10 Worst Booking Decisions in WrestleMania History
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
5. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar: WrestleMania XX
This was bad. Like, comically bad. What an absolute disaster of a match this encounter between Goldberg and Lesnar was from WrestleMania XX. It was so bad that the company feels it has absolutely no choice but do it again at WrestleMania 33. Wait, what? That’s right. A rematch from one of the most hated matches of all time will take place for the WWE Universal Championship at this year’s WrestleMania. The difference now is that these guys are 13 years older which makes Goldberg 50 and leaps and bounds removed from the guy who tore through the WCW with reckless abandon from 1996-2001.
But let’s focus on their encounter from WrestleMania XX. A little background first. Lesnar and Goldberg both went into the match knowing it was going to each be their last match for a long time. Lesnar wanted to take a shot at becoming an NFL football player and Goldberg was going to dabble in acting and color commentating for a couple of MMA promotions. Both legitimate reasons. But the 20,000 fans in attendance in Madison Square Garden did not echo that idea. They soundly booed both men for the entire 13 minutes in the ring and when it was all over the only saving grace for the abomination of a wrestling match was the special guest referee, Steve Austin. The crowd erupted as Austin delivered his patented Stunner to first Lesnar, and second Goldberg.
What makes this such a silly booking choice is the fact that not only did the company know both men were leaving, they also must have known that they were both going to get crucified out there. Why not let both legends do battle with a younger star who needed a big name win? Heck, they had Batista, Randy Orton, John Cena, Jeff Hardy, and Edge all on their roster at the time. Any one of those guys could’ve used a massive win over Goldberg or Lesnar and the two legends could’ve walked out having propelled the WWE in the right direction. But instead, they walked out of WrestleMania XX to a chorus of anger and bitterness. Rightfully so.