On the latest edition of the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Chris Jericho talked about the finish of the Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match at Survivor Series. The former World Champion praised the match’s shock-value and called the idea “brilliant.”
“Everyone was shocked, everyone was surprised, but after thinking about it for a minute, I think it was actually a pretty brilliant finish,” he said.
Jericho feels that the 86-second Survivor Series match helped generate buzz while protecting both performers from a “plodding” longer match. Lesnar and Goldberg’s previous 13-minute match in 2004 was nearly universally panned in reviews.
“I loved the Goldberg finish. I think it was very smart,” Jericho said. “Had they gone out there for about a 10-minute match, and kind of been a little bit plodding, or maybe somebody blows up or whatever it may be, I don’t think it would have been as effective. It was a shock-value, water cooler moment. Everybody’s talking about it. It sets up for a huge main event rematch; and we have something to talk about, so I think it was a great idea.”
Jericho congratulated Lesnar and Goldberg on a successful match, and Goldberg on making an impressive comeback.
Brock Lesnar has reportedly signed on to participate in the January’s Royal Rumble 30-man battle royal, according to a report at Pro Wrestling Sheet. The news comes the day after Goldberg declared himself as the first entrant.
As noted earlier, the third installment of Lesnar vs. Goldberg is being discussed as one of the top matches for WrestleMania. With the controversial finish to Sunday’s Survivor Series main event and Lesnar being squashed by Goldberg in 86 seconds, it’s clear this feud is far from over. Expect WWE to use the The Royal Rumble as a chance to propel this feud into the spring.
The 2017 Royal Rumble takes place on January 29th from San Antonio, Texas.
Last night at Survivor Series, Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in 1 minute and 25 seconds. There are people that thought this match was great and that it provided them with a moment they will never forget.
It appears that this match has split the WWE Universe down the middle. Many feel like it provided an awesome moment and it was something that nobody saw coming. Others felt like it was barely a match and was way too short to be a main event at one of the biggest shows of the year. In my reaction article, I posted why I did not enjoy the match. Hopefully, the end result will be that more people will tune in for the next few months to see what will happen with Goldberg and Brock Lesnar. My fear is that the shock value will wear off once new viewers realize that Goldberg will not be at every show heading into the future. In the end, the WWE got what they wanted because people are talking about wrestling again.
What are your thoughts on the Goldberg and Lesnar match that took place last night? Do you think it was a mistake or do you feel like it was best for business? Let us know in the comments below.
We haven’t seen the last of Bill Goldberg in a WWE ring. After a shocking squash victory over Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, Goldberg has reportedly signed a deal with WWE that will see him compete at January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
The news comes courtesy of James McKenna of Pro Wrestling Sheet. As soon as Goldberg’s hand was raised at Survivor Series, it became clear that this was almost certainly not his final WWE match. Goldberg going over Lesnar in such stunning fashion made it clear Goldberg would be lacing up his boots once again.
The current plan is for Goldberg to compete in the 30-man Royal Rumble battle royal, which takes place on Sunday, January 29th from the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas. It’s not yet known if he’ll be sticking around for WrestleMania, but Goldberg fans have more exciting moments to look forward to as we enter 2017.
According to sources backstage at Survivor Series, the majority of the WWE locker room was genuinely shocked at the outcome of the main event. The match result was a closely guarded secret that only select people knew about. This tweet from RAW General Manager Mick Foley was apparently a shoot:
Survivor Series has come and gone, the Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg rematch is in the history books and its safe to say virtually nobody saw that finish coming. After a 12 year hiatus from the ring, Bill Goldberg made short work of Lesnar – delivering two spears and a jackhammer to get the win in approximately two minutes. The controversial booking decision begs several questions, including:
Is this really the last we’ve seen from Bill Goldberg?
Was either man dealing with an injury that prevented them from wrestling a full match?
Was Bill Goldberg the right man to ‘cash in’ on defeating Brock Lesnar so decisively instead of an up and coming star?
We’ll be analyzing the finish in-depth in the days to come, but for now, here are some reactions from the wrestling world:
This Sunday, Brock Lesnar looks to avenge his WrestleMania XX loss to Bill Goldberg at Survivor Series. Goldberg revealed this week that he tweaked his shoulder on RAW and his body feels “horrible,” but you can expect this one to be a very physical encounter.
According to a report from CageSideSeats, Brock Lesnar is favored to get the victory over Goldberg, with a big sendoff for Goldberg planned for after the match. Lesnar going over makes the most sense, with Goldberg declaring Lesnar is “last” – a sign that his WWE return is a one-and-done. There’s huge equity in defeating Brock Lesnar and it makes little sense to cash in on a legend like Goldberg who is at the end of his road.
While Goldberg won’t pick up the win, you can guarantee he is being paid handsomely for this comeback and his wife and child will finally get to see him do what made him famous. A Hall of Fame induction is also likely at some point, a losing effort against Lesnar this Sunday will still be a big win for Goldberg.
Monday’s WWE RAW from Buffalo, NY drew 2.876 million viewers, up from last week’s taped UK show, which did 2.767 million viewers.
The show featured Brock Lesnar and Goldberg facing off in the same for the first time since WrestleMania XX and more build-up for Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV. Here’s the hourly breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.960 million viewers
Hour 2: 2.930 million viewers
Hour 3: 2.743 million viewers
RAW was #9 on cable in viewership and #4 in the 18-40 demographic. The NFL owned the night with 10.7 million cable viewers.
Jim Ross has penned a new article for Fox Sports looking at Bill Goldberg’s return to the ring this Sunday at Survivor Series. The article includes quotes from Goldberg himself and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
“Goldberg vs Lesnar is married to the WWE2K17 video game where fantasy warfare meets reality,” Vince said. “It’s Ali vs Marciano, Mayweather vs Sugar Ray Leonard … Goldberg vs Lesnar.”
Vince also commented on the strong crowd reaction Goldberg received in Denver for his first WWE television appearance in over 12 years.
“The reaction to Goldberg confirmed our confidence that Bill is still not only relevant in the WWE world, his reaction was met with passionate exuberance even after a decade’s absence,” Vince said. “Bill’s son has never seen him perform and Bill’s wife and son were blown away with the reaction in Denver. Survivor Series is going to be on fire!”
Goldberg acknowledged that he will be battling Father Time at Survivor Series, not just The Beast. “I’d love to be the Goldberg of old and not the Goldberg that’s old,” he said. “I’m 12 years older, and gray, but in those 12 years I that I’ve been away from wrestling I’m much wiser, and I have 12 years of MMA training that I can utilize. My stand up game is immensely better than it ever was in WCW or WWE.”
– It was announced at last night’s RAW in Buffalo that Brock Lesnar will be appearing at the 3/10/2017 WWE house show from Buffalo. This will be a Friday night house show.
– Goldberg appeared on the PIX11 Morning Show with WWE Network host Scott Stanford this morning. You talked about Paul Heyman and says he hopes Heyman doesn’t get involved at Survivor Series on Sunday or he will have to kill him. Goldberg does give Heyman some props, saying he’s a good mouthpiece for Lesnar.
Regarding the match against Lesnar on Sunday, Goldberg says he has to give Brock the chance to make it 1-1 after their WrestleMania 20 match years ago. Goldberg says he is nuts for returning to the ring after all this time, noting that his doctor asked why the hell he’s doing this after he went and got a physical last week. Goldberg says it’s bigger than him and isn’t about him trying to prove anything, it’s just about him sharing something with his family.
Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar went face-to-face for the first time since WrestleMania XX at last night’s WWE RAW from Buffalo.
On a show that continuously features as many minuses as pluses, the Goldberg and Lesnar segments have been standouts in recent weeks and the anticipation is high for their long-awaited showdown this Sunday at Survivor Series.
Predictions: Who do you expect to win this Sunday? Goldberg told Brock Lesnar, “You’re Last!” but do you think this will really be Goldberg’s final WWE match?
WWE is currently in the planning stages for next year’s WrestleMania, and according to a report by Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, the company will be following up on an angle from SummerSlam at their biggest annual pay-per-view in April.
The current plans for WrestleMania reportedly call for a headlining match between Brock Lesnar and Shane McMahon. The last time they crossed paths on TV, Lesnar hit McMahon with the F-5 to close out SummerSlam.
There are currently no plans for Lesnar’s Survivor Series opponent — Bill Goldberg — to appear at ‘Mania.
We noted earlier in the week that Brock Lesnar had been confirmed for the 12/3 WWE house show from Mexico City.
As seen below, WWE issued an updated announcement today and revealed that Lesnar will be facing off against Rusev. Paul Heyman will also be there.
Brock Lesnar heading to Mexico City for Dec. 3 Live Event
Mexico City becomes Suplex City this December! WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar will step into the ring in Mexico City, Saturday, Dec. 3, for a thrilling WWE Live Event at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The show starts at 8 p.m. local time.
Joined by his advocate, the always-outspoken Paul Heyman, this Live Event marks The Beast Incarnate’s first in Mexico with WWE. And it won’t be an easy night for Lesnar, since his opponent that evening will be none other than The Bulgarian Brute, Rusev.
Get your tickets now to see Lesnar in action in Mexico City Saturday, Dec. 3. And be sure to check out more ring action and entertainment when the WWE Live Mexico Tour concludes in Monterrey Sunday, Dec. 4. The WWE Live Mexico Tour is presented by Gowin.
Brock Lesnar heading to Mexico City for Dec. 3 Live Event
Mexico City becomes Suplex City This December! WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar will Step into the ring at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Saturday, Dec. 3 for a thrilling WWE Live Event. The show starts at 8 p.m. local time.
With this Live Event marking Lesnar’s first in Mexico with WWE, what will The Beast Incarnate have in store for the Mexico City crowd, or whomever his opponent is that night? Get your tickets now to see Lesnar in action.
The WWE Live Mexico Tour, in Mexico City Dec. 3 and Monterrey Sunday, Dec. 4, is presented by Gowin.
– Ryback continues to fight WWE over the trademark of his “Feed Me More” phrase. The Big Guy attempted to trademark the phrase back on August 1st, 2016, however WWE had already filed for the mark back in January.
– Stephanie McMahon recently signed a “wrestling contract extension” according to a recent 10-Q filing from WWE. Stephanie will remain with the company through October 7th, 2019, at which point her deal will be extended on an annual basis until either party gives a 90-day notice prior to the auto-renewal date.
– Former WCW President Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar’s segment from Monday’s RAW on the latest episode of his Bischoff On Wrestling podcast. “Unless you are there in the moment and are a part of the process you really don’t have a 360 degree view of anything,” Bischoff said. “With that acknowledged and said, I have to question whoever’s decision it was to set the story up in Minneapolis. I’m not going to suggest that I ever sat down and tried to create a structure for a story or a time line for a story and asked somebody to tell me where we were going to be playing this story out. In which city. I never did that. I wasn’t that smart and didn’t have that vision if you will. I was smart enough to know that there are occasions because every city has it’s own personality. It really does.”
He continued, There were occasions like if we knew we were going to Philadelphia in three or five months for TV or PPV we created our format because we knew we were going to be in front of an audience with a certain type of personality that was going to react a certain type of way. It was kind of predictable.”
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar has been officially announced for WWE Survivor Series. It will be Goldberg’s first match since WrestleMania XX back in 2004 when he defeated Brock Lesnar in front of a rowdy crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The stage was set for this dream match when it was revealed earlier this year that Goldberg is the pre-order bonus character for the WWE 2K17 video game, which features Lesnar on the cover. During a recent ESPN SportsCenter appearance, Goldberg expressed interest in a potential comeback match against Lesnar. Paul Heyman issued the challenge on behalf of his client and Goldberg accepted last week.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
5-on-5 Elimination Match: RAW vs. SmackDown
5-on-5 Elimination Match: RAW Women vs. SmackDown Women
5-Team-on-5-Team Elimination Match: RAW vs. SmackDown
The 30th Survivor Series takes place on Sunday, November 20th from Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre.
– The official Snapchat account of Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle media outlet has exclusive backstage photos of Brock Lesnar from last night’s WWE RAW form Minneapolis. Follow @HeymanHustle on Snapchat to see the photos or scan the following:
– With Hell in a Cell just days away, WWE has still not decided which match will close the show. Over the weekend, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon tweeted overthat all 3 cage matches will be part of a “triple main event” – a sign that RAW General Manager Mick Foley might not deliver on his retracted announcement that Sasha Banks and Charlotte’s HIAC match will be the true main event. According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, the RAW Women’s Championship cage match will either open the show or close the show. There’s some concern behind the scenes that the crowd will either be flat or even leave the building after the women’s match, a sign that they probably should go on last.
As previously reported, The Undertaker recently underwent a minor hip surgery which is why we’ve been seeing photos of him on crutches. WWE Hall of Famer weighed in on this news in his latest blog entry, assuring fans that the surgery likely won’t effect The Undertaker’s ability to show up at WrestleMania.
“This procedure will have little to no bearing on Taker performing at WM33 in Orlando next April based on what I know,” Ross claimed.
Ross added that he would be surprised if The Deadman doesn’t step in the ring in 2017. The former voice of RAW also talked about the possibility of this being Undertaker’s last WrestleMania performance. The Undertaker has reportedly been telling people for the last few years that he’s planning on wrapping up his career.
“If the next Wrestlemania is Taker’s last one, then one has to assume that WWE will do nothing but capitalize on this golden opportunity market the career and accomplishments of the Undertaker with an historic weekend,” J.R. wrote.
Ross also wrote about Monday’s RAW, featuring the return of Bill Goldberg. J.R. feels that Goldberg’s segment worked “in a major way,” but has reservations about WWE’s plans for the former undefeated WCW Champion at SummerSlam.
“Personally, I would not place Goldberg vs Lesnar last on the card at Survivor Series and I also think that they can tell a solid story in approximately 15 minutes bell to bell,” Ross wrote. “I’m very curious to see the match that I hope fans will be intelligent enough to reserve judgment on until they see the presentation.”
Paul Heyman appeared on tonight’s RAW and issued a challenge to Bill Goldberg to face off against Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring.
No word yet on when the match will take place but it’s been reported that it will happen at Survivor Series next month. Heyman is now awaiting a response from Goldberg.
Paul Heyman took to Twitter this afternoon to comment on the Bill Goldberg interview from ESPN’s Sportscenter Off The Top Rope Segment, he posted the following.
During Bill Goldberg’s appearance on ESPN SportsCenter on Wednesday night, the former WWE Superstar expressed a willingness to return to WWE and named Brock Lesnar as the dream opponent who could draw him out of retirement. Although he stopped short of announcing an official return, the Wrestling Observer maintains that Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar is the plan for Survivor Series as recently as Tuesday.
If you’re wondering why WWE doesn’t hold off until WrestleMania for the match to take place, the idea is to use the hype surrounding this blockbuster bout and cross promote WWE 2K17. According to Meltzer, the match will be a one-off and is not leading to a longterm feud.
Another reason WWE is going right into Lesnar vs. Goldberg match is because WWE already has Lesnar’s next several opponents mapped out. While things could change between now and WrestleMania, the current plan is for Lesnar to face WWE RAW commissioner Shane McMahon at WrestleMania. WWE already laid the groundwork for that encounter at SummerSlam, when Lesnar laid out Shane following the beatdown he served to Randy Orton.
While WWE is open to using Goldberg again, the relationship has still not completely “thawed out” and Goldberg admitted on SportsCenter that he hasn’t spoken to Vince McMahon directly since WrestleMania 20.
In a recent promotional interview for WWE 2k17 in The Sun, Paul Heyman talked about the possibility of his client Brock Lesnar meeting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a WWE ring. Lesnar and Johnson are both much more famous now than they were when they had their 2002 SummerSlam match, and if they faced off again it would likely be the biggest match of the year.
Heyman noted that The Rock didn’t call out Lesnar during any of his recent returns, instead choosing Bray Wyatt and Rusev. After teasing that The Rock may not be ready for Lesnar, Heyman talked about Brock Lesnar’s star power and feels that his client is the biggest draw in wrestling.
“I think Brock Lesnar against anyone is an automatic sell-out,” he said of Lesnar’s drawing power. “Brock does not wrestle 52 Monday’s a year on Monday Night Raw, he does not come to your home town every week, his appearances are rare. They are unique and extraordinary. Which is why, whenever Brock Lesnar appears it is a rare and unique opportunity for the paying customer to see the greatest living athlete in the history of WWE appear live in an extraordinary event that only Brock Lesnar can deliver on. This is why he is the greatest box office attraction.”
You can read Heyman’s entire interview on TheSun.co.uk.
Would you like to see a rematch between Lesnar and The Rock at WrestleMania? Comment with your thoughts!
Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton’s SummerSlam rematch took place Saturday night at WWE’s live event from Chicago.
Paul Heyman declared that Brock wants a no-disqualification “Suplex City Death Match” with no stoppage for blood. Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley agreed to the stipulation.
There were dueling “Suplex City” and “RKO” chants throughout the match. Orton hit Lesnar with a steel chair late in the match on the outside. Back in the ring, Lesnar took Orton to Suplex City. Orton used the chair again, hit an RKO but Lesnar kicked out.
Lesnar got the win after an F5.
Brock Lessnar vs Randy Orton: The Rematch is happening right now at #WWEChicago. It's just a house show, but a PPV atmosphere. pic.twitter.com/HavDdMY8Dz
One of the big stories coming out of WWE SummerSlam was the backstage incident involving Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar. While Lesnar was still in the ring and Randy Orton was laying in a pool of blood, Jericho asked Michael Hayes if Lesnar had gone into business for himself and gone farther than what was planned. Hayes reportedly indicated to Jericho that Lesnar may have broken from the script, which led to Jericho confronting Lesnar once he got backstage. Brock essentially told him to screw off and they got into a shoving match. Based on several reliable reports – Brock kissed Jericho on the forehead and said something along the lines of, “Either kiss me or hit me.” Triple H and Vince McMahon wound up getting involved and putting an end to the altercation.
Chris Jericho recently appeared on Chael Sonnen’s “Your’re Welcome” podcast and addressed the altercation for the first time publicly. “I just thought the finish of that match was very brutal and very violent, and I just didn’t know if Randy was ok”, he said. “I said something and he said something, next thing you know we’re nose-to-nose kinda yelling at each other and it diffused fairly quickly.” Jericho added, “Brock is a trained fighter and he’s a beast, but I’m not the type of person to back down from anybody.”
Jericho admits the finish of the match was really none of his business, but what he witnessed was unlike a typical WWE wrestling match. “When I see a friend of mine lying in a pool of his own blood, whether it’s a work or not, that’s real blood. That’s a real concussion that he suffered. So I wanna go check and see if he’s ok.”
WWE announced last week that Randy Orton will get a rematch against Brock Lesnar at the September 24th live event from Chicago. As for why the match is taking place at a house show instead of a pay-per-view main event – as you may have guessed, it comes down to money.
Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract stipulates a lower compensation level for live events than PPV’s. WWE wanted to draw a big house for the Chicago live event and decided to use one of Brock’s limited dates to assure the show is a success.
Additionally, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports Brock Lesnar was given the option to pick his opponent. In light of their recent high-profile SummerSlam main event, The Beast chose Orton because that’s the biggest-money match he could make.
