A week ago, I was on the SwerveCast Podcast discussing my thoughts on Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar and how I was expecting more of a MMA, worked-shoot style match at Survivor Series.
Boy, do I feel like an idiot today.
I wasn’t sure which way Goldberg/Brock II was going to go, but I never expected to see a straight-up squash match in the main event. Goldberg had MORE DIFFICULTY putting away Jerry Flynn on WCW Saturday Night than he did tearing through “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar last night. While a large fraction of wrestling fans online were smugly certain that the main event was going to be a train-wreck of monumental proportions, I think we were all thinking the exact same thing after Lesnar was beaten clean with only two spears and a jackhammer:
Unlike the vocal majority of people I saw online, I wasn’t angry over the outcome. I was more elated at how ridiculous and surprising the finish was, laughing over the sight of Goldberg celebrating in-ring with his topless young son after the match. But there was an anger there from fans who were watching that was easy to understand from my point-of-view. The idea of a returning champion easily conquering the WWE’s Big Bad monster after years of inactivity in the wrestling world — I can see why people were pissed.
They have every right to be.
Some fans are upset WWE spent 3 years building up Lesnar, gave him Undertaker's streak, only to lose to Goldberg in under 2 minutes
— IWNerd.com – WWE Predictions! (@InnerN3rd) November 21, 2016
There is no good thing that comes from this. Absolutely none. Not one. None. WWE is so god damn dumb.
— ⛧ ֆաɛʀʋɛ ⛧ (@SwerveCityElite) November 21, 2016
If we use time difference between peaks, Goldberg’s win last night would be like Harley Race coming to WCW in 1999 to squash Goldberg.
— Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) November 21, 2016
the second the 3 count happened, i left the arena. #FuckWWE
— Moose (@killMOOSEkill) November 21, 2016
WWE sacrificed Taker, Big Show, Punk, Cena & Ambrose to Lesnar only to give Goldberg the rub from beating him hahahaha so dumb #wwe
— Matt Zion (@MattZionWE) November 21, 2016
And, of course, Wrestler Twitter responded to the outrage over main event by mocking the fans who were complaining:
When Conor slept Aldo in 13 seconds to win a World Title, did that tarnish anything that Aldo had done? Nope. Enjoy the moment kids.
— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) November 21, 2016
For the ones crying bullshit about the Lesnar v Goldberg..Then u wonder why they call u marks..#LearnTheBusiness
— Konnan (@Konnan5150) November 21, 2016
Seriously, any1 who thinks Lesnar-Goldberg wasn't laid out& executed perfectly has no clue about the purpose of booking. #MicketyMark
— Mark Madden (@MarkMaddenX) November 21, 2016
WWE Network $9.99
Listening to fan whine about getting worked on Goldberg finish on WOL Priceless.
??????— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) November 21, 2016
So, with all this unrest and online indignation over the Brock/Goldberg match, surely there must be someone out there to help us understand what happened last night??
Enter Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer to explain to wrestling fans the one thing that we all of us were wondering as Survivor Series went off air — WHY?
Why did Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar in a 1-minute, 24-second main event PPV match?
Dave Meltzer: “[The finish] was the greatest thing that they could’ve done.” – Wrestling Observer Radio [November 20th, 2016]
Dave Meltzer: “It hurt Brock less to lose this kind of match than to lose this long, drawn-out thing plus the long, drawn-out thing might not have been great. This way, it was great for what it was.” – Wrestling Observer Radio [November 20th, 2016]
Dave Meltzer: “This is what people remember Goldberg by, the spear and the jackhammer. That’s it. It’s old school wrestling. You do what got the guy over, [the WWE] didn’t do it the first time they had him. I guess they learned from their mistake. They finally, maybe, have somebody who’s really hot right now. What better way to introduce a new guy?” – Live Audio Wrestling [November 20th, 2016]
What does this mean for Goldberg? Is he sticking around past Brock Lesnar?
Dave Meltzer: “[Goldberg’s] definitely going to be back. He’s definitely gonna work with Brock Lesnar in a rematch. That was a deal that was put together this week. It was something that I think that Lesnar, among others, pushed for. I think Lesnar saw that there’s money in Bill Goldberg and didn’t want to blow it off the first time. I think Vince saw that as well, and I guess Bill was up for it. But as far as how much, I’m still trying to find out if it’s gonna be — I would presume that he’s gonna work Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. Royal Rumble, I think, is pretty much a given. I would think WrestleMania is a given if he’s gonna work Royal Rumble, but I don’t know that factually. It’s just a presumption.” – Wrestling Observer Radio [November 20th, 2016]
Why didn’t Canada boo Goldberg out of the building??
Dave Meltzer: “It’s a different era now. The Bill Goldberg/Bret Hart feud was a different generation, these are all new fans. You know, a lot of the fans, twenty and thirty-five they were — it’s just a different era.
The loyalty to Bret Hart? I mean, Bret Hart is a guy from the way-past. They like Bret Hart in the sense that he was a Canadian hero, and they’ll pop like crazy for him. But the idea that they hold Bill Goldberg responsible for ending Bret’s career, which, you know, for years they did… that’s obviously over.” – Wrestling Observer Radio [November 20th, 2016]
Was the match booked to be so short due to Goldberg’s reported arm injury?
Dave Meltzer: “That much I do know, and that is not the case.”
“The finish [with] Bill winning, was changed when Bill agreed to come back. The idea was that, ‘We’ve got to get Bill over, Brock can afford a loss.’ – Wrestling Observer Radio [November 20th, 2016]
EDIT: GOLDBERG OPENED RAW AND REVEALED THAT HE HAS “ONE MORE TITLE RUN” IN HIM
"At the #RoyalRumble Match … EVERYONE is NEXT!" – @Goldberg #RAW pic.twitter.com/Gw5eFl9dZn
— WWE (@WWE) November 22, 2016
I guess that seals the deal, then. Goldberg won BIG over Brock due to him signing on for more dates, setting up a final title run for the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion. We’re witnessing the final moments of Goldberg’s wrestling career but don’t expect Brock Lesnar to just go away after his embarrassment last night.
Time for Round Three??
WrestleMania 33 is the perfect venue for it.
38-year-old World Championship Wrestling fanatic/collector/hoarder. Safety officer by day, scanner of wrestling magazine by night.
He’s got posters on the wall, his favorite rock group’s KISS.
Here is the thing, nobody has given me a good reason of why we should care about Brock-Goldberg 2, 12 years later. Also why is Goldberg still gonna feud with Brock as he is 2-0 and squashed him pretty good on Sunday
Good point — there really wasn’t a reason beyond I’M IN A VIDEO GAME AND BROCK WAS RUNNING HIS MOUTH.
I think the only way to get people to care about Brock vs Goldberg III is if Brock takes out Bill in the Rumble. It’s a cheap way to set it up that can be predicted a mile away, but it’d make sense.