5 Reasons why Goldberg's current WWE run has truly been 'miserable'
When Goldberg came back a few weeks before Survivor Series, looking surprisingly spritely for someone who’s not stepped into a WWE ring for more than a decade, the fans didn’t realistically know what to expect.
Would he be the same unconquerable monster of old? Or would it be another case where Father Time had inevitably caught up with a legend, and all we’re left with is a shell of what the man once was?
It is solely down to the clever booking of WWE Creative that we’re still waiting on the definitive answer to those questions.
Ever since returning to acquaint the kids that grew up listening to the “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” rhetoric to some Attitude Era badassery, Goldberg has been led through a feud against WWE’s resident bully, Brock Lesnar, safely nestled in bubble wrap.
His victory over the Beast Incarnate at Survivor Series – and especially the devastating manner of it – has mustered enough momentum to keep the feud ticking over until WrestleMania, papering over the fact that both the part-timers have only managed a handful of appearances on TV to further their rivalry since then.
And while Goldberg claims that one of the more salient high points of his return has been performing in front of his young son, the jury is still out on whether his second run in the WWE has been one that has been beneficial for the overall complexion of the product.
Admittedly, the man himself has left no stone unturned in physically preparing himself for his first WrestleMania bow in 13 years. So much so, that he contritely describes the experience in his second WWE stint as “miserable”.
But is it really him who’s been handed the short end of the stick?
As fans, while our nostalgia was certainly stimulated when he emerged – intense as ever – through the sparks, one can’t help but question if his return was a fleeting feel-good moment that has since been overshadowed by how miserable the remainder of his run has been.
Here’s why.
#1 Outdated approach to wrestling
Goldberg, from the time when he was mowing down opponents in WCW and breaking them in half, has always been a “blow your load” type of performer. He gets in, destroys whoever is standing opposite him in the ring, and gets out.
There are hardly any unnecessary frills attached to his performance, and for the longest time, that has also been his unique selling point; unbridled intensity and an imposing physique coupled with a 0-100 mph gear that usually leaves his opponents writhing around in pain, staring at the lights long before they’ve even realised what’s happening.
But the inherent drawback of this type of approach is that he could never put on 30-minute wrestling clinics.
Also read: 5 ways to book Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania 33
And in today’s climate, where a match like the one that headlined NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada or the Cirque duSoleil-esque athletic exhibition between Will Ospreay and Ricochet is the flavour of the hour, Goldberg’s style finds itself tolerated at best but hardly embraced.
The one worst affected by this limitation has been Kevin Owens – a fantastic wrestler who was grossly underserved by Goldberg’s inability to sustain a longer duration of match at Fastlane.
Yes, all in all, not a very favourable scenario for the WWE at all. But it only gets worse...