What happened in Goldberg and The Undertaker's botch-filled match?
When WWE announced that Goldberg vs The Undertaker would take place at Super ShowDown 2019 in Saudi Arabia, there was a mixed reaction. Given the caliber of the two legends, interest was always going to be there.
But those who saw both men working in the ring in recent years knew that it wasn't going to deliver as some had expected. For one, Goldberg was 52 while The Undertaker was 54.
Fans had seen The Undertaker, in particular, have a steep decline in terms of his in-ring performance. Goldberg was always considered a more "limited" performer, with his matches normally not exceeding 5 minutes. The two would face off in Saudi Arabia on June 7th, 2019.
In what can only be described as a botch-filled match, both legends struggled to deliver on the promise of a dream match. Goldberg, in particular, seemed to botch move after move before The Undertaker finally defeated him after the 9-minute mark. Goldberg even got concussed during the bout.
The Undertaker was victorious, but given the nature of the main event, it felt like nobody won.
The aftermath of the disastrous Goldberg-Undertaker match
Goldberg put out a tweet after SuperShowDown 2019, revealing that he knocked himself out:
Referee Mike Chioda revealed that he was close to calling an audible and ending the match after Goldberg got concussed. Goldberg made no excuses and took responsibility for the match, while also stating that it had been more than two years since he had been in the ring.
The Undertaker admitted that the match was "catastrophic" and that it did a number on his back. In The Last Ride documentary, The Undertaker said that it made him assess where he's at in his career.
Both men would return to the ring sooner than expected. The Undertaker would return to the ring the following month for the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, where he teamed up with former opponent Roman Reigns to defeat Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon.
The tag team match was praised and regarded as The Undertaker's best match in years. Goldberg would return a couple of months later to squash Dolph Ziggler in a hilarious but entertaining SummerSlam match.
Goldberg would go on to win and lose the Universal Championship the following WrestleMania season, while The Undertaker marked the end of his iconic career at WrestleMania 36 in 2020.