Why Goldberg coming back was best for business

Goldberg's return to the WWE reviewed by myself. What made it such a success in my eyes? What it can mean going forward.

Why Goldberg Coming Back was Best for Business

Now before I begin, let me just say that I was not fond of the idea of Goldberg coming back for real. In this day and age in wrestling, there are far too many talented wrestlers to have opportunities of being in the spotlight ripped from them because of nostalgia acts from the past. At least, that I'm sure is the sentiment I had and was shared with many other passionate wrestling fans. But, how it played out is why it was absolutely the best thing for business.

Why It Worked....

1. You have to understand the character that is "Goldberg" and why he was met with so much hostility to the "smark" fan because let's be honest, casual watchers who hadn't watched in a long time were thrilled to see him back. To start off, Goldberg isn't going to win any match of the year awards. He is not the guy you go to if you want a 10-15 minute match classic to be had. Goldberg in a nut shell is either he loses by interference or circumstance (like a Triple Threat) or he just demolishes his opponent without them getting off much offense. In his whole career up until Wrestlemania 33, he had only been beaten cleanly 1 on 1 once by Triple H. The same Triple H who had Evolution at his side and gave him an assist (surprise, surprise).  So what can you do with this man who was virtually unstoppable. You put him against a monster that is known for stopping everyone. In comes Brock Lesnar...

2. Before coming back to the fold, the only time Brock Lesnar and Goldberg met 1 on 1 was 12 years ago at Wrestlemania 20. It was a disaster and a s****y moment for all involved because both men were known to be leaving and pretty much opted out of making the match a good one. The fans let them have it with their displeasure boo'ing them throughout the majority. Now we are going to have to agree to disagree about whether or not those two individuals deserved the treatment by the fans, but you got to remember that they are people too. Both men were unhappy over their jobs and the direction the product seemed to be going so they opted out. Should we boo an average man for quitting his job for being unhappy?  Regardless, both men would wind up in the company again after 2004 with huge pops for both. A match was made at Survivor Series 2016 that was dubbed "Fantasy Warfare" to go along with the latest release of the WWE 2k17 video game. Realistically the match would have sold itself but it was hyped along side the release of the game. Everyone was sure Lesnar/Goldberg 2 would be the end of it all but then something funny happened...

3. It is with great pleasure I can talk about my "I told you so" moment that I can hold over my smark wrestling buddies' heads. I will get to the I told you so moment but first let me explain my reasoning behind it. If you pay attention long enough you will start to notice patterns and one of those favorite patterns for WWE is to doing everything in 3's. Every great rivalry or feud in the company typically has 3 parts. In our not so distant past, we saw AJ Styles and John Cena have 3 classic matches. The biggest feud in company history, Rock v. Austin, happened at 3 separate Wrestlemania's (15,17,19) respectively. I knew going into Survivor Series that it wouldn't be the end of Goldberg and Lesnar because they would still need a 3rd match.  So how do you set up for a 3rd match? Easy, Brock Lesnar had to lose the match to Goldberg at Survivor Series. If Lesnar had won, the conqueror would have had nothing left to conquer and Goldberg would have neem a waste from the start. But by Goldberg winning, you can give both men something to build towards for the future...

4. Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I knew Goldberg would destroy Lesnar that quickly, but I knew Lesnar would lose. And him losing the way he did, did wonders for the story. Someone had finally came and stopped Brock Lesnar and it was Goldberg. How does Brock overcome these odds? He needs to get back at Goldberg but how? The road to Wrestlemania is about to begin, both men are destined to clash...

5. The Royal Rumble in January is always a teaser of what is upcoming for Wrestlemania. What was interesting was that both men were easily favorites to win it all. Both neither man win it. Both end of eliminated, but Goldberg had eliminated Brock Lesnar from the match. Something has got to give now since Goldberg keeps humiliating Brock which leads to a challenge at Wrestlemania. In all honesty, I think everyone should have seen it coming. Before the 3rd matchup, Goldberg takes a detour to add a little something more to their match at Wrestlemania...

6. I am upset they went this route because it meant Kevin Owens giving up his Universal Championship to a part timer that was probably going to lose it anyways but I can say the ending result made it all seem so perfect. Goldberg is given at shot at Owens' Championship and loses it quickly with help from a Chris Jericho distraction. What was a grudge match, now became a grudge match for the biggest prize on RAW, the Universal Championship. Brock Lesnar had a chance to get more than even at Goldberg for all the embarrassment. Lesnar needed something to make him relevant and to stand out again and here was the chance. Goldberg finally loses cleanly to Brock Lesnar in their 3rd match up at Wrestlemania 33 making him once again the biggest figurehead in the company. Now RAW once again has a monster of a champion (who isn't Roman Reigns). Goldberg goes away peacefully and can probably come back later to probably put over Roman Reigns(let's hope not). But lets face it, Roman put away the Undertaker and so has Brock, so it will become something to one up before Brock and Roman have a 1 on 1. 

7. In conclusion, part timers are great when used the right way. It's nostalgia but it's also nice to see fantasy like matchups. Most of the part timers that are coming back or active are in great shape: Goldberg, Rock, Cena, etc. Even the Dudley Boyz and Hardy Boyz returned looking better than ever. It's a lesson that sometimes you just need to enjoy and not over analyze, it is "wrestling" after all. Just like anything else if you take it too serious, you're going to take the fun out of it.