Goldberg Staying with WWE After WrestleMania 33 Would Be Detrimental

Goldberg sticking around after WrestleMania 33 wouldn’t be the worst possible thing, but more harm is likely to be done than good.

When Goldberg returned to the WWE in October 2016, it was 12 years in the making. He hadn’t been seen on programming since WrestleMania 20, being booed out of Madison Square Garden with Brock Lesnar, who turned out to be his opponent at Survivor Series 2016 and soon, WrestleMania 33.

In their match, Goldberg is widely expected to lose the WWE Universal Championship, having Lesnar defeat him for the first time ever. Given the former WCW star’s part-time status and potential WrestleMania 33 loss, it brings up questions about his future. Will he stick around afterward or never return to WWE again?

What should be noted is this hasn’t had any sort of “retirement” stipulation added, so if this is still the case on Apr. 2, that may open the door for future wrestling appearances. However, while his five-month stay has had its moments, WWE should go in another direction and not get desperate for star power on Raw, which would mean keeping Goldberg away indefinitely or permanently.

In his time on the Raw roster, Goldberg has taken precedent over everyone, even “fan favorite” star, Roman Reigns. It has seen him become the focus of the show in his 2-3 appearances per month, the Royal Rumble match and Fastlane. Sure, you can argue that the Flagship Show is a bit lackluster when he’s not around, but that’s what happens when you book the stars that appear here and there well and full-time ones with mediocre techniques.

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WWE have established Goldberg can beat anyone within 90 seconds — if he can topple Lesnar, he can go over anyone. Case in point with Kevin Owens, despite the Chris Jericho interference. It only took two moves to put away the then-Universal Champion. Now Owens and Jericho are fighting over the United States Championship at WrestleMania, which isn’t exactly a highly-coveted belt. They could have used the Universal Title in their feud, while Lesnar vs. Goldberg doesn’t exactly need it due to how infrequently they appear.

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So if you keep Goldberg around after WrestleMania 33, why shouldn’t he be involved in the major title picture? He’s already been established as being the elite man, and makes everyone else seem a peg lower; it’s the Superstars that appear every week and wrestle at the live events around two or three times during the weekend. Why can’t their hard work be rewarded with an opportunity to be made into a cash cow for the WWE, instead of continuously going with what has worked in the past? It’s the part-timer conundrum that’s plagued WWE for a handful of years and will continue to do so until those talents are too old to step in the ring.

Keeping Goldberg away from WWE allows others to get back into the main event mix. Lesnar is probably going to take up one of those spots, but we could see faces cycled in like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and potentially, AJ Styles. Even Braun Strowman could rise to a higher level in a few months. Opportunities await any of these Superstars on the post-WrestleMania PPVs, especially SummerSlam in five months. The 50-year-old sticking around for an event like the Biggest Show of the Summer would only clog up a marquee spot, which should be used for someone that deserves the spotlight.

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Goldberg has increased the star power of Raw and is a main attraction, but keeping him away after WrestleMania 33 may be for the best. Allow others to step back into the spotlight and shine in the main event scene. It’s not that east, however, and may not be something WWE puts much effort into.