Opinion: Goldberg Belongs in a WWE Ring

Tonight, on “Monday Night Raw,” Goldberg made his return to a WWE ring for the first time in 12 years.

I have to admit that I was incredibly skeptical about this moment, ever since the rumors began that he and Brock Lesnar would be competing in a match; most likely at “Survivor Series” in November. I had doubts about whether Goldberg would be able to go, and whether or not his presence would be a good fit for the current WWE product.

But after the segment tonight, I have come to one simple conclusion.

In my opinion, Bill Goldberg absolutely, positively belongs in a WWE ring.

I have been watching this man for 20 years, ever since he began his historic run of 173 victories without defeat in WCW. During that time, he created some of the most memorable moments in professional wrestling history, and became one of the superstars that helped WCW defeat WWE in the ratings war for 83 straight weeks.

Unfortunately, his first run in WWE did go as well as everyone hoped. He has admitted in interviews that after Vince McMahon purchased WCW, he knew that giving WWE a try was the right thing to do. And WWE knew what they had; they made him the world champion fairly early on in his tenure with the company, which was a good move on their part.

However, his final match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20 was lackluster at best, and neither man left the company on the greatest of terms. We all thought that we would never see Goldberg in a wrestling ring again.

But a lot can happen in 12 years.

Tonight on “Raw,’ I saw something different in Goldberg. Something that while I believe he had while both in WCW and WWE, was not properly shown until tonight.

And that something is emotion. Pure, unadulterated passion.

As I mentioned before, I have been following Goldberg for 20 years. From the moment he walked on the stage and through the pyro, you could just see, in his face, the humility he felt for the opportunity to be in a WWE ring again. If you watch closely when he first enters the ring, he is holding back tears of joy for the opportunity to not only reconnect with the fans, but also to be able to perform for his wife and son live at a professional wrestling show.

It was then time for him to speak. And boy, did he deliver.

Before tonight, I went back and watched some of Goldberg’s old WCW and WWE promos. They were OK, but nothing spectacular. He was intense, but there was a reason why they focused on his in-ring work speak, as opposed to his vocal skills.

Tonight was completely different. The intensity with which he spoke was unlike anything I had ever seen from him before. You could tell that he was rejuvenated, re-energized, and genuinely elated to be able to cut a promo in front of the WWE Universe.

When he uttered the words “You’re Last” to Brock Lesnar, I was IMMEDIATELY sold on their upcoming match.

httpss://twitter.com/WWE/status/788216844255539200

Will it be a technical classic? No. Will it be a brutal, over-the-top, all-out war? No. But, that’s not what these two do. They fight, grapple, and throw each other around until one of them hits their finishing move.

And that’s completely fine. As long as we know that going into the match, and keep the reason that Goldberg is back at the forefront of our minds, then the nostalgia of seeing these two go at it one more time will more than make up for anything that occurs in the ring.

As I mentioned, I had serious doubts about a guy who has been out of wrestling for 12 years, and who didn’t leave the business on the best of terms. However, I was proved wrong tonight, by a showing of pure enthusiasm, vigor and energy from one of the most legendary performers in wrestling history.

Goldberg is back. And he belongs in every way, shape and form that you can imagine.

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