WWE have confirmed that Hall of Fame inductee and former World Champion Goldberg will be making an appearance on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. With the next episode of WWE’s Saudi Arabia saga on the horizon, we can assume that the forever-nostalgic creative team behind the scenes have worked out yet another rivalry for Goldberg to sink his teeth into.
The last we saw of the WCW flag-bearer was at SummerSlam when Goldberg tangled with Dolph Ziggler in a glorified squash match. For some vague and confusing reason, Goldberg obliterated ‘The Show Off’ on behalf of The Miz, then walked back off into the sunset to enjoy his post-retirement life. Although as we’re all fully aware, retirement never truly lasts longer than a few months when it comes to marquee attractions like Goldberg.
So with Super ShowDown a matter of weeks away, who might Goldberg be setting his sights on this Friday? We run down 5 potential opponents for Goldberg, analysing a few dream matches and whether or not the legendary warrior will make it through the match without receiving a concussion.
1. ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt
It’s an odd decision to bring Goldberg to SmackDown Live. After all, RAW is still the flagship brand. Most legend cameos are typically saved for Monday nights, but not this time. You might start to wonder whether there’s a particular opponent in mind for Goldberg that resides on the blue brand, maybe someone that has been just as dominant as Goldberg was in his WCW heyday, maybe someone like Bray Wyatt?
The current Universal Champion has naturally slotted himself at the top of the pecking order on SmackDown Live, defeating some of the brand’s best and brightest stars whilst remaining one of the most over superstars in the entire company. ‘The Fiend’ is without doubt a marquee attraction that would fit in well with an inter-generational clash against Goldberg.
Goldberg is in fact a former Universal Champion in his own right, so there’s enough reason for Goldberg to stake claim to an opportunity to dethrone the maniacal Wyatt as SmackDown’s head honcho. It would certainly be an interesting clash of styles, with Goldberg maintaining that undeniable badass presence and Wyatt’s sinister aura.
2. King Corbin
The right-honourable King Corbin has remained one of SmackDown’s top heels since claiming the throne in late 2019. Having resolved issues with Roman Reigns via copious amounts of dog food, Corbin is now free to insert himself into another rivalry fit for a king. Perhaps a meeting with Goldberg could help ‘The Lone Wolf’ claw back some momentum as he heads towards WrestleMania?
Corbin is one of those superstars that fans across the world love to see on the receiving end of a beating. Goldberg is the perfect hero to swoop in and deliver a few spears and jackhammers to help make a few highlights for the Saudi audience at Super ShowDown.
Corbin could easily carry this feud on the mic, berating the former WCW Heavyweight for his blunder at last year’s event, goading him into the inevitable squash that’s awaiting the King in Riyadh.
3. Sheamus
‘The Celtic Warrior’ is back. After destroying Shorty G* at the Royal Rumble, Sheamus is now in need of another challenger who could match Sheamus’ sheer size and brute force. Goldberg has proven himself still capable to give out and take some brutal offence, this could be a perfect opportunity for Sheamus to show his ring generalship by bringing out the best in Goldberg in a true slug-fest.
Sheamus seems to be on his way up the singles ladder once again, so a big win over Goldberg would be a huge rub for him to take through to WrestleMania season. With Sheamus looking to rid the SmackDown locker room of whiners and unworthiness, Goldberg would be a great advocate for those that are working hard to be the best version of themselves; kind of in-line with Goldberg’s whole ‘hero to the children’ gimmick.
I personally would love to see these two hosses square up for a few minutes. It might not end up being the safest match for the Hall of Famer, but one that’d certainly be a lot of fun.
4. Elias
One superstar that never got their chance for revenge on Goldberg was Elias. Casting our minds back to Goldberg’s initial return, Elias was one of the superstars on the receiving end of a spear. Elias promised that he’d deliver some harsh payback when the time was right, but that time never truly came around.
It might be a bit of a stretch to make ‘The Living Truth’ seem like a threat to Goldberg, but if anyone’s going to be able to get the crowd behind him/rallied against him, it’s Elias. Goldberg could easily coast through this match by no-selling a guitar to the back and going through the motions of his usual beatdown.
Elias could walk away with the slight rub of being featured in a match against such a big draw, giving him something to work with during WrestleMania season.
5. Roman Reigns
The name ‘Super ShowDown’ beckons the concept of two massive stars colliding in a titanic main event. There’s no other bigger name in WWE right now than Roman Reigns, and his status and presence is practically parallel to that of a Hall of Famer like Goldberg. Reigns and Goldberg have met on brief occasions, teasing a future match between the two juggernauts that never came to pass. What better time that at Super ShowDown.
WWE is all about those blockbuster main event attractions for their Saudi chronicles, I couldn’t imagine a bigger draw than Reigns vs Goldberg to fill in this year’s token ‘dream match’. Surely Goldberg doesn’t have that many matches left in him at this point, so why not pull the trigger on Spear vs. Spear, Jackhammer vs Superman Punch?
Roman’s all but confirmed for a big title match with ‘The Fiend’ at WrestleMania 36, but he’s currently left without a big rub to set him up for contention. A feud with and victory over an S-tier superstar like Goldberg would put him on a pedestal in time for the #1 Contender to be decided, whether that be at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view or beforehand.
*I truly cannot believe they didn’t reveal this name as a joke. – Ed
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