If rumours are to be believed, Goldberg is going to annihilate Kevin Owens at the upcoming Fastlane PPV and take the Universal Championship to Wrestlemania to add an extra flavour to his match with Brock Lesnar.
For a company full of bad ideas, this may turn out to be one of the most myopic ones in WWE’s recent history if it actually happens. As big of a draw as it might be for casual viewers to watch the WCW remnant and MMA naughty boy slog it out for the belt, it would be a disaster in the long-term.
Some background: after featuring as a DLC wrestler for WWE 2K17, the decision was made to capitalise on Goldberg’s surge in relevancy by bringing him back to wrestle, seemingly in “one last stand” against Lesnar at Survivor Series. Even before it was announced, I worried that a Goldberg return would be a bad idea.
After falling over during a confrontation with Rusev, controversially destroying Lesnar (while somehow being clumsy doing so) in their match, and looking awkward during his stint in this year’s Royal Rumble, the decision was made to keep the momentum going with one last confrontation with Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. On the most recent RAW, it was announced that Goldberg would be taking on Kevin Owens at Fastlane, despite having wrestled less than ten minutes since his return.
This is, without wanting to sound hyperbolic but knowing that I will, a slap in the face for the full-time talent on the roster, especially Kevin Owens.
His title reign has had its detractors, especially as he’s become something of a tertiary character to Chris Jericho and a piece of paper. Instead of being the force who dominated NXT and beat John Cena in his main roster debut, Owens has been booked as the lesser talent in a comedy act, someone who can only get the job done when assisted by his best friend or other interference. While The List of Jericho has been simple fun for months, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the reputation of a wrestler who deserves much better. Considering what he’s been given, though, Owens has performed well and held the title for long enough to build its prestige nearer to where it needs to be to be seen as something worth fighting for.
The Universal Championship’s ill-conceived design and lesser stature when compared to SmackDown’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship has been a big part of why RAW has been struggling since the brand split. As well as looking like something DOOM’s Pinky creatures would squat out after a big meal, the belt has no legacy, which could eventually turn out to be a good thing. The new crop of WWE stars should be able to write their own history without looking back at the annals and seeing how their accomplishments stack up. Kevin Owens’ understated work in doing that shouldn’t be cut short for anyone apart from an up and comer.
By giving the belt to a fifty year old Goldberg, who will then presumably drop it at WrestleMania to Lesnar so he can keep it in the refrigerator in his cabin for months without defending it, the Universal Championship will lose any lustre that’s been built. It will also be symptomatic of the problems with modern WWE, a company so obsessed with romanticising the past that, even when they claim to be all about the ‘New Era’, they can’t help but lean on old crutches at the first sign of trouble.
It’s been a tactic of WWE’s for a long time: whenever interest wanes or they run out of ideas, they open the chequebook for a part-time talent to create a few headlines. Instead of focusing on the current product and looking to try new things, create a storyline truly compelling or a rivalry to match those that the company has been built upon, they’re too eager to simply tape up the holes in the ship with nostalgia and hope that it doesn’t sink.
There will come a time when WWE will have no older faces to depend on for ratings boosts or social media visibility. The crop of active “legends” is wearing thinner by the year, so unless they start treating the full-time roster with better respect, it’s hard to see how they would make new ones. The first step towards that should be Owens successfully defending his title at Fastlane so that his story can continue to be written without an embarrassing addendum.
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