WWE News: Chris Jericho Speaks Out On Goldberg Vs. Brock Lesnar Finish At ‘Survivor Series’
It’s been more than a week, but wrestling fans, wrestlers, and journalists are still talking about the Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar finish at Survivor Series 2016. By now, we all know that it took only 86 seconds for Goldberg to destroy Lesnar, arguably making “The Beast” look like a pushover and leaving a lot of pundits scratching their heads. But others have spoken out in favor of the finish, and it looks like Chris Jericho is one of the many who believe WWE made the right booking decision in having Goldberg win so quickly and decisively.
It’s quite ironic to note that in the past, Chris Jericho has had his share of issues with Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar. The history between “Y2J” and Goldberg, as the Inquisitr had reported in 2014, dates back to their days in WCW, as Goldberg had reportedly expressed hesitation to work with Jericho due to their huge size difference, and Bill’s belief that it wouldn’t be realistic that he and Chris would work a match for 10 to 15 minutes. Both men also had a backstage scuffle in 2003, on no less than Goldberg’s first day as a WWE competitor.
Jericho’s issues with Brock Lesnar took place in far more recent times, and it was over how Brock had allegedly worked too “stiff,” or overly realistic, when he bloodied up Randy Orton in their match at this year’s SummerSlam. According to a Forbes report that cited Jericho’s appearance on MMA fighter Chael Sonnen’s podcast, Chris admitted that he wasn’t aware that Lesnar’s seemingly violent attacks on Orton were all part of the in-ring narrative, and that he was acting in concern over one of his good friends from the world of wrestling.
With all that being water under the bridge, Chris Jericho took to the air in the latest episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast, expressing what he thought about the Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar finish at Survivor Series. According to quotes from the podcast shared by Wrestling Inc, Jericho thought of the finish as a “smart” one, and felt that a longer match wouldn’t have been as effective. He also believes that it was all about “shock value,” and giving people something to talk about after the match.
“I loved the Goldberg finish. I think it was very smart. 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.”
In the end, Jericho graciously congratulated Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar for making the finish of their match work like it did, and had praised Goldberg in particular for “making his mark” right after coming back from a 12-year absence from in-ring competition.
#Goldberg defeats #BrockLesnar at #SurvivorSeries in a devastating ending! https://t.co/nyTu2xUDVO pic.twitter.com/alx2I3JsAM
— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) November 21, 2016
If WWE really wanted to shock people with Goldberg vs. Lesnar, most accounts suggest that they did so, and then some. For example, PWInsider wrote last week that “much of the locker room, if not the entire roster” was surprised to see Goldberg win so easily, and that the outcome of the match was only known to members of WWE Creative’s “inner circle.” And, as Jericho stated, this was a great way to set up a potential rematch.
Goldberg and Lesnar are both booked to compete in the titular 30-man battle royal at the 2017 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and a third chapter to their feud (following WrestleMania XX in 2004 and Survivor Series 2016) may be in the offing, possibly at WrestleMania 33.
The smoke may have cleared after Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar, but the finish of their Survivor Series match will likely remain a “water cooler” topic for the immediate foreseeable future, just as Chris Jericho had suggested.
[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]
