having fresh feuds with new people. They are still in a rivalry that started over ten years ago.

All that out of the way, who wins and how? I will say Goldberg wins and it is a squash. Save the shenanigans for after Fastlane. What about Jericho? What about Triple H? What about Owens getting a rematch? If the WWE does do some stupid booking, well, they boxed themselves into that corner.

Owens And Jericho Break Up

Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens have been partners for a few months. Their partnership included both winning some titles. They have had their ups and downs. Friction has been teased. Overall, there were a lot of good segments and most fans will call this a successful partnership. I wish the storyline between Chris Jericho and AJ Styles lasted this well. Anyway, it looks like it is over now. Owens turned on Jericho on Raw this week.

Did it need to happen now? I am not raising the question because I worshiped this partnership like some fans did. Just in terms of storylines, did it need to happen now? Kevin Owens has Goldberg as the next challenger for the Universal Championship. Shouldn't the WWE be trying to really put over that feud? After Owens loses to Goldberg, he can turn on Jericho the next night on Raw. Jericho was the one that put him in the position to face Goldberg. The two could then feud for the United States Championship for Wrestlemania. The way the WWE handled it, this could be viewed as a bit of a distraction.

Let me bring up another "distraction" so you can see what I mean. Go back a few months to when Seth Rollins was feuding with Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship. This was coming off of Rollins looking so heated off of Triple H screwing him. Pretty soon, that emotion just died. I will never forget Rollins goofing around with Jericho's list. It just ruined his character. Not all faces need to be pandering for laughs. And I have seen many fans say that The List of Jericho was burying Owens. It was more over than Owens. It just became a distraction. Yes, fans loved it, but it was one of the reasons the development of certain things back then got hurt. There were other factors, like the WWE just not pushing guys right, but it was part of the problem.

Of course, you probably need a distraction right now. You have a feud involving a part-timer, and those people tend to not be used every week to help further whatever they are involved in. What is Kevin Owens supposed to do? Just beat up Gillberg? They could have continued to tease the issues between Owens and Jericho, but just not pull the trigger on the break up yet. You now have more people interested in that this week than the actual feud between Owens and Goldberg. It is just not smooth feud development. It wasn't that necessary to have the betrayal happen now.

You also have Triple H involved in this. He is in the ear of Kevin Owens. There you see another part of the problem. With Seth Rollins injured for at least a few weeks, Triple H has nothing to really do. They have to come up with something for him. And this is what they decided to do. I still think they could have waited. But I will admit the WWE is in a tough spot with what happened to Seth Rollins.

Proper feud development matters. That is why I spent yesterday talking about Smackdown's women's feuds. You have a feud between Nikki Bella and Natalya that just needs to end already. You have a feud between Becky Lynch and Mickie James that could have been booked to be a lot better than it is. You have Alexa Bliss losing the title when it looked like they could have built her to be a great heel character. You have them rushing the title onto Naomi when they could have built up to it better. The wider audience are not going to tune in for a match just because it is stealing the show. As far as matches go, people will tune in based on how well it has been hyped and the development of the feud/storyline leading up to the match. The feud between Goldberg and Owens has not had great development. It is getting buried by the distraction of Owens turning on Jericho. The WWE is just going to run on the hype of Goldberg + Title Match = $$$. Okay, but it seems like Goldberg has already lost some of his luster in terms of drawing in viewers. Let's see what he does in terms of selling tickets and getting WWE Network subscriptions.

Lesnar Still Wants Goldberg

Neither Goldberg nor Lesnar won the Royal Rumble this year. But Goldberg did once again make Lesnar look bad during the Royal Rumble match. That led to Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman showing up on Raw to challenge Goldberg for another match at Wrestlemania.

I am going to repeat one of my criticisms for continuing this feud. I have seen other fans bring it up now in response to the WWE still going with this. So what if Lesnar finally beats Goldberg? Goldberg still has a winning record over Lesnar. Wouldn't that still irritate Lesnar? Shouldn't it irritate Lesnar? This isn't a rubber match, which are usually more intriguing.

The dirtsheet rumored plans involved Goldberg winning the Universal Championship at Fastlane and dropping it to Lesnar at Wrestlemania. I don't know how that looks now. Kevin Owens still looks involved with Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Strowman had a title match on Raw this week. That ended by disqualification when Reigns interfered, paying him back for costing him the title the previous night. Reigns then speared Owens. Strowman still has an argument for deserving a title shot. Reigns left his mark on Owens. A triple threat just makes sense right now. If the WWE does go in the direction of Owens vs. Goldberg, I'll talk about that.

I will say one good thing about what they are doing. They are actually developing a storyline for a Lesnar feud. A lot of Lesnar's feuds have just been an opponent popping up and Lesnar having a feud with him. That's how his feud with Randy Orton went. That's how his feud with Goldberg even started. The challenge was laid down and the feud just started. But now there is an actual storyline to prolong the feud. Can Lesnar beat Goldberg?

Overall, however, this Wrestlemania season is shaping up to be pretty flat. I already talked about the Royal Rumble this year not being that great. You have the saga between Triple H and Seth Rollins, which I will talk about next time. Does the Undertaker really have an epic opponent in front of him this year? You don't have anyone as hot as Daniel Bryan has sometimes been at this time of year. The WWE might need to raise the heat somehow.

Next week on Raw, Goldberg will respond to Lesnar. Is that where they might raise the heat? Don't just let Goldberg come out there and just say that he accepts Lesnar's challenge. No need to set up a feud with Kevin Owens. But find some way to add something more to this feud with Brock Lesnar. I would rather Goldberg feud with someone new, but if this feud has to continue, so be it. Why not have Goldberg say that Lesnar and Heyman have to make it worth his while to face Lesnar again? Lesnar can then put his career on the line. Yes, it is only a part-time career, but the WWE has done this kind of thing before. How about making this match a #1 contender's match? Can The Undertaker be thrown in? These three were in the ring together on Raw last week. That got a lot of fans excited. I hate triple threats where nothing is on the line. Again, how about a title shot being on the line? Whatever they do, this cannot just be a typical continuation of this feud. It can lose steam real fast.

Previewing The 2017 Royal Rumble Match

This is one of the most unpredictable Royal Rumble matches in a while. Last year, Roman Reigns had to defend the WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match. He had destroyed Triple H a while before that. It was obvious what feud was coming. And the WWE went the predictable route of Triple H winning the 2016 Royal Rumble. The year before that, the WWE was showing signs of giving Roman Reigns the big push. People could see it coming, and the WWE did what they expected. Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble. And in 2014, Batista made his triumphant return. We all know how that turned out.

One of the reasons the 2017 Royal Rumble match is more unpredictable than the last three years is that the WWE is back to having two top titles. Even if you want to argue that the WWE is telegraphing what the Wrestlemania title match will be for one brand, what about the other brand? There are now two Wrestlemania title matches to build, and which one will involve the Royal Rumble winner this Sunday?

Even before Raw ended this week with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker in the ring, I was going to say that these three look like the "Big 3" right now. I am not just talking about their size. These are the top part-timers being featured right now that will be in the Royal Rumble match. These were three names I just had to look at.

I'll start with Lesnar. He is probably the least likely to win the Royal Rumble match of the three. Do they really want to do Reigns vs. Lesnar again? That sounds like something they might want to do, but I don't see them doing it here.

Goldberg is pretty likely to get a title match. He just returned to the WWE a few months ago. Promotions typically like to give titles to people that have some hype around them. TNA (Impact Wrestling) usually gives former WWE guys title reigns when they come over. Even independent promotions have been known to put titles on former WWE guys. They have that notoriety. While Goldberg is still hot and the WWE doesn't look interested in booking him as poorly as they did Sting, I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the Royal Rumble and headlines Wrestlemania.

And then there is The Undertaker. He doesn't have many years left and one more title reign before he does retire would be fitting. I could see him facing John Cena at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship. But does he need the Royal Rumble victory to get this match?

The problem with these three guys is that they are all part-timers. What about the guys on the full-time roster? I should at least mention a few names. I'll go with Seth Rollins for Raw and Miz for Smackdown.

I have seen some fans say that the WWE will pull some kind of swerve and Seth Rollins will find himself in the Royal Rumble match and win it. He has shown an obsession with title matches. Even more than being worried about Triple H. More than likely, Seth Rollins will find some way to get into the Royal Rumble match, but then Triple H will screw him out of it. Or maybe Stephanie will screw Rollins, cause him to go crazy, and Triple H will have to come back to protect his wife. Either way, I don't see Seth Rollins winning this Royal Rumble.

Why bring up The Miz? After that promo he gave against Daniel Bryan a few months ago, his value rose. People were expecting big things with him. Nothing really happened. The time just wasn't right. Is the time right now? A Royal Rumble victory would be huge for him. If AJ Styles ends up turning face in the near future, the WWE will need a top heel. Miz could be groomed to take that place.

Of the names I brought up, I am going to go with The Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble. He should get one more title win before he retires and a Royal Rumble win would just be a classic way to set up his final title win at Wrestlemania. As for Goldberg, he could find some other way into the title picture on Raw. The Undertaker will go after Smackdown's title.

Let me go back to that segment on Raw I mentioned. I noticed the fans were pretty flat for most of it. Maybe they were wondering why Goldberg's head was bleeding. The Undertaker appearing got a nice pop.

Point is, the ring contained the WWE's top 3 part-timers that will be in the Royal Rumble. They are not paid what they are paid and pushed and hyped the way they are pushed and hyped just to get a great reaction from the crowd. These guys are counted on to be draws. Short of putting The Rock in the Royal Rumble, the WWE has put together a big Royal Rumble match this year. Looking at certain indicators, I would say they are underachieving.

Start with ratings. It is bad enough that Raw has not seen a great ratings boost. This week's Raw, the last Raw heading into a big PPV, only say about 20,000 more viewers from the previous week, averaging 3,292,000. With so many big guns being pulled out, you should expect better.

Look at the Royal Rumble itself. It is still not sold out. I remember a time when WWE PPVs would sell out so quickly it would leave me shocked. These days, WWE PPVs, even the big ones, can't get sold out two days before the event, and that is leaving me shocked. The Royal Rumble is one of the WWE's biggest PPVs. It features 3 big part-timers. It also features guys like John Cena and AJ Styles. And it still has a lot of floor seats available. It isn't like they have 100,000 seats to fill.

I am not saying they should fire Goldberg, Lesnar, and Taker. But relying on them obviously is not getting the job done. Ratings are not great. The WWE is struggling to sell tickets. You can't say no one goes to any events anymore. I mentioned in the past that ratings for the NFL were down this past season. Looking at a chart, I noticed attendance actually improved this same past season, so it isn't that people stopped caring. What does the WWE do when they're draws stop being draws?

Should Goldberg Vs. Lesnar Happen Again At Wrestlemania This Year?

Goldberg and Brock Lesnar have faced each other twice over the years. Goldberg won both of those matches, including a squash match at Survivor Series last year. Goldberg is sticking around for a few more matches. I see a lot of fans booking what they would like to see at Wrestlemania this year, or expect to see, and Goldberg vs. Lesnar is popping up a lot on their cards.

Why should the WWE do this match again? That is not a rhetorical question. I do love busting out rhetorical questions. But why should they do it? Even if Lesnar wins this encounter, Goldberg still beat him more times. Wouldn't Lesnar still be upset about that, which would warrant even more matches just between these two? If the WWE had let Lesnar win at Survivor Series, then the rubber match would have been so obvious. The WWE would have to do it. That is not the situation you have here. Why do fans still want to see these two again? And especially so soon?

The WWE should take the opportunity to create some fresh matches for Goldberg. One of the problems with Brock Lesnar since he came back as a part-timer is that it took him a while to feud with any fresh full-time talent. He feuded with John Cena, someone he had faced before during his first run. He faced Triple H a few times. Triple H was a part-timer by this point. He finally then went to CM Punk. And when the WWE has let him go against fresh talent he had never faced before, they often let him look too strong. They protected him too much. They even protected him in matches against people like The Undertaker. That loss to Goldberg was the worst loss he has taken in a long while. Point is, Brock Lesnar matches just no longer became something for me to get excited over. I think a lot of other viewers feel the same way.

Why make that mistake with Goldberg? While he is still fresh and booking hasn't ruined him, put him against someone he has never faced yet. There is potential for a lot of fresh exchanges with him in the Royal Rumble, but when you talk about Wrestlemania this year, create a fresh feud for him. A title does not have to be on the line. Or it could. It can go either way. As far as opponents go, Goldberg has never feuded against John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, Braun Strowman, and a ton of other guys that have momentum right now. Some of these matches are obviously not likely, but there is potential for a fresh feud against someone that could put up a fight against Goldberg.

The argument for Lesnar vs. Goldberg III would be that Lesnar needs momentum back. First of all, he can get his momentum back by crushing anyone else. As I said, that loss to Goldberg was the worst he has had in a long while, but avenging it won't make a difference. And that is the other reason I feel he doesn't need the win back. It won't make a difference. What has Lesnar being so protected really done for the WWE? Ratings are going down. There have been some quarters where the subscription count for the WWE Network has dropped. The WWE has paced Lesnar out during that time and the count is still not consistently growing every quarter. Why the need to protect him so much? I would just move on to fresh feuds.

Goldberg Still Dominant

When I previewed Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar for Survivor Series recently, I said a poor performance would hurt Goldberg more than a loss. Well, he won. And he also didn't have a poor performance. He dominated.

For the last few years, Brock Lesnar has never taken a decisive loss. He has not been pinned or made to submit. He lost some triple-threat matches where he was not pinned. He lost the Royal Rumble. He had that loss to The Undertaker last year with that crappy ending. He had been very protected. And the rationale for keeping him so strong for so long has always been that the person that finally gets that decisive win against him would get a great rub. Even I probably bought into that idea. I can't remember. Point is, starting with when he ended The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak and dominated Cena to win the WWE Championship, Lesnar just started to get annoying with how he was booked. Obviously, the WWE deserves the blame for that.

But having Goldberg be the guy to crush Lesnar? I am not talking about just beating Lesnar. That's one thing. Goldberg was made to look like he truly is now the guy to beat. Lesnar passed the torch onto a part-timer that's even older than he is. I would have rather the rub go to a full-timer. And possibly a guy a little younger than Lesnar, who is nearing 40.

Does this hurt Lesnar's own mystique? Not a lot of guys can say they have beaten Brock Lesnar. Goldberg was one of them even before Survivor Series. It's not like Lesnar lost to someone beneath him. Lesnar can look dominant again very easily, but I would say that he does lose something from how he was beaten at Survivor Series.

But the man that gained from that rub is still around. Goldberg will be in the Royal Rumble. Still another 2 months before I get around to previewing that. Until then, does this win add to Goldberg's mystique? Definitely. As I said, he is now being made to look like he is the guy to beat. Will the WWE let someone truly deserving get that big win against Goldberg? Or will they make the kind of mistake they just made with Lesnar and hand it off to another old part-timer? What's wrong with that? How about using these guys to actually build the younger guys to be big stars that may one day be looked at to be draws, even part-time draws? The WWE is relying on guys that were big deals over a decade ago to still carry them today. And they are doing a poor job creating new stars. Let's see how Goldberg is used.

Survivor Series 2016 Preview: Part 4

Goldberg vs. Lesnar is the big match of this year's Survivor Series. The return of Goldberg has given Raw's ratings a bit of a boost. It will surely have some kind of impact on WWE Network subscriptions. But will it be what some people expect it to be? These two went at it over a decade ago. Goldberg won. What can people expect this time?

Goldberg's health has to be an issue. He is not as young as he used to be. He had surgery this year. For whatever his word is worth, he said he was banged up just from what happened on Raw this week. He can get really hurt in this match with Brock Lesnar.

That would obviously influence match quality. Fans shredded the match these two had years ago. Part of that was obviously due to both being on their way out. This time around, both are more beloved. But if the match turns sloppy, for whatever reason, fans might dump on this match again. If these guys don't put some effort in it, this match will once again get shredded. Fans have to realize that Goldberg might not be able to be that guy he was in WCW and when he first came to the WWE. Don't expect too much. This will likely not be the best match of the night.

As for who wins, I would go with Lesnar. Yes, Goldberg just returned. I would like to see him remain undefeated against Lesnar. But I don't think he is what he once was. A guy like him beating Lesnar would just make Lesnar look bad. And the WWE loves protecting Lesnar these days.

There is talk that Goldberg might work another match after Survivor Series. I don't think a loss would hurt his worth as much as a terrible performance might. If he looks sloppy or very human out there, that might ruin his mystique. He won't continue to be the draw he could be.

Does Smackdown Need More Authority Drama?

The Authority was a stable that many fans felt ran its course years ago. It just kept going. You had Triple H and his long speeches. You had Stephanie McMahon slapping everyone around and never getting her true comeuppance. Even though the stable is dead, Stephanie and Triple H are still very much involved in Raw storylines.

Smackdown has been a little different. There is no authority stable. The only storylines Daniel Bryan has been involved in, beyond just making matches, have involved him getting knocked verbally by other wrestlers, mainly The Miz. But that never really led to anything. It is a little refreshing to have that change compared to The Authority being involved so much in the big storylines like they were for years.

But could the WWE do more? There is definitely potential. Shane McMahon got attacked by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. That looked like it might lead to something. Shane McMahon, obviously, is not afraid to still get in the ring. Even if he was not going to wrestle Lesnar just yet, or ever, they still could have used this for a storyline. How about Shane decides to bring in Goldberg to handle Lesnar for him? The way the WWE handled the creation of the feud between and Goldberg and Lesnar was a little mediocre. They just took advantage of their ESPN connection to start a storyline. What I do like is that Goldberg made himself sound like he was the good guy, the superhero, out to stop Lesnar. It is better than making this match feel like it was just thrown together, like Lesnar vs. Orton. Nevertheless, the WWE could have unlocked a lot more storyline potential that might have helped Smackdown to get some of the rub from Goldberg vs. Lesnar II.

Should the WWE do more with Smackdown's authority figures? It can help create more drama. The WWE just has to not make the mistake of going too far with it. They have to know when to cut it off and just ease up. They might get Shane and Danial Bryan more involved in storylines around Wrestlemania next year. Since Smackdown is only two hours, it might be a bad decision to really have authority figures take up too much time. If Smackdown does get an extra hour, however, utilizing the authority figures more might be a good idea.

Goldberg Returns

Goldberg returned to Raw last night. He will be facing Brock Lesnar. It is no real shocker. The WWE had been teasing it for the last few weeks. These two, of course, had an infamous match at Wrestlemania in 2004.

Let me start by talking about the potential quality of this match. Match quality obviously doesn't matter too much. The WWE is just relying on hype for this match to sell tickets and get more subscribers. Nevertheless, it could be interesting to see what happens here. Brock Lesnar has been pushed as too much of an unstoppable force for a while now. Some of his matches have just become stupid due to the WWE either trying to protect him or trying to sell him as so dominant. Goldberg, on the other hand, is not the man he used to be. He just had surgery this year. He might not be able to do some of the things fans might like to see. Does that mean the WWE just has Lesnar dominate like he usually does? Goldberg beat Lesnar already. To just have Lesnar dominate here would be disappointing. Nevertheless, they can't do the same thing they did at Wrestlemania over a decade ago. Fans did not appreciate it too much, to say the least.

How about the WWE once again relying on part-timers to sell big PPVs and help them make money? This time, it's part-timer vs. part-timer. The WWE doesn't have faith in their full-time roster. And they shouldn't. The WWE has just done a terrible job with them. I once said that the only former talent the WWE should bring back are big names that could give them a boost. The WWE has obviously not done that, bringing back the likes of Jinder Mahal. But Goldberg does fit the profile. Nevertheless, the WWE should stop looking for easy answers and start doing a better job building new stars. Goldberg is almost 50. How many guys currently used full-time can you imagine coming back when they are 50 and really drawing for the WWE? These guys have enough trouble drawing in a consistent audience now. Shift focus to the talent under 40.