My reaction to Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg is posted in full on upgruv.com and their free app. Here’s an excerpt:
My Twitter account crashed late Sunday night.
Can’t recall that happening after any WWE pay-per-view.
Of course, I can’t also recall thinking that the entrances would last longer than the main event between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. But that is how it went down in Toronto.
And this is how the minute and 26 seconds went: spear, spear, jackhammer… 1, 2, and 3.
Goldberg didn’t just beat Brock. He squashed “The Beast.” In doing so, he shocked the wrestling world and rocked the foundation of social media.
It was a truly stunning moment to behold. Regardless of your feelings about it, the moment provided Vince McMahon exactly what he wanted coming out of one of his Big Four PPVs: people talking about the WWE.
But at what cost?
Having Lesnar lose like he did jeopardized what had become hallmark tones for his character: realism and toughness. Without those attributes, Lesnar is the wrestling equivalent of a pitcher who has lost his fastball.
That might make him more of a must-see attraction going forward.
Lesnar’s role in WWE over the past few years has been as impressive as it was unique. He wasn’t merely unbeatable. He was completely believable as being unbeatable.
That aura of invincibility became his great problem. Fans had given up on anybody from the roster reigning in The Beast, let alone taming him. So WWE turned to the one opponent who not only had beaten Lesnar, but also the one wrestler who had once made being unbeatable totally believable.
Lesnar’s run was something special. But even it wasn’t Goldberg’s undefeated romp to begin his career in WCW.
In the build to the Goldberg-Lesnar showdown, a lot was made of Goldberg not having wrestled in 12 years. But that meant he also hadn’t lost in a decade.
Everybody else has had weekly competitive matches and come out of those with a .500 record. Were we to believe one of those wrestlers was going to beat Lesnar?
No.
CLICK HERE for what WWE hopes is the payoff and success of this angle.
