Back in October, Goldberg made his long-awaited return to WWE and after one squash match with Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series , he decided to stick around for a while. Since then, it does appear as if things have picked up for the company and that they’re going much better for Vince McMahon ‘s promotion. Still, is the former WCW World Champion the reason for the recent success and big-time momentum, or is there more to it?
Once his short match with Brock Lesnar was over, WWE realized that they had much more to do with Goldberg and got him to sign a new deal and added dates to his contract. Now, he has a Universal Title match against Kevin Owens at Fastlane and a rematch against Lesnar set for WrestleMania 33 .
As recently reported by Inquisitr , it is expected that Goldberg will go on to win the Universal Title from Kevin Owens at the pay-per-view in early March. From there, his big match with Lesnar in Orlando will also be for the title.
PW Mania reported that Vince McMahon just had a fourth quarter 2016 earnings call for WWE, and he revealed a lot of information regarding the company. He talked about the United Kingdom Tournament and branching out to possibly have other tournaments in the future, but some interesting information came forth regarding Goldberg’s return.
At one point, a called spoke with McMahon about the interest of the fans in this year’s WrestleMania after all the trouble the company dealt with last year. In 2016, there were a lot of injuries that really affected the card and so many different changes needed to be. For this year, the fans appear to be more into the show and more excited.
The caller asked McMahon about the “Goldberg effect” and if the CEO believed the returning superstar was the big reason for the added interest. From there, the caller wanted to know if McMahon thought that the extra momentum for WrestleMania could be gauged by WWE Network subscriptions.
As pointed out by Wrestling Inc. , McMahon believes in his company as a whole.
“There’s no one talent that makes this big wheel keep on turning.”
McMahon stated that the additional momentum is a result of storylines coming to conclusions and that seeing shifts between different pay-per-view events is nothing new. Yes, there is “more momentum” for this year’s event than last, but having fewer injuries has allowed for more superstars to be in storylines and matches.
Goldberg’s return was a huge deal in the world of professional wrestling and his squash match over Lesnar at Survivor Series was even bigger. Then, he decimated Lesnar again at the Royal Rumble and it earned him a Universal Title shot against Kevin Owens.
No-one can look at the feuds he has been involved in since his comeback and say that they haven’t been important. If he wins the belt, his match against Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 will be that much bigger and the company has a lot riding on his shoulders.
Vince McMahon would never put the credit for a momentum upswing or big ratings boost on just one superstar. It’s hard to see things in any other way right now, though, as the majority of it all has happened since Goldberg has been back on the scene.
There is very little doubt that Goldberg’s return to the WWE and the ring has brought back a lot of old-school fans that may not have watched wrestling for a while. Seeing a former world champion and former WCW icon back after more than a decade is something that would truly draw big interest from more than just the weekly viewers. Vince McMahon isn’t going to give all the credit to one superstar, but there is no denying that Goldberg has been a huge draw for the company since his comeback.
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