WWE TLC: Why Goldberg has to beat Lesnar

Barnaby Read 09:43 15/11/2016
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  • For many, the match is pure fantasy.

    Two of wrestling’s biggest, most formidable giants come face-to-face at Survivor Series next week in a match adorned with the slogan “fantasy warfare just got real”.

    Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg is certainly a fight that promises a whole lot and, at the very least, delivers a huge amount of intrigue that should ultimately translate into pay-per-view sales.

    It is a dream match-up and one that will hopefully erase memories of the hugely underwhelming first encounter back at WrestleMania XX in 2004 that even the presence of Stone Cold Steve Austin couldn’t save from ending up a frustrating disappointment.

    Then, Goldberg took the win and both wrestlers left the WWE; Goldberg pursuing a brief Hollywood career and Lesnar looking to the NFL as a new employer before turning to the UFC.

    Like now, the WWE Universe was positively dripping in excitement at seeing two of the most dominant wrestlers of the past two decades go at it.

    And this time around, there is a feeling that the end product will deliver what fans have been craving ever since that tease 12 years ago.

    But one thing that shouldn’t change is the end result.

    Yes, Lesnar is the company’s prize asset and being such a formidable, unbeatable force adds to his character but where is the excitement or unpredictability needed to sell future fights if Lesnar keeps steam rolling his way through the roster?

    Lesnar needs to be beaten – and it rightly won’t be convincingly – in order to then show his strength compared to the rest of the locker room.

    Imagine RAW the following night if Lesnar comes out and obliterates every Superstar on the same brand, it would be joyous carnage.

    It would also allow Lesnar to place himself once again among the title picture on the premise that he needs to beat Kevin Owens in order to prove he is the all conquering beast Paul Hayman says he is.

    Throw in another coming together with Roman Reigns and factor in Seth Rollins’ presence and you have yourself an exciting battle for the Universal title.

    If Lesnar wins and his dominance continues there then sure he can go back and say he deserves a shot at the title for the men he has beaten in the last 12 months but it wouldn’t be able to ramp up the same excitement and storyline options that defeat would.

    A wounded Lesnar with something to prove is far more scary a thought than one peering from the shadows as a part-time wrestler to only show up at the occasional “big four” pay-per-views.

    Defeat would also work in Goldberg’s favour, giving the legendary wrestler a couple of options moving forward which surely both he and the WWE would prefer to have.

    Goldberg could turn his back on professional wrestling and go out like he entered it; unbeaten.

    But it would also allow Goldberg to pursue one more fight, most likely at WrestleMania, with a third-part of the trilogy against Lesnar an option.

    More excitingly, it would also open up a showdown with The Undertaker, or even a mega fight with Triple H or a throwback to the WCW glory days in taking on Sting.

    Such is the standing of both fighters that a believable, entertaining match up will be the real win for the WWE Universe and the result won’t matter too much in the short-term.

    Looking forward, however, a Lesnar loss promises the greater return on the WWE and its Universe’s investment in the fight.

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