Fantasy Warfare Gets REAL
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
It’s ok, I’m sure that leaving Rusev off the Survivor Series card in order to enhance Goldberg’s comeback will be totally worth it.
The Road to Survivor Series 2016
Twelve years ago at WrestleMania 20 there was a disastrous pro-wrestling spectacle known as Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar. Both men were on their way out of the company and the New York City crowd basically gave them a giant (and very loud) middle finger throughout the entire match. This fight did not go down in the history books as the epic clash of titans that it was supposed to be; instead it is regarded as one of the biggest WrestleMania flops of all-time.
But WWE doesn’t want you to remember that part; they just want you to remember that Goldberg won that match.
In the 12 years since that match took place, Goldberg and WWE had a tense or non-existent relationship and never came to terms on a return for the master of the spear.
But that’s all changed in the year 2016, and Goldberg finally returned last month with a hell of a promo, in response to a challenge from that fat stooge Paul Heyman:
Goldberg claimed that the world needs more superheroes like him who children can count on to overcome evil. That means that not only is Brock Lesnar "next," but Brock Lesnar is also "last." This man came back as a super babyface, wanting to kick evil’s ass in front of his wife and son while also kissing ringside fans on the head and shaking their hands.
How can you not root for this guy?
Well, you could always have Brock Lesnar show up on Raw in his home state of Minnesota. That’s one effective way to prevent super dad babyface Goldberg from getting cheers.
WWE did not anticipate that Lesnar’s hometown fans would be so invested in chanting "Suplex City" and "Goldberg sucks," and it led to a disastrous segment where Vince McMahon allegedly pulled the plug on Paul Heyman in the middle of his promo where he was supposed to make this fantasy match official for Survivor Series.
So instead, the match was made official the very next day without using a television platform. Fantasy warfare just got real, indeed!
The very next week, Rusev was used as fodder to showcase Goldberg’s supreme fighting abilities and a jackhammer. This included Goldberg embarrassingly falling on his own ass after delivering an aged knee to Rusev’s gut. But thanks to the editing team at WWE, you’ll never see that botch in this video! However you will see Paul Heyman eat an unedited semi-devastating spear:
Neither Brock nor Goldberg showed up in Scotland the next week for Raw because part-timers don’t do that sort of thing. Instead, we got a neat video package where Brock Lesnar said that he doesn’t give a damn about Goldberg’s family and that he was going to annihilate his rusty opponent who hasn’t wrestled in 12 years.
The two men finally had a face-to-face showdown on Raw the following week, and it led to a few security guards getting tossed around like rag-dolls and Brock Lesnar walking away from a fight with a hyped up sweaty Goldberg.
The audience was firmly in Goldberg’s pocket this time, which must have pleased Vince McMahon.
What’s at stake?
Goldberg’s reputation as a superhero and his undefeated 1-0 record against Brock Lesnar are both on the line at Survivor Series 2016.
More importantly, this sequel needs to erase the lasting stench of their original trainwreck match at WrestleMania 20.
Will the Toronto crowd play nice and treat Goldberg as the super babyface that the storyline warrants? If these fans have any ill will towards Goldberg over the way he ended the legendary career of Bret Hart, that could create an atmosphere conducive to a repeat of the 2004 disaster these guys had at WrestleMania 20.
The potential for that nightmare scenario increases even more if Goldberg’s apparent ring rust leads to a very short and sloppy match that doesn’t live up to the hype. Stone Cold Steve Austin probably won’t be around to save it this time.
Tune into Survivor Series 2016 and keep it here on Cageside Seats to see if Goldberg can slay the beast!