Why the WWE PG Era is a Perfect Fit for Goldberg

With rumors abound as to whether or not Goldberg will return to the WWE, the climate and the time is just right for ‘Da Man’ to make a comeback and one final run before he heads into the WWE Hall of Fame

Goldberg was once asked why he ultimately decided to leave WWE. His response was two-fold. Firstly, he simply wasn’t having fun anymore. Secondly, and perhaps most interestingly, he did not agree with the WWE product at the time.

Presentation and direction wise, when Goldberg arrived in WWE, the company was neck deep in the post-InVasion ‘Ruthless Aggression’ era. The Ruthless Aggression era combined much of the sophomoric TV-14 writing, angles, and content from the Attitude Era with the superior in-ring quality from the early-to-mid 90s New Generation.

Goldberg explained that as a fan favorite, especially to little children, he felt that WWE was not the right fit for his character and who he wanted to represent. That sounds awfully similar to WWE’s kingpin of the last fifteen or so years, John Cena, who is synonymous with kid-friendly topics such as ‘PG’ and the WWE’s stance on anti-bullying with its ‘Be-A-Star’ campaign.

If Goldberg were to decide to return to WWE, now would be as perfect a time for him to come back and not only make an impact, but perhaps gain an entirely new generation of fans, in particular, little kids. The current WWE product is filled with perfect antagonists for Goldberg to tussle with should he go to either Raw or SmackDown, many of them having somewhat of a nostalgic 80s vibe to them, such as the standard anti-American heel in Rusev, or the monstrous unstoppable force of Braun Strowman, or any of the Wyatts for that matter.

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As far as big money matches go, there is no shortage there either. Apart from the purported Goldberg-Lesnar Wrestlemania XX ‘redeem’ match (their first encounter was billed as a dream match that ended up being one of the biggest duds in Wrestlemania history), Goldberg could collide with the likes of John Cena; arguably the biggest babyfaces of WCW and WWE, respectively.

Goldberg could also go toe-to-toe with current top star Roman Reigns, both of whom use the spear as their finishing move; an added element to a potential feud was that Goldberg was the one who defeated Roman’s cousin, The Rock, at Backlash 2003 and sent him packing to Hollywood.

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On ESPN’s First Take, Seth Rollins proclaimed that he would willingly take on Goldberg as well, claiming that he would run circles around the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion due to his old age. Though it would be a bit of a styles clash, and Goldberg having to work someone as talented and athletic and as superior in the ring as Rollins is would potentially expose him (as many pointed out his match with William Regal in WCW did), on paper, it is rather tantalizing to see a marquee match between the self-appointed ‘The Man’ and the Bobby Heenan-christened ‘Da Man’.

There plenty of opponents to choose from for Goldberg should a return be on the horizon. Perhaps the climate wasn’t right for his first go-around. Eric Bischoff did go on record saying that one of the contributing factors that led to the demise of WCW was that, under Ted Turner’s broadcasting empire, the company was unable to compete with the raunchy TV that WWE was producing because they were forced to be family-friendly.

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The family friendly style is all Goldberg knows, and he had the most success during those conditions with his meteoric rise. Ironically enough, now WWE is family friendly and now is about a perfect a time as any for him to come in and be ‘Da Man’ that he once was in WCW.

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