So the main event of Wrestlemania 33 we’ve all known for a while has officially been made, Goldberg will be defending his newly won Universal Title against Brock Lesnar. There is so much wrong with this match, the motivations behind it and the potential aftermath that it’s made me so disinterested in it, even though I’ll be there in Orlando to see it live in person!
Reasoning for the Match
The first big puzzle to me is why this match is even happening? Yes I know if you want to look at it from a business point of view, Goldberg and Lesnar are big draws, they sell tickets and stand as big attractions. If you suspend the realities of all that though and focus on the storyline aspect of it, then ask yourself why the match is happening?
Goldberg returned and after weeks of build up flattened Brock Lesnar in 1 minute and 26 seconds, damaging the credibility of Lesnar. Then take the Royal Rumble match itself, Goldberg entered at #28 and eliminated..you guessed it, Brock Lesnar.
So looking at that, what possible reason (again storyline wise) does Goldberg have to face Lesnar again? He’s beaten him in a match, he’s eliminated him from the Royal Rumble, as far as he’s concerned Brock should be way down the pecking order.
Yet somehow at Wrestlemania 33 it’s not on a hot streak Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens isn’t getting his re-match, it’s not any of the new talent being given an opportunity, but it’s Brock Lesnar again.
I just don’t understand the logic behind it. Fair enough if Lesnar had eliminated Goldberg from the Royal Rumble, then you would have your reasoning, Goldberg would be seeking retribution, but as it stands I don’t know what Goldberg can possibly gain from facing Brock at Wrestlemania.
Some have offered the explanation of the fact that Goldberg v Lesnar was already happening BEFORE Goldberg’s title win, this meaning Lesnar gets a title shot. Well if that’s the reasoning here I think someone on the RAW roster should be very smart and challenge Brock Lesnar to a match for the pay per view after Wrestlemania..
Booking the Match
So how will WWE even book their match in Orlando? As previously mentioned we’ve already seen Goldberg destroy Lesnar in 1 minute 26 seconds, so should we expect that since also being eliminated by him at the Royal Rumble that Brock has more of a chance this time around? What reason do we have to believe the result won’t be the same as Survivor Series? WWE have made a huge error in their booking, as they should have had Lesnar wrestle at Fast Lane and also destroy an opponent, which would showcase that he’s picked himself off from the humiliations of both Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble, and that he’s back in business. Yet we haven’t seen anything from Lesnar minus the squash match and Rumble elimination.
It’d be a huge slap in the face if they were to book this match as another short squash match, as both men have been showcased enough and propelled to the main event, so the least the fans deserve is a decent amount of time.
Goldberg is obviously rusty and isn’t the wrestler he used to be, where as Brock simply isn’t a wrestler any more, and he doesn’t have the wrestling style he once had.
I think it’s clear Lesnar will win the match, but do I really care? Not really.
Why should I care when the last time we saw it at Wrestlemania 20 it was boo’d out of the building because both guys were leaving the company after, yet here we are 13 years later and still neither guy can commit weekly to WWE which is why I think a lot of fans are very disinterested in the match itself or the outcome.
The best thing they could do is book this match as a NoDQ match, add the element of surprise to it. Make it a brawl, the best of a bad situation. It’s going to be very hard for either man to put on a 30 minute match like the Universal Title deserves at Wrestlemania, but that’s just the corner WWE have backed themselves into.
Like I said, nobody is expecting them to wrestle a 30 minute match, but all I want is to be entertained, which I’ve not been by any interaction or altercation they’ve had thus far.
What’s Next?
Unfortunately for the fan I don’t think it matters whether Goldberg or Lesnar win the Universal Title, the chances are that the title will become a bit part accessory on RAW for the foreseeable future. I’ll go with my instinct that Lesnar will be victorious and predict he’ll only make odd appearances on Monday Nights, and only ‘wrestle’ at the main pay per view events of the year such as Summerslam. There are rumours that WWE want Lesnar to hold the title for the rest of the year, which is damaging and quite frankly scary for the rest of the RAW roster, as no title means no opportunity. How are talent expected to ‘reach for the brass ring’ to get to the main event, when the main event is just a bit part player within the company.
As great as Paul Heyman is, he can’t be expected to go out every week on RAW and cut promos against Brock’s future opponents without an appearance by Lesnar himself or the Universal Title.
In summer of last year we had Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor all in the Universal Title picture, yet 6 months later and the main event of Wrestlemania is Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, talk about pushing your young talent, right?
Granted, Balor and Rollins have had injuries, but I get the feeling it was always the plan to have them headline the April 2nd event.
Is it any surprise that Goldberg is getting boo’d? It’s the same awful booking that made the WWE Universal boo Batista when he returned a few years ago forcing them to admit defeat and turn him heel. Fans aren’t stupid, they don’t want these part timers returning for a 2 month fling with the company before departing again leaving their victims to try and pick themselves up and put together the pieces of all their hard work that just got destroyed by said part timer.
Take CM Punk and The Rock for example a few years ago. Punk was the hottest thing in the company and possibly the industry, holding the title for an impressive 434 days before The Rock returned, won the title from Punk, lost dropped it to John Cena in his next match and then vanished again. Where did that leave Punk?
I mirror this situation with what happened with Goldberg and Kevin Owens.
I’d love to be proved wrong, I’d love for whoever walks out of Wrestlemania 33 with the Universal Title by more than a part time special appearance, I’d love for them to fulfill the title and make weekly appearances, wrestle in 6 man tag matches and the usual champion duties. The saddening reality is that the Universal Title a championship that WWE only introduced last year, is going to be taking a hiatus from television, and that’ll hurt its credibility. It doesn’t matter WHO the champion is, if they aren’t appearing on shows, it’s basically saying like that show isn’t deemed important enough for them, which again hurts that shows reputation.
I may come across as skeptical, but after Lesnar’s last WWE Title reign where we barely even saw the WWE Championship, can you really blame me?
Again, I’ll be there live in person, and I won’t lie, just seeing big names such as Goldberg (who I’ve never seen live before) and Brock Lesnar will be great, but as a long time WWE fan thinking of the future, I can’t see how anyone will come out of this match a winner.
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