Can Goldberg vs. Lesnar Possibly Live Up to the Hype?

Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar is the headline match for Survivor Series this Sunday, and the attraction that’s brought the pay-per-view back to significance as one of WWE’s traditional “big four.” The dream battle between the two factored heavily into the marketing for the WWE 2K17 game, and this match is now being billed as fantasy warfare made real.

However, there are some very real reasons to be skeptical of the quality of the final match. Reason number one? It’s happened before, and it was not good.

Now, the first meeting between Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania XX actually has a bit of an unfair reputation. The two largely put on a decent match, aided by the presence of special guest referee Steve Austin. The battle’s reputation as a trainwreck is certainly overblown. But while it wasn’t awful, it certainly wasn’t good. The pair worked the match assuming that there would be a “big fight feel” to the proceedings, with both of them spending a long time feeling each other out and showcasing their big moves.

Yet the fans in attendance knew that both Lesnar and Goldberg were on the way out of WWE, and they were deeply unhappy that both were about to “abandon” wrestling. They rebelled against the match, and a standoff that would’ve worked against a more invested crowd derailed into seeming nonsense, leaving everyone with a bad taste in their mouth.

This incarnation of the match has been booked much better, and any crowd in the world should now be fully invested in the outcome–except, perhaps, for one in Canada. Goldberg, booked as a superhero babyface for this encounter, was involved in the injuries that ended the career of Canadian legend Bret Hart, and there’s a very real fear that the Toronto crowd will treat the legend as a heel in this match.

There’s also the more immediate concern about Goldberg’s ring rust, as both times he’s gotten physical since his return the results have been questionable. He tripped and fell when delivering a beatdown to Rusev, and while his in-ring segment with Lesnar this Monday went much better, he still found himself with a tweaked shoulder. You can’t lay that all at Goldberg’s feet, however. The deal for this match came through with very little time to spare, and he’s been training nonstop since it was finalized. There’s only so much training your body can take in such an amount of time, even if you’re in as good a shape as Goldberg certainly is.

Some fans even remain skeptical that Goldberg was actually any good in the ring to begin with. He was a monster in WCW, and quite effective in that role, but whether he could go the distance in a proper wrestling match was always a question mark.

The solution? Sunday’s match needs to be a short, brutal brawl. And honestly, we expect that it will be. Lesnar and Goldberg are friends outside of the ring, and wrestling tradition suggests that you hit your friends harder than your rivals. Lesnar is–kayfabe aside–one of the most violent wrestlers in WWE, and both men are going to come out of Sunday hurting.

If they keep it short, and can offer a satisfying conclusion–saving the interference we expect for after the bell rings–then Lesnar and Goldberg can absolutely deliver on the match they should’ve over a decade ago.