SURVIVOR SERIES WRAP-UP: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE??? BY: JOHN-THOMAS AUSTIN
A lot us have lost the sense of "fantasy" when it comes to fantasy warfare. You have people over-analyzing the situation, "Oh, Goldberg is old, etc. Think about the character Goldberg. An unstoppable force who ran over everything in his path. (Short of the beard physically he's almost exactly like he was 12 years ago. Keep the thought in mind that for wrestling, physically Goldie's still young and has avoided most of the wear and tear other wrestlers have dealt with with his sabbaticals). Was he supposed to come back and be Gillberg? Just the arrival of Goldberg in dominant fashion opens up a myriad of possible dream matches. Tell me wheels aren't turning in all of our heads as to what story-lines have the potential been created leading up to Wrestle-Mania, especially with Goldberg entering the Royal Rumble.
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Let's also talk about the residents of Suplex City who are ready to have a riot over their Mayor's defeat. Yes, we know that Brock was the former UFC Champion, etc. But think about this, going back to a storyline standpoint. Every wrestler has had that one rival who they just couldn't seem to beat. Hogan had Piper, Luger and Dusty had Flair. Sting had Rude, Bret had Perfect, Shawn had Bret, Taker had Shawn (and now Brock), HHH had Taker, Austin had HHH, Rock had Austin. Brock's Achilles heel is Goldberg. What has also eventually happened in most cases is the wrestler getting over on said rival and it being a legendary moment. I'm imagining that eventually Brock gets the last laugh on Goldberg.
Finally, I'm going to touch on the fact that Brock was crushed in 2 minutes. People are pissed off and feel like this destroyed the reputation of the beast that has been built up these last 3 years. I disagree, and here's why. Most fights are lost by the overconfident person and Brock in storyline made the mistake of believing his own hype. It's like when the Chicago Bulls went 72-10, during that season one of the teams who handed them a heavy loss was the unseeded Denver Nuggets. Brock in sense forgot who Goldberg was because of his dominance these last few years and expected a cake walk. This will add depth to the Brock character, because after being humiliated he needs to regain his focus, and who better to wake him up than the one who beat the one? Paul Heyman can literally talk a stripe off of a zebra, so this story can be golden if pulled off correctly, with Heyman emphasizing how this loss has created a rabid beast focused only on revenge, even have him come out with an "EAT, SLEEP, CONQUER Goldberg" shirt.
John Thomas Austin is a journalist/editor for The Wrestling Lariat. In Affiliation with the Triple Crown Network
