Damien Barling: Goldberg Returns
They didn't screw it up. I was fearful they would. All the way down to the recap videos and the lame Michael Cole introduction. I thought they'd screw it up. "The greatest champion in the history of WCW." Seriously!? I just knew they were going to screw this up...
They didn't.
Thankfully.
The music hit. Perfect. The wrestlers lining the entrance and clapping. Perfect (and unexpected). The pyro. The entrance. The crowd. The response. The emotion. Perfect.
"This is awesome."
"Welcome back."
Other slightly, more unprintable chants from lively crowd in Denver, Colorado. It was probably the last moment of this sort.
The last two holdouts from the Attitude Era have made their WWE appearances. Yes, I understand Goldberg had a previous, and rather forgettable, WWE run. It's awfully rare a star of Goldberg's magnitude to be gone 12 years. He's here for one match… unless of course, he's not.
The other holdout, Sting, was brought in for one match, only to get beaten by Triple H at Wrestlemania. That plain changed when the WWE realized 1) Sting can still wrestle, 2) the fanbase adores him. So the one off plan was thrown out the door.
The reaction Monday in Denver was massive. Significantly larger than I expected. Returning superstars always get big reactions, but this one felt different. A genuine, "Dude, we missed you and we're really happy you're here" type of reaction.
Stone Cold will show up one day as he always does and get a giant reaction. We get that yearly. One day, The Rock will show up and we'll all be excited. Yes, one day, Hulk Hogan will make his return to WWE television, we'll forget, or ignore, what he said, we'll remember we love him, and we'll welcome him back.
But this Goldberg return feels different. He's wanted to comeback before, but he wanted to be paid handsomely, as he should. It's finally happened and one match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series won't be enough. It won't be enough for the fans, it shouldn't be enough for Goldberg, and it shouldn't be enough for WWE.
"You're not just next, you're last."
The story is clear. Goldberg is back, one last time, so his son can see him wrestle and so children can have that larger than life superhero (which they so badly need).
Goldberg deserves a Wrestlemania moment. I don't want him to beat Lesnar because it doesn't make sense. Brock Lesnar is the biggest star WWE has and should be protected until the right guy at the right time comes along and can benefit from being the first guy to pin him in years.
You can get out of this match with Brock and Goldberg looking strong. Bring Goldberg back around Royal Rumble and set up a program with a guy he could have a great match with and would be guaranteed a favorable fan reaction… Roman Reigns. Turn Reigns heel. Turn Reigns against the kids.
Goldberg can be the superhero. A role he plays so well that WWE would love for Roman Reigns to fill but they've done so much damage to him it's virtually impossible. This serves two purposes…
- It puts Reigns in position to be the biggest, meanest, nastiest heel the WWE has.
- It gives Goldberg the opportunity to have a Wrestlemania moment as a true, real life superhero.
