WWE News: Goldberg To Return On ‘Raw’ Episode Before ‘Royal Rumble’ 2017


In the latest WWE news, superstar Bill Goldberg is slated to make another appearance on WWE’s Monday Night Raw program heading to the Royal Rumble 2017. He was last seen live in the ring the night after Survivor Series 2016, discussing his quick victory over Brock Lesnar the evening before. From there, instead of announcing a retirement, he indicated he was going to be the first superstar to enter the big 30-man match scheduled for January. It looks like he will now make at least two appearances to help hype the big event.

As reported by 411Mania and other media outlets, Goldberg is now scheduled to show up on the episode of Raw for January 23, 2017. The show will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Quicken Loans Arena, and is the final Raw show before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. That adds to his previously reported appearance of January 2 which will be in Tampa, Florida. As of this report, there are no other advertised appearances by the legendary pro wrestler.

Goldberg will appear on at least two Raw episodes ahead of the 2017 Royal Rumble. [Image by WWE]

For the most part, Bill Goldberg’s appearances have been brief on episodes of Raw and at the Survivor Series. On his Raw episodes, he gave promos in the ring or had a near confrontation with Brock Lesnar. It’s possible that Brock may also show up on one of the two scheduled dates for Goldberg to help really drive home the pay-per-view. WWE could also go with their previously used concept where a large number of superstars from the locker room area rush to the ring and have a “mock Rumble” ahead of the real one, throwing each other out of the ring.

Goldberg’s top rival right now, Brock Lesnar, has not made any appearances on Raw since his humiliating defeat at Survivor Series. As reported here at the Inquisitr, Brock recently wrestled at a live event in Mexico City. During that appearance, he defeated Rusev in a match lasting around five minutes. On a recent episode of Raw, Brock’s advisor and manager Paul Heyman discussed how devastated his client was by the loss to Goldberg and announced Brock would also be in the Rumble.

Brock Lesnar has his sights set on winning the 2017 Royal Rumble match. [Image by WWE]

As it stands, Goldberg remains the top betting favorite at numerous sportsbooks that offer WWE bets. This doesn’t necessarily point to any results spoilers that he’ll win the match but shows that he’s being heavily backed by bettors. Goldberg announced on Raw that his intentions were to make another championship run and that, after discussing it with Stephanie McMahon, he realized he’d need to enter the Royal Rumble. His current odds to win are different depending on the sportsbook, but he’s a 6 to 4 favorite at Paddy Power, followed by Finn Balor who has 7 to 2 odds to win.

Brock Lesnar is currently listed as a 12 to 1 favorite to win the Rumble at Paddy Power sportsbook, which has him tied with Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, and Seth Rollins for sixth overall on the listing. It’s still believed that Goldberg and Lesnar will end up having a third match at WrestleMania 33, though, as “The Beast” will need to avenge his previous losses to the iconic superstar ahead of Goldberg’s expected retirement and Hall of Fame entry.

Nonetheless, two Raw appearances by Goldberg may still give fans in those particular regions something worth checking out. There won’t be any likely matches involving the 50-year-old superstar, but an encounter with Brock Lesnar and a bunch of other superstars could help set the stage for the week leading up the big Royal Rumble match.

WWE fans, do you think Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will cross paths on either of the two Raw episodes that Goldberg is scheduled for? Will Goldberg win the Royal Rumble match in January?

[Featured Image by WWE]

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