SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Goldberg posted a Periscope video on Twitter of him and his wife and son inside the airplane landing in Denver, Col. for tomorrow night’s Raw. “The Goldbergs have arrived in Denver,” he said. “The clock is ticking.”
He asked his wife and son if they were excited. They smiled and said they were.
He concluded: “First time in 12 years, should be fun. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Keller’s Analysis: Paul Heyman’s promo last week set the stage for Goldberg’s presumed acceptance of his challenge this week. Why else fly your family in and be scheduled for future episode of Raw if you’re not saying yes, right? How WWE presents Goldberg will be fascinating. They did a good job with Sting, even though Sting wasn’t a creation or product of Vince McMahon and WWE. Sting, though, hadn’t had a rough prior run with the company as Goldberg did. Time seems to have healed any resentment, but it probably won’t take much for some old negative memories to rekindled. WWE might be a different place, but a lot of the same leadership is in place. As for how the crowd reacts, I expect a massive ovation. Goldberg is an iconic figure of the Monday Night War era, which WWE has spent the last few years hyping due to the ability to remonetize it via WWE Network content. Interviews and promos have never been Goldberg’s strength, so the biggest mystery is how he performs his material on live TV, and what he’s scripted to say. Will there be a mixed reaction considering Lesnar is more of a regular in WWE rings? Or will nostalgia for Goldberg completely overcome any of the 2004 vibes that were present the last time we saw Goldberg? And perhaps most of all, what kind of difference will Goldberg make in the Raw ratings?
I hope Goldberg shows up, says no to a match and then flies off. I have zero interest in seeing a near 50 year old pretending he can challenge Lesnar, a guy who just beat Mark Hunt in UFC. The whole thing is absurd, I don’t even see an intrigue in the match because everyone knows Goldberg won’t get the win. Why not have AJ Styles or Rollins or Owens or Zayn or Cesaro in the ring with Lesnar, at least it would be fresh and have some innovative storytelling.
He will make no difference. People stopped looking forward to RAW and the only thing that will get them back is a concerted advertising campaign away from USA Network showing large athletes beating each other to a pulp.