To say that Bill Goldberg has been exposed to a side of the wrestling business he’s not used to since winning the Universal Championship from “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at Super Showdown is an understatement. He’s been booed and heckled (though the WWE edited that out and replaced it with cheers on their youtube channel), he’s had fans denounce him, and he’s been labeled as a heel. He’s rarely, if ever, been on that side of things and it’s showing.
On a recent interview on WWE’s the Bump, he mentioned how he would like to see his detractors do what he did at any age. He even through in this little gem that made it’s way through social media.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Xn0iKJdcj/
“You can listen to the detractors if you want, but I like to think they’re a minority and in the end, the true wrestling fans will appreciate what I’m putting myself through so I can try to put a smile on someone’s face and be a superhero.”
“They’ve kind painted me in the corner of being a heel on this one, but it’s just me. It is what it is.”
Interesting enough, this comment isn’t included on WWE’s youtube channel either.
I recently stated that it’s not Goldberg, but the WWE and I still stand behind that. The problem is, he’s not helping his case.
Goldberg = Rollins 2.0
Goldberg’s comments about “real wrestling fans” sounds eerily similar to what Seth Rollins said a few months back when he was at odds with WWE fans.
This would make it apparent that they’re reading from the same script, which means Goldberg will probably be an actual heel for the first time in his career and he’ll copy Rollins’ heel turn, which copied Bret Hart’s in 1997.
This will make Roman Reigns the hero when he wins the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. At least, in Vince McMahon’s mind. The fact fans chanted “You both suck!” when they faced off in the ring is being ignored, as is expected.
Still, it seems many don’t seem to understand why the fans are upset, and it goes beyond us.
The reality is…
Eric Bischoff said it was surprising because the WWE couldn’t make enough Fiend merchandise to keep up with demand.
Jim Cornette even said what many of us have been saying is that it hurts Wyatt and younger talent as it buries them instead of putting them over. This also plays into what Ryback had to say about being told the WWE would never allow another marquee name.
So basically, Wyatt was close to becoming another Undertaker-type of character and he neutered him, in my opinion. Seems pretty straight forward.
The real problem here is McMahon is sacrificing Bill Goldberg to protect Roman Reigns. Reigns hasn’t recovered from the backlash prior to his cancer returning, and if he would’ve beat the Fiend, the WWE would’ve lost a ton more support than they already have.
Many fans canceled their subscription to WWE Network following the botched HIAC match. More, reportedly including actor Macauley Culkin, left after Super Showdown.
And Goldberg is left holding the bag and facing the brunt of the fans’ ire at live events and on social media. He may not be the type of wrestler to go more than a handful of minutes, he may only use three moves, and he may only wrestler a couple of times here and there when McMahon needs to make money, but he deserves far better than what this is doing to his reputation.
By all accounts, Bill Goldberg is an awesome person who is better known for his WCW days than anything in the WWE. He made us love him with his explosiveness and dominance. But it’s time for younger talent to be put over.
There’s little doubt he’ll try to put Reigns over at WrestleMania, but only the “true WWE fans” will probably care, and that’s a shame for the wrestling world and fans in general.
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