WWE: Goldberg wrestling in Saudi Arabia will be a waste of his retirement

Six months removed from WWE Crown Jewel, it’s safe to say Shawn Michaels’ return match was a waste, and Goldberg’s will be no different.

To no one’s surprise, the announcement that WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia for another super-sized show on June 7 was met with a ton of criticism from fans. Putting aside all the controversy surrounding the country over the last year, the two televised WWE events that emanated from Jeddah in 2018 were among the worst of the year.

It’s unlikely that the latest installment of Super Show-Down will be any better based off who is advertised to appear. In addition to Brock Lesnar being in action at the event, it was recently revealed that Goldberg’s grand opponent at the event will be none other than The Undertaker.

Goldberg wrestling his first match in over two years will undoubtedly be an attraction, albeit an unnecessary one.

This is on the heels of Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement for absolutely no reason whatsoever back at WWE Crown Jewel in November. He successfully teamed with Triple H to defeat the duo of The Undertaker and Kane in a less-than-stellar main event match.

To be fair, the money Michaels was offered to break his in-ring retirement had to have been huge. Otherwise, he would have returned to wrestle years ago when the opportunity first presented itself.

It’s safe to say Goldberg is also probably being paid a pretty penny for wrestling in Saudi Arabia, but at least Michaels’ big comeback was built up over several months. Goldberg’s return match with Undertaker just feels random, making it tough to not think of this as a complete waste of a retirement for him.

Goldberg’s last match occurred at WrestleMania 33 when he defended the Universal Championship against Lesnar. Their previous encounters at WrestleMania 20 and Survivor Series 2016 were considered to be disappointments by many fans, but this bout completely shattered expectations.

It was everything it was supposed to be and so much more: short, sweet, action-packed and fast-paced. Lesnar was finally able to avenge his embarrassing losses to Goldberg, and the former WCW World Heavyweight champion went out on a high note.

The next night on Raw Talk, Goldberg cut a heartfelt promo about how well his run went with WWE the second time around and how he was thankful for the fans. Of course, he left the door open for a possible comeback down the road, but there wasn’t (and still isn’t) anyone on the roster who made sense to face him.

To be fair, there was some buzz when Goldberg and Undertaker came face-to-face for the first time ever on Raw days before Royal Rumble 2017. That isn’t to say fans were clamoring to see them do battle, however; both men are well past their prime and Undertaker in particular hasn’t had an above-average match in years.

Goldberg vs. ‘Taker would have been a marquee matchup a decade or so ago, but not so much in 2019, especially when there’s nothing on the line. It’s an obvious attempt by WWE to draw in fans who haven’t watched the product in ages, but you would think they would have learned from the last time they tried that in Saudi Arabia with DX and The Brothers of Destruction.

The event takes place in less than a month and there has been zero build for the bout on WWE TV. Undertaker has been having abysmal showings since The Streak was broken in 2014, but Goldberg at least had the chance to end his career in perfect fashion and not tarnish it by coming back to compete again.

A simple Spear by Goldberg at Super Show-Down to send the crowd home happy would have sufficed. With Undertaker and Lesnar already on the bill, the event would do outstanding attendance regardless, so why waste a retirement when it’s not necessary?

Goldberg and Undertaker could surprise everyone by producing an instant classic and wisely working within their limitations, but their clash is bound to be every bit as boring as the infamous Crown Jewel main event. It also further masks the current problems with the product and how WWE would rather bring back stars from yesteryear than focus on the future by creating new ones.

Perhaps we’ll quickly forget all about this one-and-done match for Goldberg at Super Show-Down and no one will be bothered by it months from now, or maybe it’ll ruin whatever pleasant memories we had of his brilliantly booked retirement in 2017.

The ball is in WWE’s court to make the most of this match-up now that they have it and deliver something special.