When Bill Goldberg made his return to WWE last month, many weren’t sure how long he would stick around. Telling Brock Lesnar that he was “last” made everyone think the man wouldn’t be back for long. In reality, he even said that this was going to be a one-match deal and then he’d be done. That has since changed as Goldberg has entered the 2017 Royal Rumble , but what happens after that? Will he be around for and/or through WrestleMania 33 ?
Sunday night at Survivor Series , the former World Heavyweight Champion shocked the world when he defeated Brock Lesnar in an 86-second squash match. No one quite knew what to think, and it pretty much surprised everyone.
As recapped by the official website of WWE , Goldberg appeared this week on Monday Night Raw and said that he had one more title run in him, and he was entering the 2017 Royal Rumble . It seems he isn’t quite done with being in the ring again and has something more to prove, perhaps at the biggest event of 2017.
Maybe at WrestleMania .
Anyone that is a fan of WWE and wrestling knows that the winner of the Royal Rumble match goes on to main event WrestleMania that year. What if Goldberg wins? What if Brock Lesnar decides to get revenge on him in the over-the-top-rope battle royal?
Goldberg isn’t revealing a lot about his new contract details with WWE, but he is going to stick around a bit longer. When speaking with ESPN , he was asked about his plans for WrestleMania 33 in April and just what he might want to do.
Not shockingly, he gave a very “wrestling” answer.
“I’m only as good as my next appearance and my next match. I’m concentrating on the Royal Rumble and that’s it. I don’t have any plans of doing anything afterwards. My focus is on the 29 other men that I’m going to have to crucify to win that damn match.”
So, just like with his bout with Lesnar, Goldberg is acting as if his next one is going to be his last. It is the only thing he is focused on and nothing past it. The way WWE is acting as well, it doesn’t seem as if he will have another match before the battle royal in late January.
Obviously, they are ignoring the fact that the 49-year-old superstar is a worthy investment or else Vince McMahon wouldn’t have kept him around past Survivor Series . The company wanted to make sure that he was worth bringing back again, and it certainly seemed as if he was.
He was taking the Lesnar bout as his final fight just in case he didn’t live up to the hype. Vince McMahon is no dummy. The focus is now the big battle royal in January and then quite possibly WrestleMania 33 .
“It’s completely dependent if you are a smart businessman upon the return on your product. I believe that you have to wait and see if that investment is going to pay off and I think each and every time I was given the opportunity, I hoped that I was able to carry the ball and give [WWE] the confidence to have me back and further include me in their plans.”
From this point on, it’s going to be a matter of how long Goldberg can go, how much he is able to stand, the ability to stay healthy, and the ability to keep drawing in the fans. If his popularity keeps on growing, and the fans continue to love seeing him out there, WWE is going to make sure he sticks around to WrestleMania 33 and possibly beyond.
The legendary former WCW star is going to be 50-years-old next month, and ESPN wanted to know just what the fans could expect from him.
“My fans can expect the same thing that they hopefully fell in love with years ago. I’m still the same guy mentally and emotionally. But things have changed and I don’t present myself physically maybe the same way. But it doesn’t mean that inside of this mind there’s still not that monster that’s ready to come out.”
Depending on what plans are in place and what happens at the pay-per-view in January, it’s quite possible there could be one more title run in Goldberg. He could end up getting his hands on the WWE Universal Championship at some point since he is a member of Monday Night Raw , but if so, that would mean tangling with the current champion, Kevin Owens.
Can you imagine the crowd reaction if the main event of WrestleMania 33 was Goldberg vs. Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship?
Goldberg’s current WWE run comes a full 12 years after his last time in the ring at all, and it was thought that it would be one match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series and then over. Now, “The Man” has entered himself into the Royal Rumble and has his full focus on that. If there is another match for him, perhaps at WrestleMania 33 , it remains to be seen, but fans just need to enjoy his expected last run while it lasts.
[Featured Image by WWE]