WWE News: Original Plans For Goldberg And Kurt Angle’s WWE Return Revealed
The expectation is Goldberg will become the WWE Universal Champion at WWE FastLane in a few weeks, which is a long way away from what WWE was originally planning for him when he returned to WWE back in October. Goldberg’s comeback has been something special, and it’s defied most people’s expectations.
Heading into WWE Survivor Series, the WWE Universe was under the impression that Goldberg would have one final match with Brock Lesnar. However, Goldberg shocked the wrestling world after defeating Lesnar in roughly a minute and a half. Three months later, he’s got a match with Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE FastLane. He’s expected to win and walk into WrestleMania 33 with the title.
Goldberg’s schedule has been extended to accommodate WWE while he’s the WWE Universal Champion, so he will be appearing a lot more on television over the next few months. Goldberg vs. Lesnar III will happen at WrestleMania 33. Lesnar is expected to walk out of Orlando with the championship, but that won’t be the end for Goldberg. Recently, he signed an extension with WWE, which means his run will continue over the rest of 2017. While Goldberg’s success continues, a future WWE Hall of Famer has also returned to WWE.
Goldberg involvement with WWE 2K17 was the catalyst for his return. The video game has been a good way to mend bridges with former WWE stars to return to the company. A lot of people have seen the success that Goldberg has had over the past four months and thought the same thing could happen for Kurt Angle next year. That was until WWE announced that Angle would be leading the WWE Hall of Fame class this year.
However, WWE officials were planning something different when it was decided that Goldberg would come back to television. Originally, Goldberg was meant to lose his match with Lesnar at WWE Survivor Series. It was being planned as his retirement match, which would have included a WWE Hall of Fame induction this year. After Goldberg’s run was extended, WWE brought in Kurt Angle instead for the ceremony in Orlando.
The door is still open for Angle to return to WWE television, which will likely happen at some point in 2017, and may include a match or two. The fact is Goldberg’s run may be the reason why Angle was brought back into the fray. It’s pure speculation, but maybe Angle would have been booked for a comeback over the last few months instead of Goldberg if things had been a little different. Either way, both men will benefit now.
Goldberg’s comeback hasn’t been perfect. The truth is that although the hype and excitement for his matches are undeniable, Goldberg hasn’t logged a lot of in-ring time over the past few months. His upcoming match with Kevin Owens isn’t expected to last long either, but he’ll need to give a great performance in the ring sooner or later, especially if his run with the company is going to last through WrestleMania 34 and into 2018.
Goldberg is being given a lot of credit for WWE’s recent run of success as the Road to WrestleMania heats up. Vince McMahon isn’t attributing that success to any one man, but Bill Goldberg’s role on Raw shouldn’t be ignored. Not everyone is happy with Goldberg’s push considering he’s technically a part-time performer, but he’s going to need to evolve as a performer, or the WWE Universe will turn on him eventually. Goldberg still has a lot left in the tank. WWE will just need to be careful about how he’s used after WrestleMania 33.
[Featured Image by WWE]
