Even if the odds may not be in his favor, Kevin Owens should defeat Goldberg at WWE Fastlane.
When Kevin Owens was handed the WWE Universal Championship in August 2016, the next chapter in his career began. He had won the NXT and Intercontinental Championships, but never a World title in WWE. It marked his ascension to the main event scene, which saw him close out Clash of Champions, Hell in a Cell, Roadblock, and now Fastlane.
However, Owens is going up against his toughest opponent yet – Goldberg. This came via Chris Jericho accepting the match for KO, who ended up being outraged. This partially led to their breakup in the “Festival of Friendship” event on last Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.
Owens and Goldberg have never competed against each other, so this match is as fresh as it can get. It’s a WCW legend facing one of WWE’s rising stars.
The winner of this match likely moves to WrestleMania 33 to defend the Universal Championship. The early idea has been for Goldberg to win because his match with Brock Lesnar is already confirmed. It would be his first WWE World title reign since 2003, something that wasn’t expected to happen when he originally returned in fall of 2016. Could that then mean these two headline WrestleMania?
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Is any of this needed, though? Here’s why Owens should walk out of WWE Fastlane with the Universal Championship still in hand.
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3. Chris Jericho Should Go for Top Title at WrestleMania 33
After the months of buildup between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho’s split, there needs to be an endgame here. They could probably get away with having no title, but for a blood feud like this, having it be at the end of the line for the winner of this would make it better. It shouldn’t be Jericho’s United States Championship, though.
While Owens vs. Jericho for the Universal Championship has an obvious ending, it’s still a higher-stakes match. Y2J would want to get his hands on the title, something that has been beloved to KO for the past six months. Also, what better way of getting revenge on the best friend that beat him down than taking his title away, which happens to be Raw’s most significant one?
If it’s just the United States Championship on the line, then it’s probably not needed. While WWE should try keeping the belt relevant, it’s too small for a feud like Owens and Jericho’s.
By having Owens vs. Jericho for the Universal Championship, it also puts the potential Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper match for the WWE Championship as the WrestleMania main event. There’s been more tension and a larger storyline with the latter bout, even though Owens and Jericho’s had a phenomenal breaking point. It keeps Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar out of the main event too, which is a match we’ve seen before.
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2. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar Doesn’t Need the Universal Championship
When Goldberg and Brock Lesnar brawled during the 2017 Royal Rumble match, it seemed to create the guarantee that these two would face off again. This became the case when Lesnar and Paul Heyman issued the WrestleManai 33 challenge. Not surprisingly, it would be accepted.
So before the Universal Championship could even get into the picture, we knew that Goldberg vs. Lesnar would happen at WrestleMania; and for three weeks, it will remain just a standard singles match. It’s two big names colliding on the grandest stage, which will draw mainstream attention due to name value.
With how much fanfare there was during their Survivor Series match, especially the fallout, do they really need something more to it? Does either Goldberg or Lesnar really need to walk into or leave the Show of Shows as champion either? We already saw the Beast Incarnate as a part-time champion in 2014, which had him leave for a few months without making an appearance. While this led to other feuds receiving more TV attention, it still took the top title away for a significant time.
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1. Can Kevin Owens Even Remain Credible in Defeat?
A problem with booking anyone not named Brock Lesnar against Goldberg is the length of the match. It wouldn’t be crazy to see Lesnar win in their rematch, but what about anyone else facing the former WCW star?
Given how strong Lesnar had been booked, there’s no reason for Goldberg to win in more than 86 seconds against Kevin Owens. If anything, he should be winning in about half the time, which is an issue. That’s even if Chris Jericho shows up to distract KO from trying to retain the title.
After a six-plus month Universal Championship reign, we could see it all end for Owens in less than one minute. For someone who just looked outstanding as a heel in his breakup with Jericho, it wouldn’t erase what he’s done, but hurt future standing. Lesnar was a different scenario because Goldberg has proven to be the one Superstar that can top him. With the former NXT champion, we know he’s beatable, so him getting toppled in the blink of an eye would do him no favors at Fastlane.
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If Owens loses quickly, he’ll need a boost heading into WrestleMania 33. There’s going to be four weeks to do that, but can it become long-term?